Bledisloe I

Forwards and halves pick themselves. Infact 1 - 11 do.

Moody, Taylor, Franks
BBBR, Whitelock
Cane, Squire, Read

Smith, Barrett
Ioane

After that I confuse myself. Multiple options, none of which are bad.

I suspect it will be ALB and Crotty in midfield But Goodhue gives me good vibes and Laumape may be the like for like for Dubs.

With BFA off his game slightly I'm inclined to go Giraffe at the back and BFA 14. Would not be devastated with BFA at 15, Naholo 14. Wouldn't like Jordie/Naholo.

Bench ... again 16-22 reasonably straightforward:
Harris (meh ... but can't see them picking Coltman)
Karl T
Ofa
Barrett
Savea
TJ
DMac
and 23.

23 will depend on selections 12-15. Someone who offers something different.

I'll bracket Jordie/Goodhue/Laumape.

@mariner4life the quote where he basically said he preferred to seagull and run out on the wing over doing his core duties and "running into a brick wall and getting your body tired. Then you can't do anything," was hilarious.

He was here for a good time not a long time, not with comments like that.

@booboo said in Bledisloe I:

Moody, Taylor, Franks
BBBR, Whitelock
Cane, Squire, Read
Smith, Barrett
Ioane

I'm pretty sure:
Crotty & ALB
BFA Barrett

@booboo said in Bledisloe I:

Forwards and halves pick themselves. Infact 1 - 11 do.

Moody, Taylor, Franks
BBBR, Whitelock
Cane, Squire, Read

Smith, Barrett
Ioane

After that I confuse myself. Multiple options, none of which are bad.

I suspect it will be ALB and Crotty in midfield But Goodhue gives me good vibes and Laumape may be the like for like for Dubs.

With BFA off his game slightly I'm inclined to go Giraffe at the back and BFA 14. Would not be devastated with BFA at 15, Naholo 14. Wouldn't like Jordie/Naholo.

Bench ... again 16-22 reasonably straightforward:
Harris (meh ... but can't see them picking Coltman)
Karl T
Ofa
Barrett
Savea
TJ
DMac
and 23.

23 will depend on selections 12-15. Someone who offers something different.

I'll bracket Jordie/Goodhue/Laumape.

looks shit

Wallabies by -10

anyone know if sam cane is going to start being good again soon?

@reprobate said in Bledisloe I:

anyone know if sam cane is going to start being good again soon?

Saturday

There's a game on this weekend?

@antipodean said in Bledisloe I:

we don't have many right wingers running around,

Try the politics forum.

Wonder if Akira will get a start. Be good to see him on the field, maybe he could play 6.

@majorrage said in Bledisloe I:

Wonder if Akira will get a start. Be good to see him on the field, maybe he could play 6.

be nice if someone could, it's been a while

@raznomore said in Bledisloe I:

@mariner4life the quote where he basically said he preferred to seagull and run out on the wing over doing his core duties and "running into a brick wall and getting your body tired. Then you can't do anything," was hilarious.

He was here for a good time not a long time, not with comments like that.

God bless him. His honesty is fucken refreshing I'll give him that.

I bet Rueben Thorne spat his cornflakes all over his morning paper while he read them though....

@mn5 said in Bledisloe I:

@raznomore said in Bledisloe I:

@mariner4life the quote where he basically said he preferred to seagull and run out on the wing over doing his core duties and "running into a brick wall and getting your body tired. Then you can't do anything," was hilarious.

He was here for a good time not a long time, not with comments like that.

God bless him. His honesty is fucken refreshing I'll give him that.

I bet Rueben Thorne spat his cornflakes all over his morning paper while he read them though....

Hansen called him to clarify

fark, after saying something like that to the papers, your sphincter would be squeaky when you saw his number come up on the phone. Quality.

Also, the wise men don't seem too upset - clearly chill. Of course, we may never see him in black again, but it was a sound explanation I thought.

Edit:
The All Blacks see Fifita as a blindside flanker and want him to spend as many minutes there as possible. He'll get those with Wellington, in the national provincial competition, but was unlikely to as an All Black given Liam Squire and Shannon Frizell's presence in the squad.

*Hemopo's not destined to play a huge amount of Rugby Championship football either, but he will be introduced to the All Blacks' culture and protocols just as Fifita has in the last 18 months.

