Northland v Canterbury
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Any news on when Tom Robinson will be available? I hope he is able to complete a full off-season with the Blues.
@Tim the latest I have heard ,Robinson has had to have his knee rescanned and is unlikely to feature this year.and the news just keeps getting better .not..!,Josh Goodhue and Jordon Olsens injuries are most likely season ending injuries .
Still good opportunity for those outside the match day 23.Jordon Hyland Hamstring 1-2 weeks
Temo Mayanavanua Calf 1-2 weeks
Supporters..Depressed another 5 weeks... -
@Nath-Jac I dunno, when Northland have looked thier best, our set piece has not been a strength, probably adequate at best and it's been our attacking flair and ability to score from anywhere, no matter how deep the hole we were in that set us apart.
I refer you to my sig line from a few years back:
"I can't tell you how many times the Taniwha lost games we thought they would win. But by God they lost beautifully!"
Nothing beautiful about how we are losing at the moment...sure I'd take winning ugly over losing beautifully, but I'd take losing beautifully over losing ugly.
At least in years gone by, we at least looked like we could pull off an upset, this year, I dont feel as I do normally.
I know its not looking good when TR Jnr isnt begging me to go to games like he usually does.
@taniwharugby i here what you are saying and that seems to be what has happened since Whitcomb took over the first time then harris, alot of broken play and tries from turn overs etc, but where i am coming from is the northland teams in the past that have been successful can stay in the grind for the 80mins,complete their basics for long periods, under whitcomb they keep phasing in and out and rely on other teams to click off, i still cant get past the fact that even tho they have made semi finals a couple of times it still is only 11th, 12th in new zealand over all, back in the day north auckland would win 2nd div alot of the time then compete in the 1st div untill relegation but would still be clear class above the hawks bays and bay of plentys etc, one thing that i think would help the team is design a game plan that our weakest players can follow in their sleep, and let our more natural or better skilled players stand out later in the games, i belive all the bad passes, drop ball and dumb penalties result in some of our players trying to execute things that dont come natural to them. We have a great squad and simplifying the structure may be the key to winning, id like to see debreceney take the line on more and look to off load, if the off load not on 2nd phase comes off gregory from the back, these kind of plays will allow our looses more time to be effective and stop doing too much tight stuff.
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@taniwharugby i here what you are saying and that seems to be what has happened since Whitcomb took over the first time then harris, alot of broken play and tries from turn overs etc, but where i am coming from is the northland teams in the past that have been successful can stay in the grind for the 80mins,complete their basics for long periods, under whitcomb they keep phasing in and out and rely on other teams to click off, i still cant get past the fact that even tho they have made semi finals a couple of times it still is only 11th, 12th in new zealand over all, back in the day north auckland would win 2nd div alot of the time then compete in the 1st div untill relegation but would still be clear class above the hawks bays and bay of plentys etc, one thing that i think would help the team is design a game plan that our weakest players can follow in their sleep, and let our more natural or better skilled players stand out later in the games, i belive all the bad passes, drop ball and dumb penalties result in some of our players trying to execute things that dont come natural to them. We have a great squad and simplifying the structure may be the key to winning, id like to see debreceney take the line on more and look to off load, if the off load not on 2nd phase comes off gregory from the back, these kind of plays will allow our looses more time to be effective and stop doing too much tight stuff.
@Nath-Jac think we are sorta on the same page.
We have had some good forwards over the years, but North Auckland/Northland have never been a strong pack that dominates, unlike teams like Southland and Taranaki who have always had traditionally strong packs.
I remember plenty of times when we were bullied up front by these teams, yet we were in the fight because of our attacking game...
