Chiefs v Blues
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Yeah I thought Faiane improved the Blues backline when he came on last week - he is an actual midfielder and helped open up the attack. He was quite willing in defense too. He does have a constant high error rate however - hopefully this week he shelves his kicking game. As mentioned I do worry about his size too.
Pryor.. well the pressure will be on with Papalii on the bench and Blake Gibson I think is only about 2 or 3 more games away too.
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@steven-harris I've been a fan of Pryor in the past, but he had a poor game against Hurricanes dev team and was bumped off tackles.
I like Faiane's attitude and skills, but he might be too small for this level at the moment.
@tim @Steven-Harris yep Pryor hasnt moved on as much as you'd have expected in fact probably gone back. As above was average for Northland last year, had 1 very good game then rest all pretty much worth forgetting.
Even his running g game seems off, not getting the ball nit in the right parts of the field.
Needs a huge game this weekend if only to get some confidence back into his game, but playing in a teamseemingly low on confidence makes that a little harder.
I've never got the love for Faiane??
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@nepia said in Chiefs v Blues:
Why on earth would Cooper not start Ngatai? FFS, he plays for the Naki too.
more time on the field means more chance of getting injured or concussed!
save him for if we need him!
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@arhs said in Chiefs v Blues:
Jeepers, this has to be the weakest looking Chiefs lineup I have ever seen! Just hope they can cope with the Blues. Retallick, Cane and McKenzie will need to be on top form! Just don't get why Messam and Ngatai in the reserves.
Is it really weaker than the Chiefs team that beat the Blues at Eden Park a month or so back?
Yes, I think starting 15 is far weaker than the team named to start that day. Weber, Seu, Laulala, Falcon, Stevenson and Brown all gone altogether.
I do see that Cooper might want a fresh Messam and Ngatai marshalling the troops in the second half, as the Blues are hard to stop when they get on a roll. But, I feel we need them for 80 minutes if possible.
I want to see Ngatai's long boot used to good effect, making Blues start from deep in their own territory. And I would have thought Messam's control at back of the scrum would be a valuable asset.
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I think the use of Messam is a key to how the team performs. In most games he has used his experience and leadership to identify periods in the game that need a lift in intensity and delivered for a massive burst of effort before running out of gas.
If I was coach I would also be tempted to see how this attribute works off the bench. -
interested to see how big Gus goes.. to be honest you'd think he'd be the perfect guy to come on in the last 20 and go nuts - Liam much better in the tighter early exchanges..
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Jeepers, this has to be the weakest looking Chiefs lineup I have ever seen! Just hope they can cope with the Blues. Retallick, Cane and McKenzie will need to be on top form! Just don't get why Messam and Ngatai in the reserves.
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@arhs said in Chiefs v Blues:
Just don't get why Messam and Ngatai in the reserves.
Managing players. Ngatai is well overdue for his next long term injury, so by playing him for only 20 mins a match, reduces the risk ?
@MajorRage
Matson also said the coaching team had talked about the desire to have experienced players such as Messam and Ngatai to take the park at the back end of games, bringing composure to close them out.
I'd just play them for the whole game myself.
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Charlie Ngatai has been pulled from the line-up because of a 'niggle'. I didn't hear who has replaced him on the bench.
@stargazer Replaced by Alex Nankivell.
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Some good changes in there. Didn't know Tana had it in him to drop Tupou.
I think the only change I would've made was Mark Telea in for Leger. Leger's tackling is Nock level bad, and the last thing we need at the moment is another guy who can't tackle. Maybe if Duffie is good to go, Hyland will replace Leger on the bench?
@dice said in Chiefs v Blues:
Some good changes in there. Didn't know Tana had it in him to drop Tupou.
Spoke too soon haha
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Our midfield looks lost on defence as usual.
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Our midfield looks lost on defence as usual.
@african-monkey said in Chiefs v Blues:
Our midfield looks lost on defence as usual.
Yeah Ioane totally at sea, what a waste of the world's best winger