If Fifita gets the football he's after, while playing for the Lions, then a place on New Zealand's end-of-year tour beckons, following a season in which he was again confined to the Hurricanes' second row.*

ALB is bench fodder. Don't let those late season jinking feet fool you: he isn't half the centre Goodhue is, although he would be quicker. Goodhue is the man who can put the outside backs in holes. ALB may be nippy but he's a boy trying to do a man's job. Add to that the combination that Crotty and Goodhue have and this is why I expect to see ALB riding the pine.

@shark said in Bledisloe I:

ALB is bench fodder. Don't let those late season jinking feet fool you: he isn't half the centre Goodhue is, although he would be quicker. Goodhue is the man who can put the outside backs in holes. ALB may be nippy but he's a boy trying to do a man's job.

Obvious troll is obvious. ALB is way truth and light. Feeds outsides, runs quick, tackles. Total package.

The northland kid can wait his turn until both SBW and Crotty are on the sick list. Ie next week

@mariner4life said in Bledisloe I:

@shark said in Bledisloe I:

ALB is bench fodder. Don't let those late season jinking feet fool you: he isn't half the centre Goodhue is, although he would be quicker. Goodhue is the man who can put the outside backs in holes. ALB may be nippy but he's a boy trying to do a man's job.

Obvious troll is obvious. ALB is way truth and light. Feeds outsides, runs quick, tackles. Total package.

The northland kid can wait his turn until both SBW and Crotty are on the sick list. Ie next week

He's another midget Chief who doesn't know which position he is.

@mariner4life Tweed my good man, with a yellow flat cap.

@mariner4life Those Cantabs turn on their own once they leave little England.

I would be surprised if it wasn't Crotty/ALB that we see starting.
The ABs don't throw away experience unless there is a very good reason to do so.
Starting the season, a key match, a bit of a grudge....not time for selection whims.

Not necessarily a judgement on Goodhue, his time will come.

DMac is in that same boat. He has gathered a lot of test match experience in the past year so will get the bench alongside either Laumape or Goodhue. My feeling here is that Laumape brings more impact so will get the nod.

I do expect to see a Crusaders backline selection in one of the Argie games.

It's funny to see complaints about how our backline is unsettled, only to then suggest a new combination. Thereby ensuring the circus continues.

Goodhue's combination with Crotty isn't helpful because 1) the starting 2nd five is SBW when fit, 2) Crotty will just injured soon enough, and 3) the ABs play a very different pattern from the Crusaders, making provincial combinations rather less useful.

@mariner4life I'm in Switzerland, no idea how I'm going to watch the game.

After the last two Sydney Bledisloe matches I've decided that I am the problem. I'm the bad luck charm, and so have taken myself as far from the ground as feasibly possible.

Combine that with a stronger XV and hopefully a bit of luck, we might get to half time with a deficit of only 20-25.

@shark said in Bledisloe I:

@mariner4life said in Bledisloe I:

@shark said in Bledisloe I:

ALB is bench fodder. Don't let those late season jinking feet fool you: he isn't half the centre Goodhue is, although he would be quicker. Goodhue is the man who can put the outside backs in holes. ALB may be nippy but he's a boy trying to do a man's job.

Obvious troll is obvious. ALB is way truth and light. Feeds outsides, runs quick, tackles. Total package.

The northland kid can wait his turn until both SBW and Crotty are on the sick list. Ie next week

He's another midget Chief who doesn't know which position he is.

ALB is 1.87 m tall and weighs 103 kg. Not exactly a midget.

@cgrant said in Bledisloe I:

@shark said in Bledisloe I:

@mariner4life said in Bledisloe I:

@shark said in Bledisloe I:

ALB is bench fodder. Don't let those late season jinking feet fool you: he isn't half the centre Goodhue is, although he would be quicker. Goodhue is the man who can put the outside backs in holes. ALB may be nippy but he's a boy trying to do a man's job.

Obvious troll is obvious. ALB is way truth and light. Feeds outsides, runs quick, tackles. Total package.

The northland kid can wait his turn until both SBW and Crotty are on the sick list. Ie next week

He's another midget Chief who doesn't know which position he is.

ALB is 1.87 m tall and weighs 103 kg. Not exactly a midget.

Also can't be a real Cantab either.
His name gives away the fact that both of his parents have been identified.

