Blues 2018
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@kiwimurph just precautionary measures,given the game time they had in Brisbane over the weekend.
@steven-harris so the herald article is overblown?
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@stargazer said in Blues 2018:
@Steven-Harris and others. Here's a one-eyed question. How did the Magpies boys, particularly Evans, West and Lowe, go this afternoon?
West looked as though he was settling in well with the Canes.
Cheers for the comments, guys!
@number9 said in Blues 2018:
@stargazer said in Blues 2018:
@Steven-Harris and others. Here's a one-eyed question. How did the Magpies boys, particularly Evans, West and Lowe, go this afternoon?
West looked as though he was settling in well with the Canes.
Good to hear! I really hope he'll get regular game time, even if it's in the 22 jersey. He showed in November for the MABs that he deserves to be picked ahead of JGB, but you know, Canes ... Wellington.
@tim said in Blues 2018:
@stargazer Lowe scored a nice intercept early in the second half and looked sharp.
Moron Hamish Bidwell recently bagged him in a preseason report. From his track record that means he'll have a great season.
Bidwell is an idiot. I've followed Lowe for quite some time and I'm absolutely sure he has all the talent required to become a good SR player. Just needs to get opportunities/game time, but the queues are long at the Canes, and you know, Canes ... Wellington 2x.
@steven-harris said in Blues 2018:
@stargazer Ihaia looked dangerous as always,a couple of nice touches with the boot,really at the end of the day,he’s just keeping the seat warm for Barrett but he I think he will benefit from the style that the Canes bring to the table.
Jonah Lowe looked really good,deceptively strong for his size,and we all know how quick he is.
Gareth Evans is an exceptional athlete,with an awesome work rate,covered a lot of ground,it was interesting that he packed down at 8.Evans also played at no. 8 for the Bay and I believe that's the position he prefers himself, although he's also good at 6 or 7. It will be interesting to see which number will feature most on his jersey this season.
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It seemed like we were defending for about 70% of the game. We did defend well considering how much ball the Canes had, especially in our 22. Two of the Canes' tries came against the run of play.
Our skills let us down big time. We look like we could use another pre-season hit-out to iron some things out.
Scrums were pretty even in the 1st half, but in the 2nd half, we clearly had the better scrum. Manu vs Fidow was a bit of a mismatch.
One interesting thing was Duffie and Nanai looked to have switched positions in the 2nd 20 of the 1st half. I know some on here prefer Duffie at fullback, and it looks like Tana is having a look at that option.
Julian and Rieko were marking each other in the 1st half, and Julian was a big no show. Rieko looked every bit world class, while Julian looked like he'll struggle to start for the Canes this season.
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It seemed like we were defending for about 70% of the game. We did defend well considering how much ball the Canes had, especially in our 22. Two of the Canes' tries came against the run of play.
Our skills let us down big time. We look like we could use another pre-season hit-out to iron some things out.
Scrums were pretty even in the 1st half, but in the 2nd half, we clearly had the better scrum. Manu vs Fidow was a bit of a mismatch.
One interesting thing was Duffie and Nanai looked to have switched positions in the 2nd 20 of the 1st half. I know some on here prefer Duffie at fullback, and it looks like Tana is having a look at that option.
Julian and Rieko were marking each other in the 1st half, and Julian was a big no show. Rieko looked every bit world class, while Julian looked like he'll struggle to start for the Canes this season.
@dice said in Blues 2018:
It seemed like we were defending for about 70% of the game. We did defend well considering how much ball the Canes had, especially in our 22. Two of the Canes' tries came against the run of play.
Our skills let us down big time. We look like we could use another pre-season hit-out to iron some things out.
Scrums were pretty even in the 1st half, but in the 2nd half, we clearly had the better scrum. Manu vs Fidow was a bit of a mismatch.
One interesting thing was Duffie and Nanai looked to have switched positions in the 2nd 20 of the 1st half. I know some on here prefer Duffie at fullback, and it looks like Tana is having a look at that option.
Julian and Rieko were marking each other in the 1st half, and Julian was a big no show. Rieko looked every bit world class, while Julian looked like he'll struggle to start for the Canes this season.
Totally agree with your post.
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@tim said in Blues 2018:
@stargazer Lowe scored a nice intercept early in the second half and looked sharp.
Moron Hamish Bidwell recently bagged him in a preseason report. From his track record that means he'll have a great season.
Fuck that Bidwell is a tosser.
@kiwimurph said in Blues 2018:
@tim said in Blues 2018:
@stargazer Lowe scored a nice intercept early in the second half and looked sharp.
Moron Hamish Bidwell recently bagged him in a preseason report. From his track record that means he'll have a great season.
Fuck that Bidwell is a tosser.
Bidwell, how is he even a sports reporter? He should stick to the classifieds.
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@kiwimurph said in Blues 2018:
@tim said in Blues 2018:
@stargazer Lowe scored a nice intercept early in the second half and looked sharp.
Moron Hamish Bidwell recently bagged him in a preseason report. From his track record that means he'll have a great season.
Fuck that Bidwell is a tosser.
Bidwell, how is he even a sports reporter? He should stick to the classifieds.
