Did the new Dunedin stadium make the Highlanders/Otago soft?
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Carisbrook was known as the house of pain and it was tough to win down there.
The new stadium doesn't have the same rep.
The current Highlanders team don't fight tooth and nail as much as the Otago teams of old.
Will the new stadium in Christchurch make the Crusaders/Canterbury soft?
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No.
Highlanders in 2010 won three games. Last season in 2011 they won eight from 18.
Otago's last season at Carisbrook finished deadliest with two wins.
There have been good seasons and bad at the stadium. the team still trains outside. Dirt trackers still play club rugby in Dunedin in shit conditions.
Carisbrook was a cold, isolated shithole of a stadium. Good ridence.
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@SouthernMann said in Did the new Dunedin stadium make the Highlanders/Otago soft?:
Carisbrook was a cold, isolated shithole of a stadium.
And yet still got a new one before Australia's capital.
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....i mean our only super rugby title came after we moved into Forsyth Barr.....
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@brodean said in Did the new Dunedin stadium make the Highlanders/Otago soft?:
Carisbrook was known as the house of pain and it was tough to win down there.
The new stadium doesn't have the same rep.
The current Highlanders team don't fight tooth and nail as much as the Otago teams of old.
Will the new stadium in Christchurch make the Crusaders/Canterbury soft?
It has crossed my mind in regards to Chch, as this current ground is very hard for visiting sides with how cold it is.
It most likely won't make a difference though.
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I think having the roofed stadium is absolutely an advantage if used correctly (as we saw in 2015). Can structure a gameplan in the knowledge the weather won't effect it, and the atmosphere the zoo creates is better than anything anyone else can offer in the regular season.
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Strange take.
@Duluth results page is the best for this sort of stuff.
Results at 'home' (Ok, so does include QT and Invercargill) by year then wins / losses /draws (percentage)
2018: 7/1 (87%)
2017: 6/2 (75%)
2016: 6/1 (86%)
2015: 7/2 (78%)
2014: 6/2 (75%)
2013: 2/6 (25%)
2012: 5/3 (63%)2011: 4/4 (50%)
2010: 2/4 (33%)
2009: 4/3 (57%)
2008: 1/5 (17%)
2007: 3/4 (43%)
2006: 3/3 (50%)
2005: 2/3/1 (33%) -
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@brodean said in Did the new Dunedin stadium make the Highlanders/Otago soft?:
Where are the results for the last 8 years?
Linked above, but since you asked, they aren't actually that bad at home.
This year sucked (as did 2022) but before that they were still a better chance to win at home than not.
2025: 2/5 (29%)
2024: 4/3 (57%)
2023: 4/3 (57%)
2022: 2/5 (29%)
2021: 3/0 (100%)
2020: 2/2 (50%)
2019: 4/1/3 (50%)BTW, your premise is:
Carisbrook was known as the house of pain and it was tough to win down there.
The new stadium doesn't have the same rep. -
@brodean said in Did the new Dunedin stadium make the Highlanders/Otago soft?:
Carisbrook was known as the house of pain and it was tough to win down there.
in the 90's maybe when Otago was good due at least partially to having a good flow of new talent coming through to study....completely different landscape now and has been for a long time
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@gt12 said in Did the new Dunedin stadium make the Highlanders/Otago soft?:
@brodean said in Did the new Dunedin stadium make the Highlanders/Otago soft?:
Where are the results for the last 8 years?
Linked above, but since you asked, they aren't actually that bad at home.
This year sucked (as did 2022) but before that they were still a better chance to win at home than not.
2025: 2/5 (29%)
2024: 4/3 (57%)
2023: 4/3 (57%)
2022: 2/5 (29%)
2021: 3/0 (100%)
2020: 2/2 (50%)
2019: 4/1/3 (50%)BTW, your premise is:
Carisbrook was known as the house of pain and it was tough to win down there.
The new stadium doesn't have the same rep.Not that bad but not that good either.
Yes. I don't think the new stadium has the same reputation as Carisbrook as being a place tough to win at. Do you disagree with that?
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@brodean said in Did the new Dunedin stadium make the Highlanders/Otago soft?:
@gt12 said in Did the new Dunedin stadium make the Highlanders/Otago soft?:
@brodean said in Did the new Dunedin stadium make the Highlanders/Otago soft?:
Where are the results for the last 8 years?
Linked above, but since you asked, they aren't actually that bad at home.
This year sucked (as did 2022) but before that they were still a better chance to win at home than not.
2025: 2/5 (29%)
2024: 4/3 (57%)
2023: 4/3 (57%)
2022: 2/5 (29%)
2021: 3/0 (100%)
2020: 2/2 (50%)
2019: 4/1/3 (50%)BTW, your premise is:
Carisbrook was known as the house of pain and it was tough to win down there.
The new stadium doesn't have the same rep.Not that bad but not that good either.