@nzzp I'd settle for you lot having another year like 2009...

@shark said in Bledisloe I:

@mariner4life said in Bledisloe I:

@shark said in Bledisloe I:

ALB is bench fodder. Don't let those late season jinking feet fool you: he isn't half the centre Goodhue is, although he would be quicker. Goodhue is the man who can put the outside backs in holes. ALB may be nippy but he's a boy trying to do a man's job.

Obvious troll is obvious. ALB is way truth and light. Feeds outsides, runs quick, tackles. Total package.

The northland kid can wait his turn until both SBW and Crotty are on the sick list. Ie next week

He's another midget Chief who doesn't know which position he is.

Whereas Crotty's AB position is well known?

Crotty's relatively small size to ALB doesn't bother me, but that he is made of glass does. (McKenzie appears to be made of elastic.)

Also, McKenzie has played one position all season hasn't he? That you don't like his position doesn't mean he and his coaches don't. It's not like Beauden doesn't play a fair bit of fullback (and the Mo'unga fans reckon it's a plus that he can play there too -- so why is it a downside for only one player?).

@chester-draws

@smuts said in Bledisloe I:

@nzzp I'd settle for you lot having another year like 2009...

for the record

Lost to France (2-1 series win)

Lost 3 to teh Saffers,
beat the Ockers thrice

then won 5 on the bounce in teh NH tour, but lost the last hitout to the barbarians (nontest match). Wales, Italy, England, France, adn the fourth test against the Aussies

Overall season 10-4 in tests.

@nzzp

And pretty sure ABs finished that year with a number 1 Word Ranking.

If there is going to be any surprise selections I'm picking Hemopo or L Whitelock ahead of S Barrett on the bench. Barrett is really surplus to requirements in a 23 as both locks will go 80 mins so you are looking for a replacement for Squire. I know Barrett has played at 6 but Hansen and co see him more as a lock who covers 6 not the other way around.

When's the team named?

@cgrant said in Bledisloe I:

@shark said in Bledisloe I:

@mariner4life said in Bledisloe I:

@shark said in Bledisloe I:

ALB is bench fodder. Don't let those late season jinking feet fool you: he isn't half the centre Goodhue is, although he would be quicker. Goodhue is the man who can put the outside backs in holes. ALB may be nippy but he's a boy trying to do a man's job.

Obvious troll is obvious. ALB is way truth and light. Feeds outsides, runs quick, tackles. Total package.

The northland kid can wait his turn until both SBW and Crotty are on the sick list. Ie next week

He's another midget Chief who doesn't know which position he is.

ALB is 1.87 m tall and weighs 103 kg. Not exactly a midget.

And on another site his stats are 1.85m and 96kg. Hardly a big guy in his position, in this day and age.

@chester-draws said in Bledisloe I:

@shark said in Bledisloe I:

@mariner4life said in Bledisloe I:

@shark said in Bledisloe I:

ALB is bench fodder. Don't let those late season jinking feet fool you: he isn't half the centre Goodhue is, although he would be quicker. Goodhue is the man who can put the outside backs in holes. ALB may be nippy but he's a boy trying to do a man's job.

Obvious troll is obvious. ALB is way truth and light. Feeds outsides, runs quick, tackles. Total package.

The northland kid can wait his turn until both SBW and Crotty are on the sick list. Ie next week

He's another midget Chief who doesn't know which position he is.

Whereas Crotty's AB position is well known?

Crotty's relatively small size to ALB doesn't bother me, but that he is made of glass does. (McKenzie appears to be made of elastic.)

Also, McKenzie has played one position all season hasn't he? That you don't like his position doesn't mean he and his coaches don't. It's not like Beauden doesn't play a fair bit of fullback (and the Mo'unga fans reckon it's a plus that he can play there too -- so why is it a downside for only one player?).

Crotty can play 12 and 13 equally well so that argument is moot. Crotty weighs in the same as ALB, according to Wikipedia.

@shark said in Bledisloe I:

@cgrant said in Bledisloe I:

@shark said in Bledisloe I:

@mariner4life said in Bledisloe I:

@shark said in Bledisloe I:

ALB is bench fodder. Don't let those late season jinking feet fool you: he isn't half the centre Goodhue is, although he would be quicker. Goodhue is the man who can put the outside backs in holes. ALB may be nippy but he's a boy trying to do a man's job.

