SR T-T FINAL: Blues v Highlanders
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@nogusta Yeah it did haha but that's ok, we move on.
Fair to say I nearly died a thousand times in the 2nd half and started throwing furniture around the house to the point where I needed to leave the house for a bit once the Highlanders took the lead, missed the Plummer penalty, only to return to see Blake Gibson crash over in the corner! I thought Black missing that penalty and Sotutu dropping the ball over the line that the Highlanders were gonna claw their way back in it and take it, and sure enough, they nearly did!
Gotta give it to the Highlanders, they were bullied around up front a fair bit, but stayed in the fight and nearly pulled it off. They have a great culture down there with a great set of fans. They'll no doubt win a title in the near future imo.
Stoked for the Blues too. People will say this and that about the comp, but to finally win something of note after years and years of failure and being the laughing stock of the comp is something to be very proud of. It certainly makes moments like this worthwhile for both players and fans. It's great from a fans perspective seeing guys like the Ioane's, Tuipulotu, Tu'ungafasi, Faiane, Gibson, Cowley-Tuioti, Papali'i etc. come into the side as boys and go through the tough times together, and then grow into leaders and take the Blues to glory after a long drought.
Time to take my Blues gear off I think. I've had it on for since before kickoff haha.
@african-monkey love your work.
Gotta give it to the Highlanders, they were bullied around up front a fair bit, but stayed in the fight and nearly pulled it off. They have a great culture down there with a great set of fans. They'll no doubt win a title in the near future imo.
I'm really not convinced. They were a distant second last night everywhere but on the scoreboard. They only really threatened penalties, and were only in the games as teh Blues coughed up possession and territory on a regular basis. Arguably played their final last week against the Brumbies, but will struggle to score enough points against good opposition I reckon.
As you say, though, great scrappy culture that gets teh best out of their players. Reminds me of the early Brumbies - taking players others don't want and turning them into a strong team.
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Tbh, I hope Dixon doesn't get cited/suspended. It may be his last year in the Maori All Blacks jersey and he's a great leader. I'd hate to see him miss that!
@stargazer said in SR T-T FINAL: Blues v Highlanders:
Tbh, I hope Dixon doesn't get cited/suspended. It may be his last year in the Maori All Blacks jersey and he's a great leader. I'd hate to see him miss that!
hard to see that there won't be a ban, but who knows. It's a pity for Ash, but honestly it's a pretty bad tackle
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@stargazer said in SR T-T FINAL: Blues v Highlanders:
Tbh, I hope Dixon doesn't get cited/suspended. It may be his last year in the Maori All Blacks jersey and he's a great leader. I'd hate to see him miss that!
hard to see that there won't be a ban, but who knows. It's a pity for Ash, but honestly it's a pretty bad tackle
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@nzzp I've got no idea how that wasn't a red. Red clear as day imo.
Hopefully the judiciary will put things straight.
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@african-monkey love your work.
Gotta give it to the Highlanders, they were bullied around up front a fair bit, but stayed in the fight and nearly pulled it off. They have a great culture down there with a great set of fans. They'll no doubt win a title in the near future imo.
I'm really not convinced. They were a distant second last night everywhere but on the scoreboard. They only really threatened penalties, and were only in the games as teh Blues coughed up possession and territory on a regular basis. Arguably played their final last week against the Brumbies, but will struggle to score enough points against good opposition I reckon.
As you say, though, great scrappy culture that gets teh best out of their players. Reminds me of the early Brumbies - taking players others don't want and turning them into a strong team.
@nzzp just remember whom the Highlanders did not have playing last night and have lost over the season ,Shannon Frizzell , Mikaele Tu’u ,Daniel Lienart Brown ,Folau Fakatava ,Nani Punivai , Liam Squire , Manaaki Selby Ricket , Connor Garden Bachop and Solomon Alaimalo..when you consider the squad they used in TTSR ..they deserve all the credit in the world for their season and their fight they showed last night ..I always thought the Blues would have an edge , but nothing would have surprised me if the result had gone the other way ..In all honesty , I am glad we avoided the Crusaders ..