Yes. I don't think the new stadium has the same reputation as Carisbrook as being a place tough to win at. Do you disagree with that?
Yeah, it's a shit take.
Carisbrook was a shithole and teams hated playing there, but that wasn't necessarily because of the quality of the Landers teams and whether they could get a win or not. It was just a freezing shithole.
For the ABs, it really was a fluffybunny of place for other teams, but that has two points: (1) the fluffybunny of stadium that it was, and (2) the quality of us and our performances.
The Landers are strong at home when they have really high quality players. That was even more true when Carisbrook was supposedly 'feared' - that's not the location, that's a reflection of the quality of a good team playing at home.
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@brodean said in Did the new Dunedin stadium make the Highlanders/Otago soft?:
@gt12 said in Did the new Dunedin stadium make the Highlanders/Otago soft?:
@brodean said in Did the new Dunedin stadium make the Highlanders/Otago soft?:
Where are the results for the last 8 years?
Linked above, but since you asked, they aren't actually that bad at home.
This year sucked (as did 2022) but before that they were still a better chance to win at home than not.
2025: 2/5 (29%)
2024: 4/3 (57%)
2023: 4/3 (57%)
2022: 2/5 (29%)
2021: 3/0 (100%)
2020: 2/2 (50%)
2019: 4/1/3 (50%)BTW, your premise is:
Carisbrook was known as the house of pain and it was tough to win down there.
The new stadium doesn't have the same rep.Not that bad but not that good either.
Yes. I don't think the new stadium has the same reputation as Carisbrook as being a place tough to win at. Do you disagree with that?
Shit take. Our teams have generally been poor/mid level. The results reflected the capability of the players.
As said earlier. Carisbrook was a cold, shithole. The last few years of it were bloody bleak.
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To reinforce the point, let's look at a representative example of what the Landers teams looked like when the Brook was 'feared'. I'll choose 2001 because I found it first. I think 2000 may have been stronger as Kronfeld may have still been around.
Highlanders Squad:
Forwards: Samui Vahafalou, Josh Blackie, John Blaikie, Taine Randell, Kelvin Middleton, Vulla Maimuri, Finau Maka, Simon Maling, Carl Hayman, Carl Hoeft, Joe McDonnell, Kees Meeuws, Anton Oliver, Tom Willis.
Backs: Jeff Wilson, Brendan Laney, Mark Urwin, Iliesa Tanivula, Romi Ropati, George Leaupepe, Neil Brew, Pita Alatini, Tony Brown, Byron Kelleher, Andrew (Billy) Fulton.
I count 9 ABs in the forwards, including the starting front row, and the AB captain, and 4 in the backs, including at least 2 (3) in the 23.
Results at home: 6/0 (100%)
Shall we compare with this year's team?
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@brodean said in Did the new Dunedin stadium make the Highlanders/Otago soft?:
@gt12 said in Did the new Dunedin stadium make the Highlanders/Otago soft?:
@brodean said in Did the new Dunedin stadium make the Highlanders/Otago soft?:
Where are the results for the last 8 years?
Linked above, but since you asked, they aren't actually that bad at home.
This year sucked (as did 2022) but before that they were still a better chance to win at home than not.
2025: 2/5 (29%)
2024: 4/3 (57%)
2023: 4/3 (57%)
2022: 2/5 (29%)
2021: 3/0 (100%)
2020: 2/2 (50%)
2019: 4/1/3 (50%)BTW, your premise is:
Carisbrook was known as the house of pain and it was tough to win down there.
The new stadium doesn't have the same rep.Not that bad but not that good either.
Yes. I don't think the new stadium has the same reputation as Carisbrook as being a place tough to win at. Do you disagree with that?
Blues Record at FBS: 3/12 (No wins prior to 2020)
Chiefs Record at FBS: 6/11 (1 Draw)
Hurricanes Record at FBS: 9/13
Crusaders Record at FBS: 8/12Considering the Highlanders have been pretty crap since 2019 more generally, I'd say FBS is far from an easy place to go.
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@Kiwiwomble said in Did the new Dunedin stadium make the Highlanders/Otago soft?:
....i mean our only super rugby title came after we moved into Forsyth Barr.....
But you did win it outside at the Caketin
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@SouthernMann said in Did the new Dunedin stadium make the Highlanders/Otago soft?:
@brodean said in Did the new Dunedin stadium make the Highlanders/Otago soft?:
@gt12 said in Did the new Dunedin stadium make the Highlanders/Otago soft?:
@brodean said in Did the new Dunedin stadium make the Highlanders/Otago soft?:
Where are the results for the last 8 years?
Linked above, but since you asked, they aren't actually that bad at home.
This year sucked (as did 2022) but before that they were still a better chance to win at home than not.
2025: 2/5 (29%)
2024: 4/3 (57%)
2023: 4/3 (57%)
2022: 2/5 (29%)
2021: 3/0 (100%)
2020: 2/2 (50%)
2019: 4/1/3 (50%)BTW, your premise is:
Carisbrook was known as the house of pain and it was tough to win down there.