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1 Daniel Lienert- Brown 2 Brodie McAlister 3 Owen Franks 4 Cullen Grace 5 Mitchell Dunshea 6 Reed Prinsep 7 Tom Christie 8 Luke Whitelock 9 Ere Enari 10 Brett Cameron 11 Ngane Punivai 12 Inga Finau 13 Brayden Ennor 14 Sam Gilbert 15 Josh McKay
Reserves: Seb Siataga, Harrison Allan, Siate Tokolahi, Will Tucker, Whetukamokamo Douglas, Regus Burke, Dallas McLeod
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1 Daniel Lienert- Brown 2 Brodie McAlister 3 Owen Franks 4 Cullen Grace 5 Mitchell Dunshea 6 Reed Prinsep 7 Tom Christie 8 Luke Whitelock 9 Ere Enari 10 Brett Cameron 11 Ngane Punivai 12 Inga Finau 13 Brayden Ennor 14 Sam Gilbert 15 Josh McKay
Reserves: Seb Siataga, Harrison Allan, Siate Tokolahi, Will Tucker, Whetukamokamo Douglas, Regus Burke, Dallas McLeod
@Duluth nice, so if you include Cameron, that is 4 ABs they are trotting out...bloody bully boys, must be worried about us!! haha
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I've just had a look and can't see any talk of injury to either Romano or Bateman. Neither were over-used by the Crusaders and didn't play any rep footy between Super rugby and the NPC. Canterbury need to settle on a 1st XV and carry on their momentum FFS.
What i also find fucking weird is they give McLeod two games on the wing, with mixed success but still better than his debut off the bench in his specialist position of 12. He must have gained in confidence from starting and crossing the chalk though. But instead of taking advantage of his improvement and giving him the chance to give Bateman the breather, they dump him back to the bench and give Finau the 12 jersey.
At lock rather than give specialist Tucker another crack, they give the start to utility forward Grace.
At fullback McKay gets his sixth straight start. I'm really in two minds about him. In half a gap he's electric. Jet shoes. But he's small and frequently gets tossed around in the tackle and turns the ball over. He's gotta get better at finding support players, or somehow improve his body position in the tackle, or something. I'm not sure who the next option is at 15. Burke? Gilbert? Perhaps one of them. Should have been given this game.
And where the hell has Osborne gone?! Is that one game all we get??
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I've just had a look and can't see any talk of injury to either Romano or Bateman. Neither were over-used by the Crusaders and didn't play any rep footy between Super rugby and the NPC. Canterbury need to settle on a 1st XV and carry on their momentum FFS.
What i also find fucking weird is they give McLeod two games on the wing, with mixed success but still better than his debut off the bench in his specialist position of 12. He must have gained in confidence from starting and crossing the chalk though. But instead of taking advantage of his improvement and giving him the chance to give Bateman the breather, they dump him back to the bench and give Finau the 12 jersey.
At lock rather than give specialist Tucker another crack, they give the start to utility forward Grace.
At fullback McKay gets his sixth straight start. I'm really in two minds about him. In half a gap he's electric. Jet shoes. But he's small and frequently gets tossed around in the tackle and turns the ball over. He's gotta get better at finding support players, or somehow improve his body position in the tackle, or something. I'm not sure who the next option is at 15. Burke? Gilbert? Perhaps one of them. Should have been given this game.
And where the hell has Osborne gone?! Is that one game all we get??
@shark said in Northland v Canterbury:
> At lock rather than give specialist Tucker another crack, they give the start to utility forward Grace.
I watched most of the U20 games this year and though that Grace was one of the weaker players in the side. Surprised he's being picked as a Canterbury starter.
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I've just had a look and can't see any talk of injury to either Romano or Bateman. Neither were over-used by the Crusaders and didn't play any rep footy between Super rugby and the NPC. Canterbury need to settle on a 1st XV and carry on their momentum FFS.
What i also find fucking weird is they give McLeod two games on the wing, with mixed success but still better than his debut off the bench in his specialist position of 12. He must have gained in confidence from starting and crossing the chalk though. But instead of taking advantage of his improvement and giving him the chance to give Bateman the breather, they dump him back to the bench and give Finau the 12 jersey.
At lock rather than give specialist Tucker another crack, they give the start to utility forward Grace.
At fullback McKay gets his sixth straight start. I'm really in two minds about him. In half a gap he's electric. Jet shoes. But he's small and frequently gets tossed around in the tackle and turns the ball over. He's gotta get better at finding support players, or somehow improve his body position in the tackle, or something. I'm not sure who the next option is at 15. Burke? Gilbert? Perhaps one of them. Should have been given this game.