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@nzzp just remember whom the Highlanders did not have playing last night and have lost over the season ,Shannon Frizzell , Mikaele Tu’u ,Daniel Lienart Brown ,Folau Fakatava ,Nani Punivai , Liam Squire , Manaaki Selby Ricket , Connor Garden Bachop and Solomon Alaimalo..when you consider the squad they used in TTSR ..they deserve all the credit in the world for their season and their fight they showed last night ..I always thought the Blues would have an edge , but nothing would have surprised me if the result had gone the other way ..In all honesty , I am glad we avoided the Crusaders ..
@steven-harris said in SR T-T FINAL: Blues v Highlanders:
@nzzp just remember whom the Highlanders did not have playing last night and have lost over the season ,Shannon Frizzell , Mikaele Tu’u ,Daniel Lienart Brown ,Folau Fakatava ,Nani Punivai , Liam Squire , Manaaki Selby Ricket , Connor Garden Bachop and Solomon Alaimalo..when you consider the squad they used in TTSR ..they deserve all the credit in the world for their season and their fight they showed last night ..I always thought the Blues would have an edge , but nothing would have surprised me if the result had gone the other way ..In all honesty , I am glad we avoided the Crusaders ..
And we lost Ofa, Robinson, Clarke, Hunt and a few others. Losing All Blacks (and soon to be All Blacks) is worth two Super Rugby toilers.
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Tbh, I hope Dixon doesn't get cited/suspended. It may be his last year in the Maori All Blacks jersey and he's a great leader. I'd hate to see him miss that!
@stargazer agree big time , glad it was only a YC.., ash is not just the heart beat of the Landers but also the Magpies, congratulations on his 100th game for the landers , his speech at the end was emotional and gracious .would be playing international rugby anywhere else in the world ..
If there was one player I would have gladly seen not start last year when the Taniwha played the Maggie’s , it was Ash and a few of the Taniwha boys said the same thing .
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@booboo said in SR T-T FINAL: Blues v Highlanders:
@nzzp said in SR T-T FINAL: Blues v Highlanders:
wow, just re-watched the yellow card on Ash Dixon. That is as clear a red as you'll see, how on earth the refs got to the decision they did is incredible. 'secondary contact' my arse; late, high, always high, direct shoulder to head. It's kinda like red card bingo.
There was some origin level whistle swallowing going on out there last night. And the irony is that sort of contact is exactly what is tryin gto get out of the game
And they were desparate to find a card against against the Blues when Nareki ran obstruction causing the collision.
I'd love to see that footage! If it existed...
@bones said in SR T-T FINAL: Blues v Highlanders:
@booboo said in SR T-T FINAL: Blues v Highlanders:
@nzzp said in SR T-T FINAL: Blues v Highlanders:
wow, just re-watched the yellow card on Ash Dixon. That is as clear a red as you'll see, how on earth the refs got to the decision they did is incredible. 'secondary contact' my arse; late, high, always high, direct shoulder to head. It's kinda like red card bingo.
There was some origin level whistle swallowing going on out there last night. And the irony is that sort of contact is exactly what is tryin gto get out of the game
And they were desparate to find a card against against the Blues when Nareki ran obstruction causing the collision.
I'd love to see that footage! If it existed...
It was shoulder to shoulder which you are entitled to do while chasing the ball.
Right decision in the end as it was a straight out accidental trip. -
@steven-harris said in SR T-T FINAL: Blues v Highlanders:
@nzzp just remember whom the Highlanders did not have playing last night and have lost over the season ,Shannon Frizzell , Mikaele Tu’u ,Daniel Lienart Brown ,Folau Fakatava ,Nani Punivai , Liam Squire , Manaaki Selby Ricket , Connor Garden Bachop and Solomon Alaimalo..when you consider the squad they used in TTSR ..they deserve all the credit in the world for their season and their fight they showed last night ..I always thought the Blues would have an edge , but nothing would have surprised me if the result had gone the other way ..In all honesty , I am glad we avoided the Crusaders ..
