Blues 2018
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@kiwimurph I think if Pulu reigns in the errors, he'll be fine. His error rate was not near as high at the Chiefs as it was with the Blues this year. I think Tana just lets him go rouge here, which leads him to trying too much. A good 10 could help that though, as he might not be compelled to do so much.
@taniwharugby Yup, I think going back to Kaino would be a backwards move.
From what I've seen of Gibson over the years, he's quiet as a mouse and seems pretty camera shy. He use to stutter like crazy in pre/post-game interviews when he was captain at St Kents, so I don't think he'd want captaincy even if offered. Even so, TJ Faiane felt like the real captain of that St Kents team.
@dice said in Blues 2018:
I think if Pulu reigns in the errors, he'll be fine. His error rate was not near as high at the Chiefs as it was with the Blues this year.
Pulu didn't play as many minutes for the Chiefs as he does for the Blues. I like Pulu as a player but in the big games TKB always started with Pulu being the finisher. Against tired players he could be sensational.
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@wurzel said in Blues 2018:
Pulu strikes me as someone with a bit of a discipline problem, and often seems to have bad rapport with refs. Would be well down my list of potential captains.
Can't say I've ever noticed this, apart from the odd high shot. Care to point out some examples?
@bones said in Blues 2018:
@wurzel said in Blues 2018:
Pulu strikes me as someone with a bit of a discipline problem, and often seems to have bad rapport with refs. Would be well down my list of potential captains.
Can't say I've ever noticed this, apart from the odd high shot. Care to point out some examples?
Pulling the padding off the post in the recent npc game was a pretty stupid move. Not something i'd want my captain doing.
While i think the Blues need to change things up a bit im not sure Pulu is the guy to do it. Don't ask me who is though. SBW?
It's the second time i've seen the point about the Blues ABs turning up after the Lions with a "poor attitude". Kind of a weird thing to bring up. Firstly there aren't many Blues ABs so it is really singling these guys out. Secondly the Blues season was well and truely over by then. The attitude of the ABs post lions had nothing to do with that.
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@tim Yes from the article posted by @Daffy-Jaffy from 1 December (it confusingly mentions 9 players then names 8, so I wonder if the 9th is Adrian Smith).
Four young players, all part of the Blues Under-20s and selected for the New Zealand Under-20 training squad, join the Blues for 10 weeks fulltime training as part of the Interim Training Contract scheme. They are Rob Cobb, Hoskins Sotutu, Harry Plummer and Tanielu Tele’a. There are a further nine players who have joined as replacements for injured or for All Blacks and Maori All Blacks who are staged back into Super Rugby in January. The eight are Marcel Renata (Auckland), Ross Wright (Northland), Jacob Pierce (Auckland), Antonio Kirikiri (Manawatu), Lewis Gjaltema (North Harbour), Orbyn Leger (Counties Manukau), Sione Havili (Auckland) and Jordan Hyland (Northland).http://theblues.co.nz/blues-leadership-guided-pulu-2018-super-rugby-season/
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@tim Yes from the article posted by @Daffy-Jaffy from 1 December (it confusingly mentions 9 players then names 8, so I wonder if the 9th is Adrian Smith).
Four young players, all part of the Blues Under-20s and selected for the New Zealand Under-20 training squad, join the Blues for 10 weeks fulltime training as part of the Interim Training Contract scheme. They are Rob Cobb, Hoskins Sotutu, Harry Plummer and Tanielu Tele’a. There are a further nine players who have joined as replacements for injured or for All Blacks and Maori All Blacks who are staged back into Super Rugby in January. The eight are Marcel Renata (Auckland), Ross Wright (Northland), Jacob Pierce (Auckland), Antonio Kirikiri (Manawatu), Lewis Gjaltema (North Harbour), Orbyn Leger (Counties Manukau), Sione Havili (Auckland) and Jordan Hyland (Northland).http://theblues.co.nz/blues-leadership-guided-pulu-2018-super-rugby-season/
@kiwimurph Ah, I had forgotten about that.
Pierce is 201 cm, so might be the next lineout lock we've been looking for.
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From the main squad, extended training squad, and players known to be training with the Blues, the following (who are not unavailable due to AB commitments) are not in the squad for the Chiefs game:
Mafileo
Smith
CobbParsons
Apisai
MouldsScrafton
Gibson
PryorGjaltema
JohnsonOf those, Gjaltema is fourth halfback, and Smith and Cobb are the seventh (and backup hooker) and eighth props, and Johnson is out for the season.
Parsons and Gibson had shoulder surgery in the off-season, and Scrafton had his early in the NPC season. Gibson is expected to miss the first few rounds, and I'd imagine Parsons might miss some too. Haven't seen him in training pics. Hopefully Scrafton will be available from the start - he's been in training pics from before Christmas.
I am wondering if they are using this game to decide on a fourth hooker to cover for Parsons, rather than having an injury crisis.
IIRC, Pryor had off-season surgery too, but has been training with the team, so am hoping that he, Scrafton, and Parsons are being eased back in, and will be available in round one.