And where the hell has Osborne gone?! Is that one game all we get??
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Another midfield combo and locking pair. Rotation is fair enough but reserve it for when guys have had a lot of games FFS.
@shark said in Northland v Canterbury:
Another midfield combo and locking pair
you talking us or you
Doesnt matter who you roll out this week, 5 points in the bank.
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I've just had a look and can't see any talk of injury to either Romano or Bateman. Neither were over-used by the Crusaders and didn't play any rep footy between Super rugby and the NPC. Canterbury need to settle on a 1st XV and carry on their momentum FFS.
What i also find fucking weird is they give McLeod two games on the wing, with mixed success but still better than his debut off the bench in his specialist position of 12. He must have gained in confidence from starting and crossing the chalk though. But instead of taking advantage of his improvement and giving him the chance to give Bateman the breather, they dump him back to the bench and give Finau the 12 jersey.
At lock rather than give specialist Tucker another crack, they give the start to utility forward Grace.
At fullback McKay gets his sixth straight start. I'm really in two minds about him. In half a gap he's electric. Jet shoes. But he's small and frequently gets tossed around in the tackle and turns the ball over. He's gotta get better at finding support players, or somehow improve his body position in the tackle, or something. I'm not sure who the next option is at 15. Burke? Gilbert? Perhaps one of them. Should have been given this game.
And where the hell has Osborne gone?! Is that one game all we get??
@shark don’t stress..your team has got this, just to erase your concerns.
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@shark said in Northland v Canterbury:
> At lock rather than give specialist Tucker another crack, they give the start to utility forward Grace.
I watched most of the U20 games this year and though that Grace was one of the weaker players in the side. Surprised he's being picked as a Canterbury starter.
@mofitzy_ said in Northland v Canterbury:
@shark said in Northland v Canterbury:
> At lock rather than give specialist Tucker another crack, they give the start to utility forward Grace.
I watched most of the U20 games this year and though that Grace was one of the weaker players in the side. Surprised he's being picked as a Canterbury starter.
I didn't know that, but it adds fuel to the fire.
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@shark said in Northland v Canterbury:
Another midfield combo and locking pair
you talking us or you
Doesnt matter who you roll out this week, 5 points in the bank.
@taniwharugby said in Northland v Canterbury:
@shark said in Northland v Canterbury:
Another midfield combo and locking pair
you talking us or you
Doesnt matter who you roll out this week, 5 points in the bank.
Yeah, probably. But all the more reason to use the game to add momentum to combinations and/or give guys confidence for tougher games to come.
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Actually, you know which Canterbury vs Northland match this reminds me of? A few years back and I think Jake Parangitai was the only 'name' player in the Northland XV and Canterbury pumped them by 80 odd. I hope it's more competitive than that.
@shark I hope so too, but given our current injury list which equates to half a team of probable starters, I am not holding my breath....
I just hope we put up a good fight.
As an aside, Jake was more than a few years back, probably a dozen for that game
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@shark I hope so too, but given our current injury list which equates to half a team of probable starters, I am not holding my breath....
I just hope we put up a good fight.
As an aside, Jake was more than a few years back, probably a dozen for that game
@taniwharugby said in Northland v Canterbury:
@shark I hope so too, but given our current injury list which equates to half a team of probable starters, I am not holding my breath....
I just hope we put up a good fight.
As an aside, Jake was more than a few years back, probably a dozen for that game
How DARE YOU question my usage of the word few'. For that, I hope we put 100 on.
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@taniwharugby said in Northland v Canterbury:
@shark I hope so too, but given our current injury list which equates to half a team of probable starters, I am not holding my breath....
I just hope we put up a good fight.
As an aside, Jake was more than a few years back, probably a dozen for that game
How DARE YOU question my usage of the word few'. For that, I hope we put 100 on.
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@shark apparently last time we beat you was 1999...20 years seems a long enough drought
@taniwharugby Correct me if I'm wrong but I seem to recall prop Nick White kicking a goal from the sideline in that game haha.
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Good to see Canterbury keeping up the trend of starting midget locks.