And we lost Ofa, Robinson, Clarke, Hunt and a few others. Losing All Blacks (and soon to be All Blacks) is worth two Super Rugby toilers.
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@nzzp I've got no idea how that wasn't a red. Red clear as day imo.
Hopefully the judiciary will put things straight.
@toddy said in SR T-T FINAL: Blues v Highlanders:
@nzzp I've got no idea how that wasn't a red. Red clear as day imo.
Hopefully the judiciary will put things straight.
Even though it looks like something that deserved a red card (I'd like to see more camera angles to confirm it), I hope the judiciary will not "put things straight". If there were more SR games to follow, or we went straight to NPC (and I say that as a Magpies supporter!), I'd be fine with it, but I just don't want him to miss the MABs (that was the main message of my post). Dixon isn't a dirty player and this was clearly a one-off mistake. It's just unfortunate that this rare mistake happened in the Final.
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@toddy said in SR T-T FINAL: Blues v Highlanders:
@nzzp I've got no idea how that wasn't a red. Red clear as day imo.
Hopefully the judiciary will put things straight.
Even though it looks like something that deserved a red card (I'd like to see more camera angles to confirm it), I hope the judiciary will not "put things straight". If there were more SR games to follow, or we went straight to NPC (and I say that as a Magpies supporter!), I'd be fine with it, but I just don't want him to miss the MABs (that was the main message of my post). Dixon isn't a dirty player and this was clearly a one-off mistake. It's just unfortunate that this rare mistake happened in the Final.
@stargazer said in SR T-T FINAL: Blues v Highlanders:
@toddy said in SR T-T FINAL: Blues v Highlanders:
@nzzp I've got no idea how that wasn't a red. Red clear as day imo.
Hopefully the judiciary will put things straight.
Even though it looks like something that deserved a red card (I'd like to see more camera angles to confirm it), I hope the judiciary will not "put things straight". If there were more SR games to follow, or we went straight to NPC (and I say that as a Magpies supporter!), I'd be fine with it, but I just don't want him to miss the MABs (that was the main message of my post). Dixon isn't a dirty player and this was clearly a one-off mistake. It's just unfortunate that this rare mistake happened in the Final.
Yes, ignore clear foul play if something more important will be impacted!
I'm willing to beat it won't be reviewed and upgraded so your wish will be granted. The standard of refereeing is the most amateur component of professional rugby.
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@toddy said in SR T-T FINAL: Blues v Highlanders:
@nzzp I've got no idea how that wasn't a red. Red clear as day imo.
Hopefully the judiciary will put things straight.
Even though it looks like something that deserved a red card (I'd like to see more camera angles to confirm it), I hope the judiciary will not "put things straight". If there were more SR games to follow, or we went straight to NPC (and I say that as a Magpies supporter!), I'd be fine with it, but I just don't want him to miss the MABs (that was the main message of my post). Dixon isn't a dirty player and this was clearly a one-off mistake. It's just unfortunate that this rare mistake happened in the Final.
@stargazer said in SR T-T FINAL: Blues v Highlanders:
@toddy said in SR T-T FINAL: Blues v Highlanders:
@nzzp I've got no idea how that wasn't a red. Red clear as day imo.
Hopefully the judiciary will put things straight.
Even though it looks like something that deserved a red card (I'd like to see more camera angles to confirm it), I hope the judiciary will not "put things straight". If there were more SR games to follow, or we went straight to NPC (and I say that as a Magpies supporter!), I'd be fine with it, but I just don't want him to miss the MABs (that was the main message of my post). Dixon isn't a dirty player and this was clearly a one-off mistake. It's just unfortunate that this rare mistake happened in the Final.
Would you be happy if Hooper for example made the same tackle in a super rugby final and was cleared by the judiciary to play against the All Blacks because it was to be his last series for the wobs?
No room for sentiment in judicial decisions sorry.
