No team announced for us yet but time for the thread ... Taniwha team has been announced.
The match kicks off on Sunday at 2:35pm.
Northland: Matt Wright, Jordan Hyland, Rene Ranger, Tamati Tua, Solomon Alaimalo, Dan Hawkins, Sam Nock, Dan Pryor, Kara Pryor, Murray Douglas, Tim Bond, Josh Goodhue, Namatahi Wa'a, Matt Moulds, Howard Sililoto.
Reserves: Jordan Olsen, Ross Wright, Ropate Rinakama, Jack Ram, Matt Matich, Malcolm MacLeod, Peter Breen, Jone Macilai.
Isn't it great that this competition is starting ? After a diet of meaningless Super drivel its nice to finally get some grassroots rugby going again !
Overall the team looks good I reckon. The forwards are predictably strong and should match any team in the comp. Nice to see Mewett given the captaincy. I wonder whats up with Retellick as I never saw him play in any preseason games.
The backs are almost predictable with most of the outside backs the same as past years apart from Webber who can't have played much fifteens for a while. I wonder if Judd and Delany will make a difference ?
Anyway, I will be warming up my expresso coffee machine and stocking the fridge with a few celebratory beers in preparation for Sundays game. Nothing less than a win will do.
Yep, I am happy with that line up. Good forward pack, tidy 9 & 10, some x factor in the back 3. A lot will leverage off the 12 & 13, but they have the capability - hopefully the combo will work. Strong bench as well. Northland have named a strong team and will be as confident and hyped up as they have been for a long time - and good on them. Bring on Sunday - I can't wait!
That's not a bad team. Really hope we can get the backline fizzing this season and that Tiatia can get his 2015 form back. Interesting to see dual fliers at 6 and 7. Will be hunting for turnovers I reckon ....
You guys looking good so far, one scrum excepted, but having most of the possession is probably helping. Some nice plays from the lineouts as well.
Rugby at 2.30pm on a nice sunny afternoon certain has got something going for it.
18 minutes gone Northland 00 - 07 BoP
Ok, I have finally calmed down...
Firstly - congratulations to Northland, great comeback and a well deserved win. Hopefully we'll see you again at the end of the season.
Good effort from the BOP backline who at times showed endeavor. Collectively, they looked good for about 50 minutes. All contributed, with the exception of perhaps Webber who appeared absentia. Good game management by Delany and I was particularly impressed with Hepetema.
Forwards - well, scrummaging Monday training - bring your boots! We were out scrummaged from the first scrum to the end. I was bewildered when they took Mewett off early second half. What we did have was a sound lineout as an attacking platform and when Mewett went off it all went to hell!
Why did we not opt for a lineout when we gained a penalty at the end? Had we lost all confidence in our lineout and drive? Lacking leadership towards the end - we could have taken this one! That's a shocker to start the season and the opposition will not get any easier.
Addendum - not impressed with the loose trio(s)... 2 fetchers did not work. Karpik had a shocking 10 minutes to start the second half, hence changing the game momentum. As for the big Canadian number 8 - I cannot recall any charging runs by him. Mate - when you are as big as a brick outhouse - carry the damn ball hard! Then we finished the game with 3 small loosies. Surely in the Bay we have some big bruisers (please come back Joe Tupe) who know how to hit and carry.
Impressed with Franklin. Big Super workload and then he puts in an 80 minute performance today.
I didn't post last night as I was too pissed off.
Positives - it was actually a good game, unlike the dross under the trial laws last season. And we did play well for a half.
Negatives - When the tide turned in the 2nd half (and I can't recall 2 halves of such contrast in a long time, without the elements contributing) we just looked lost. Suddenly tackles were being missed and poor decisions were being made. Our ruck defence was inadequate such that Northland made lots of ground just picking up the ball and charging straight. A lot of that was Northland improving approximately 357% on their first half performance, and the bloody Pryor brothers were a collective menace (barring the time Ioane stepped one for that superb try). We still could have won that game and I honestly thought Delany was about to roll to the left and plant that try to win the game - great effort to prevent it.
I liked us in the first half - we seemed to break tackles at will and our backline looked dangerous and cohesive. 23-7 should have been enough to take the game. Agree on the subs - Callendar is definitely 4th best lock in that squad so I wasn't happy to see him on early. Ardron I didn't notice the whole game until he went off. Franklin was superb, playing at a different level to the rest.
@KiwiPie Northland and BOP teams over the years have a lot of similarities and we feel your pain as it is usually us who is left sitting there after a match like that wondering what could have been and how we let that get away and then failures to take chances on offer.
After 40 I was very worried, so to get a BP win out of that, wow!
Reckon you guys have a very good side, and like many Northland/BOP sides of years gone by, are likely only a whisker away from being a very good side, and results often make thigns look much worse than they are.
@taniwharugby said in Steamers v Taniwha:
@KiwiPie Northland and BOP teams over the years have a lot of similarities and we feel your pain as it is usually us who is left sitting there after a match like that wondering what could have been and how we let that get away and then failures to take chances on offer.
After 40 I was very worried, so to get a BP win out of that, wow!
Reckon you guys have a very good side, and like many Northland/BOP sides of years gone by, are likely only a whisker away from being a very good side, and results often make thigns look much worse than they are.
At half time you must have been thinking it was going to be another of those seasons - now you're planning your title challenge! Strange thing momentum in a rugby game, so many teams are really bad at reversing it once it goes against them. If your tight 5 can do the job (and the lineout functions) you will stand a chance against most teams with your loosies and dangerous backs.
A disappointing game, still trying to compose any coherent thoughts on it other than a barrage of swear words and despondency. Mainly because it had that feeling of 'same old, same old' to it, and that nothing looked much different to last year or the year before...
Did anyone sight our forward pack in the second half?
Or maybe, just maybe, both sides were very very good - and will meet again in the final 
Topic event: Duluth moved this topic from BOP Mafia on