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From the main squad, extended training squad, and players known to be training with the Blues, the following (who are not unavailable due to AB commitments) are not in the squad for the Chiefs game:
Mafileo
Smith
CobbParsons
Apisai
MouldsScrafton
Gibson
PryorGjaltema
JohnsonOf those, Gjaltema is fourth halfback, and Smith and Cobb are the seventh (and backup hooker) and eighth props, and Johnson is out for the season.
Parsons and Gibson had shoulder surgery in the off-season, and Scrafton had his early in the NPC season. Gibson is expected to miss the first few rounds, and I'd imagine Parsons might miss some too. Haven't seen him in training pics. Hopefully Scrafton will be available from the start - he's been in training pics from before Christmas.
I am wondering if they are using this game to decide on a fourth hooker to cover for Parsons, rather than having an injury crisis.
IIRC, Pryor had off-season surgery too, but has been training with the team, so am hoping that he, Scrafton, and Parsons are being eased back in, and will be available in round one.
@tim said in Blues 2018:
I am wondering if they are using this game to decide on a fourth hooker to cover for Parsons, rather than having an injury crisis.
They have a lot of hookers in the extended team. Wright, Eklund, Olsen and Adrian Smith has been training with Blues too.
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Based on the above, I am hoping that the team for the opening round will be:
- Hodgman
- Parsons/Moulds
- Tu'ungafasi
- Tuipulotu
- Scrafton
- Kaino
- Pryor
- Ioane
- Pulu
- Perofeta
- Ioane
- SBW
- Moala
- Nanai
- Duffie
- Moulds/Apisai
- Manu
- Tamoaieta
- Cowley-Tuioiti
- Taramai/Papalii
- Nock
- Gatland
- Faiane/Collins
Midfield is really tough to pick. I wouldn't be surprised to see Faiane at 12, Ioane at 13, Collins at 15, with SBW on the bench.
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Based on the above, I am hoping that the team for the opening round will be:
- Hodgman
- Parsons/Moulds
- Tu'ungafasi
- Tuipulotu
- Scrafton
- Kaino
- Pryor
- Ioane
- Pulu
- Perofeta
- Ioane
- SBW
- Moala
- Nanai
- Duffie
- Moulds/Apisai
- Manu
- Tamoaieta
- Cowley-Tuioiti
- Taramai/Papalii
- Nock
- Gatland
- Faiane/Collins
Midfield is really tough to pick. I wouldn't be surprised to see Faiane at 12, Ioane at 13, Collins at 15, with SBW on the bench.
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Based on the above, I am hoping that the team for the opening round will be:
- Hodgman
- Parsons/Moulds
- Tu'ungafasi
- Tuipulotu
- Scrafton
- Kaino
- Pryor
- Ioane
- Pulu
- Perofeta
- Ioane
- SBW
- Moala
- Nanai
- Duffie
- Moulds/Apisai
- Manu
- Tamoaieta
- Cowley-Tuioiti
- Taramai/Papalii
- Nock
- Gatland
- Faiane/Collins
Midfield is really tough to pick. I wouldn't be surprised to see Faiane at 12, Ioane at 13, Collins at 15, with SBW on the bench.
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@tim Yeah, midfield will be tricky to figure out. Can't say I'm keen on the SBW/Moala midfield though - a bit too Warrenball for my liking.
Unless Moala is performing really well, I'd like to see Moala used as mostly an impact bench option this season.
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@tim said in Blues 2018:
@dice Do you prefer SBW/Ioane or Faiane/SBW?
That's a hard one, because I think both can get good results for us, but I'm not sure I want to move Rieko off the wing yet, just because he's on fire out there.
I do like the idea of SBW at centre with Faiane at 12, because SBW's best plays last season often came in the wider channels where he could get more one on one situations and he could easily get his arms freer for offloads. With his declining explosiveness, he's finding it harder to get the linebreaks and offloads at 12 with more bodies around him, but out wider, he's still a big mismatch.
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@tim said in Blues 2018:
@dice Do you prefer SBW/Ioane or Faiane/SBW?
That's a hard one, because I think both can get good results for us, but I'm not sure I want to move Rieko off the wing yet, just because he's on fire out there.
I do like the idea of SBW at centre with Faiane at 12, because SBW's best plays last season often came in the wider channels where he could get more one on one situations and he could easily get his arms freer for offloads. With his declining explosiveness, he's finding it harder to get the linebreaks and offloads at 12 with more bodies around him, but out wider, he's still a big mismatch.
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@dice plus if you have SBW @13 and Ioane @11 to defend, is probably a tougher prospect that knowing you just need to tackle MOala at 13.
@taniwharugby said in Blues 2018:
@dice plus if you have SBW @13 and Ioane @11 to defend, is probably a tougher prospect that knowing you just need to tackle MOala at 13.
'Just tackling' Moala is easily said than done. He's got a cutting edge on and off the field.
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SBW edges Moala for vision and distribution imo. Sonny looked to have gained a bit of pace but extra gas at centre is awesome... if you get the other core skills covered. I hope some of the younger midfielders get a sniff.
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Blues boss Tana Umaga expects most of his troops - but perhaps not Stephen Perofeta - to be injury-free by the start of Super Rugby action. Kirkpatrick is also currently hurt but likely to be fit and firing imminently. He listed forward Ross Wright as a player who impressed against the Chiefs.
