@shark said in Wellington vs Canterbury:
@ACT-Crusader said in Wellington vs Canterbury:
There were patches in this game that we probably looked the best we’ve been this season. But credit to Welly for applying scoreboard pressure.
Our tight forwards struggling with the pace and our loosies aren’t really impacting at the collisions.
Backs are ho-hum. We don’t have any real imagination out there with someone to create with little space. We are relying on good ball to make impact. We’ve at least had game breakers in previous seasons.
All bang on. In the loose forwards it all looks good on paper when you can pick Whitelock, Douglas, Prinsep, Harmon and Christie but in reality there are issues. Harmon has guts in droves but he's small, his back up is yet to show anything at this level, Prinsep is no more than a workmanlike journeyman, Douglas isn't having the same impact he's had for the Crusaders and Whitelock is also struggling to assert himself. What we really need in that trio is someone like an Ethan Blackadder to throw himself into the collision and blow over rucks. Is Cullen Grace worth a crack on the blindside?
I think the second row is fine with Dunshea back. We're not getting much around the field from our props though which is odd given we can select from a bunch of Super rugby players there too.
Enari has been good aside from a propensity to put up ineffective box kicks, and we have Drummond to come back in and share duties as well.
Cameron looks like a guy who pulled out one really good season as a relatively unknown quantity, and his midget stature is really starting to hurt him. He's reluctant to challenge the line, probably because he gets tossed around too easily, and it's a pop gun punt he's packing so we struggle to exert field position pressure or clear well.
Midfield I've covered. Ennor at 13, Bateman 12 should give us more punch and having Bateman ourside him can only help the dwarf running the cutter. Poihipi offers grunt off the bench.
There's pace out wide in McKay, Gilbert and Punivai but the latter needs to back himself more in half gaps, and the former needs to run it up harder from the back. Really lacking depth here though. If only we'd hung onto Alaimalo and/or Will Jordan.
yep agree with all of that pretty much how we look in 2019