But it would be an unfortunate way to go out.
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@toddy said in SR T-T FINAL: Blues v Highlanders:
@nzzp I've got no idea how that wasn't a red. Red clear as day imo.
Hopefully the judiciary will put things straight.
Even though it looks like something that deserved a red card (I'd like to see more camera angles to confirm it), I hope the judiciary will not "put things straight". If there were more SR games to follow, or we went straight to NPC (and I say that as a Magpies supporter!), I'd be fine with it, but I just don't want him to miss the MABs (that was the main message of my post). Dixon isn't a dirty player and this was clearly a one-off mistake. It's just unfortunate that this rare mistake happened in the Final.
@stargazer said in SR T-T FINAL: Blues v Highlanders:
@toddy said in SR T-T FINAL: Blues v Highlanders:
@nzzp I've got no idea how that wasn't a red. Red clear as day imo.
Hopefully the judiciary will put things straight.
Even though it looks like something that deserved a red card (I'd like to see more camera angles to confirm it), I hope the judiciary will not "put things straight". If there were more SR games to follow, or we went straight to NPC (and I say that as a Magpies supporter!), I'd be fine with it, but I just don't want him to miss the MABs (that was the main message of my post). Dixon isn't a dirty player and this was clearly a one-off mistake. It's just unfortunate that this rare mistake happened in the Final.
This isn't Origin or an Australian Footy (either code) Finals series.
He deserved a red and deserves a ban.
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@kirwan can’t we just give another team credit that obviously doesn’t have anywhere near the depth we have ..?..and on CC it was his decision to plays 7s..
@steven-harris said in SR T-T FINAL: Blues v Highlanders:
@kirwan can’t we just give another team credit that obviously doesn’t have anywhere near the depth we have ..?..and on CC it was his decision to plays 7s..
Sure we can, but to ignore we lost players of a higher quality than the Clan is not the way to do it.
All sides lose players as the season goes on. That’s why Leon building depth over the past three years has been so important.
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I said earlier in the week that I wanted the Blues to have a 6/2 split. It was obvious that the Highlanders would attempt to tire out the big Blues pack with an extra forward sub.
When Robinson was ruled out a 6/2 split wasn't really an option.It's impressive the Blues pack finished stronger. They had one less sub, plus Goodhue getting injured not long after coming on meant the second row basically played the full match.
The Gibson try was earned through multiple players still working hard and over powering the Highlanders. -
@nzzp glad it wasn’t a Red , would have put a damper on the game , let’s see if the Blues put it on report , if not we move on
@steven-harris said in SR T-T FINAL: Blues v Highlanders:
@nzzp glad it wasn’t a Red , would have put a damper on the game , let’s see if the Blues put it on report , if not we move on
Game in New Zealand is being officiated very differently than in Europe at the moment. In Europe any contact with the head is a straight red. In NZ refs are concerned about putting a damper on the game as you put it. No question in my mind if Ash Dixon had been playing in Toulouse, Exeter or Belfast he would have had a early shower.
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Tbh, I hope Dixon doesn't get cited/suspended. It may be his last year in the Maori All Blacks jersey and he's a great leader. I'd hate to see him miss that!
@stargazer said in SR T-T FINAL: Blues v Highlanders:
Tbh, I hope Dixon doesn't get cited/suspended. It may be his last year in the Maori All Blacks jersey and he's a great leader. I'd hate to see him miss that!
Foul play is foul play whoever it is from. Dangerous tackles to the head won't be eliminated from the game unless refs implement the directives from the governing body as they are meant to.
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Good to see Blues let media in the sheds post match.
Injury denied flanker Tom Robinson a chance to take the field in the final, but the Northlander was well prepared to mark the end of the Blues' title drought. "She's ready mate," Robinson says, patting his liver. "I've given the dog about six or seven days worth of food and just said 'I'll see ya in seven days, Rocco." "There'll be a big party tonight. Party at Dalts' [Blues flanker Dalton Papalii] house. DJ Dalts will be on the decks."