@northlandallday dalton popoali’i out for 6 weeks
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@duluth said in Post your Super Rugby predictions:
The Blues:
If they don't make the playoffs Umaga should be sacked.Who do you think the Blues could get for next year? Tom Coventry?
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Wayne Pivac. I've said it every year for 16 years.. one day it might happen
Otherwise Coventry would be good
But I expect with the change to the playoffs Umaga's team will make the finals and he'll be safe
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@duluth said in Blues 2018:
Wayne Pivac. I've said it every year for 16 years.. one day it might happen
Could they get him? He's probably on good money at Scarletts, and is a contender for the Wales job.
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Tana isn't going to be sacked unless the Blues have an absolute shocking season. His big offseason signing (Otere Black) is out for the year and now they have even more injuries.
As long as the Blues are there or thereabouts in playoff contention (as they have been the last two seasons) he will be safe.
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Tana isn't going to be sacked unless the Blues have an absolute shocking season. His big offseason signing (Otere Black) is out for the year and now they have even more injuries.
As long as the Blues are there or thereabouts in playoff contention (as they have been the last two seasons) he will be safe.
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Thats probably right. I did say 'should'
If after three years you can't make the top 8 of a 15 team comp he should be sacked.
But he probably wouldn't be held accountable
@duluth said in Blues 2018:
Thats probably right. I did say 'should'
If after three years you can't make the top 8 of a 15 team comp he should be sacked.
But he probably wouldn't be held accountable
I see your point but I think that's a bit misleading. If the Blues were in the Aussie conference they would have won it the last two years.
While there are now 5 'wildcard' playoff spots available - the NZ derbies this year have increased from 6 to 8 so 4th place in the NZ conference may not be good enough for a playoff spot like it has been the last two years.
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hasn't he recently extended his contract?
@KiwiMurph I don't really buy the if the Blues were in the Aussie conference line...they aren't, they should do much better with available player resources.
That said, I think there is more to the Blues woes than coaching.
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hasn't he recently extended his contract?
@KiwiMurph I don't really buy the if the Blues were in the Aussie conference line...they aren't, they should do much better with available player resources.
That said, I think there is more to the Blues woes than coaching.
@taniwharugby said in Blues 2018:
hasn't he recently extended his contract?
There was an articles a few weeks ago saying they should announce an extension now. Probably written by a reporter who used to say 'judge him after three seasons'
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hasn't he recently extended his contract?
@KiwiMurph I don't really buy the if the Blues were in the Aussie conference line...they aren't, they should do much better with available player resources.
That said, I think there is more to the Blues woes than coaching.
@taniwharugby said in Blues 2018:
hasn't he recently extended his contract?
@KiwiMurph I don't really buy the if the Blues were in the Aussie conference line...they aren't, they should do much better with available player resources.
That said, I think there is more to the Blues woes than coaching.
My point is that saying they cant make an 8 team playoffs in a 15 team comp is misleading as all 15 teams dont exactly have an even chance of making the playoffs.
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@taniwharugby said in Blues 2018:
hasn't he recently extended his contract?
@KiwiMurph I don't really buy the if the Blues were in the Aussie conference line...they aren't, they should do much better with available player resources.
That said, I think there is more to the Blues woes than coaching.
My point is that saying they cant make an 8 team playoffs in a 15 team comp is misleading as all 15 teams dont exactly have an even chance of making the playoffs.
@kiwimurph pretty much a 5 team comp to make the finals.
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hasn't he recently extended his contract?
@KiwiMurph I don't really buy the if the Blues were in the Aussie conference line...they aren't, they should do much better with available player resources.
That said, I think there is more to the Blues woes than coaching.
@taniwharugby said in Blues 2018:
hasn't he recently extended his contract?
@KiwiMurph I don't really buy the if the Blues were in the Aussie conference line...they aren't, they should do much better with available player resources.
That said, I think there is more to the Blues woes than coaching.
I think the player resources thing is a bit overdone. The Blues have had the poorest squad in NZ for a number of years now. Yes, there are lots of player in the Auckland region due to numbers, but there is more talent in other franchises and has been for a while now.
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@taniwharugby said in Blues 2018:
hasn't he recently extended his contract?
@KiwiMurph I don't really buy the if the Blues were in the Aussie conference line...they aren't, they should do much better with available player resources.
That said, I think there is more to the Blues woes than coaching.
I think the player resources thing is a bit overdone. The Blues have had the poorest squad in NZ for a number of years now. Yes, there are lots of player in the Auckland region due to numbers, but there is more talent in other franchises and has been for a while now.
@nepia at what age? Player numbers in Auckland, NH, Northland and probably include Counties to a point as well, are huge...but at some point something goes wrong ,although I don't think this is directly linked to the issues for Auckland Rugby (League & Union)
League seems to do so much better with recruiting 'kids' than rugby (Warriors aside...) was talking to a lady at work, her 17yr old son has played rugby with a kid right through to form 5 (Year 11?) but last year his mate picked up a contract/scholarship with an Aussie league team, when he visited over Xmas, she said he was huge, bulked up massively...which obviously is a concern in itself for a 17/18 year old...