The new stadium doesn't have the same rep.Not that bad but not that good either.
Yes. I don't think the new stadium has the same reputation as Carisbrook as being a place tough to win at. Do you disagree with that?
Shit take. Our teams have generally been poor/mid level. The results reflected the capability of the players.
As said earlier. Carisbrook was a cold, shithole. The last few years of it were bloody bleak.
FBS is really well positioned, close to uni
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@gt12 said in Did the new Dunedin stadium make the Highlanders/Otago soft?:
@brodean said in Did the new Dunedin stadium make the Highlanders/Otago soft?:
@gt12 said in Did the new Dunedin stadium make the Highlanders/Otago soft?:
@brodean said in Did the new Dunedin stadium make the Highlanders/Otago soft?:
Where are the results for the last 8 years?
Linked above, but since you asked, they aren't actually that bad at home.
This year sucked (as did 2022) but before that they were still a better chance to win at home than not.
2025: 2/5 (29%)
2024: 4/3 (57%)
2023: 4/3 (57%)
2022: 2/5 (29%)
2021: 3/0 (100%)
2020: 2/2 (50%)
2019: 4/1/3 (50%)BTW, your premise is:
Carisbrook was known as the house of pain and it was tough to win down there.
The new stadium doesn't have the same rep.Not that bad but not that good either.
Yes. I don't think the new stadium has the same reputation as Carisbrook as being a place tough to win at. Do you disagree with that?
Yeah, it's a shit take.
Carisbrook was a shithole and teams hated playing there, but that wasn't necessarily because of the quality of the Landers teams and whether they could get a win or not. It was just a freezing shithole.
That's my point that the freezing shithole gave them an edge and made them tougher. It may have been a freezing shithole but it was their freezing shithole.
The current crop of players don't have the same kind of edge. You show some great results in the mid 10's but a bunch of those players were probably forged at Carisbrook.
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@gt12 said in Did the new Dunedin stadium make the Highlanders/Otago soft?:
To reinforce the point, let's look at a representative example of what the Landers teams looked like when the Brook was 'feared'. I'll choose 2001 because I found it first. I think 2000 may have been stronger as Kronfeld may have still been around.
Highlanders Squad:
Forwards: Samui Vahafalou, Josh Blackie, John Blaikie, Taine Randell, Kelvin Middleton, Vulla Maimuri, Finau Maka, Simon Maling, Carl Hayman, Carl Hoeft, Joe McDonnell, Kees Meeuws, Anton Oliver, Tom Willis.
Backs: Jeff Wilson, Brendan Laney, Mark Urwin, Iliesa Tanivula, Romi Ropati, George Leaupepe, Neil Brew, Pita Alatini, Tony Brown, Byron Kelleher, Andrew (Billy) Fulton.
I count 9 ABs in the forwards, including the starting front row, and the AB captain, and 4 in the backs, including at least 2 (3) in the 23.
Results at home: 6/0 (100%)
Shall we compare with this year's team?
I think those players you list there were generally mentally tougher than the current crop - particularly in the forwards. The Highlanders squad has some genuine talent in it on paper and the results are not adding up.
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@brodean said in Did the new Dunedin stadium make the Highlanders/Otago soft?:
@gt12 said in Did the new Dunedin stadium make the Highlanders/Otago soft?:
@brodean said in Did the new Dunedin stadium make the Highlanders/Otago soft?:
@gt12 said in Did the new Dunedin stadium make the Highlanders/Otago soft?:
@brodean said in Did the new Dunedin stadium make the Highlanders/Otago soft?:
Where are the results for the last 8 years?
Linked above, but since you asked, they aren't actually that bad at home.
This year sucked (as did 2022) but before that they were still a better chance to win at home than not.
2025: 2/5 (29%)
2024: 4/3 (57%)
2023: 4/3 (57%)
2022: 2/5 (29%)
2021: 3/0 (100%)
2020: 2/2 (50%)
2019: 4/1/3 (50%)BTW, your premise is:
Carisbrook was known as the house of pain and it was tough to win down there.
The new stadium doesn't have the same rep.Not that bad but not that good either.
Yes. I don't think the new stadium has the same reputation as Carisbrook as being a place tough to win at. Do you disagree with that?
Yeah, it's a shit take.
Carisbrook was a shithole and teams hated playing there, but that wasn't necessarily because of the quality of the Landers teams and whether they could get a win or not. It was just a freezing shithole.
That's my point that the freezing shithole gave them an edge and made them tougher. It may have been a freezing shithole but it was their freezing shithole.
The current crop of players don't have the same kind of edge. You show some great results in the mid 10's but a bunch of those players were probably forged at Carisbrook.
but there is no evidence to support that...if anything we've see the results are better at forsyth barr on average
40% at the brook and 62% at Forsyth Barr on average