Obvious troll is obvious. ALB is way truth and light. Feeds outsides, runs quick, tackles. Total package.

The northland kid can wait his turn until both SBW and Crotty are on the sick list. Ie next week

He's another midget Chief who doesn't know which position he is.

ALB is 1.87 m tall and weighs 103 kg. Not exactly a midget.

And on another site his stats are 1.85m and 96kg. Hardly a big guy in his position, in this day and age.

So is Crotty a Crusader midget on the @shark scale?

@shark said in Bledisloe I:

@cgrant said in Bledisloe I:

@shark said in Bledisloe I:

@mariner4life said in Bledisloe I:

@shark said in Bledisloe I:

ALB is bench fodder. Don't let those late season jinking feet fool you: he isn't half the centre Goodhue is, although he would be quicker. Goodhue is the man who can put the outside backs in holes. ALB may be nippy but he's a boy trying to do a man's job.

Obvious troll is obvious. ALB is way truth and light. Feeds outsides, runs quick, tackles. Total package.

The northland kid can wait his turn until both SBW and Crotty are on the sick list. Ie next week

He's another midget Chief who doesn't know which position he is.

ALB is 1.87 m tall and weighs 103 kg. Not exactly a midget.

And on another site his stats are 1.85m and 96kg. Hardly a big guy in his position, in this day and age.

just proving you can be the best midfielder in the greatest rugby nation on earth without being a big munter. What. A. Guy.

@chester-draws said in Bledisloe I:

It's funny to see complaints about how our backline is unsettled, only to then suggest a new combination. Thereby ensuring the circus continues.

Goodhue's combination with Crotty isn't helpful because 1) the starting 2nd five is SBW when fit, 2) Crotty will just injured soon enough, and 3) the ABs play a very different pattern from the Crusaders, making provincial combinations rather less useful.

Our midfield combo is all over the show. Even if we assume that SBW and Crotty are the #1 combo when both fit, what are the chances of that actually happening for an extended period as they're both ibncreasingly probe to injury? So we have to either keep the Crusaders midfield together or re-unite Crotty and ALB. Then after a couple of games SBW comes back. At some point in the RC they may try something entirely different such as SBW and ALB or SBW and Goodhue, or they may be forced to by injury. This could easily continue into 2019 and after that SBW will be gone, as may well be Crotty also. I'm not all that confident we'll even have both at our disposal this time next year.

What gets me re the midfield is we've had two and a bit seasons since we lost Nonu and Smith, yet we still don't have a clear #1 combination that's actually sustainable, nor a clear succession plan.

@nepia said in Bledisloe I:

@shark said in Bledisloe I:

@cgrant said in Bledisloe I:

@shark said in Bledisloe I:

@mariner4life said in Bledisloe I:

@shark said in Bledisloe I:

ALB is bench fodder. Don't let those late season jinking feet fool you: he isn't half the centre Goodhue is, although he would be quicker. Goodhue is the man who can put the outside backs in holes. ALB may be nippy but he's a boy trying to do a man's job.

Obvious troll is obvious. ALB is way truth and light. Feeds outsides, runs quick, tackles. Total package.

The northland kid can wait his turn until both SBW and Crotty are on the sick list. Ie next week

He's another midget Chief who doesn't know which position he is.

ALB is 1.87 m tall and weighs 103 kg. Not exactly a midget.

And on another site his stats are 1.85m and 96kg. Hardly a big guy in his position, in this day and age.

So is Crotty a Crusader midget on the @shark scale?

He's a well-proportioned 12 and an under-sized centre, for mine. But he plays above his weight at 13, and it's also mightily helpful that he's has SBW inside him (ahem) for a number of tests. Crotty and ALB together in midfield is a little small for my liking.

@shark said in Bledisloe I:

@chester-draws said in Bledisloe I:

@shark said in Bledisloe I:

@mariner4life said in Bledisloe I:

@shark said in Bledisloe I:

ALB is bench fodder. Don't let those late season jinking feet fool you: he isn't half the centre Goodhue is, although he would be quicker. Goodhue is the man who can put the outside backs in holes. ALB may be nippy but he's a boy trying to do a man's job.

Obvious troll is obvious. ALB is way truth and light. Feeds outsides, runs quick, tackles. Total package.

The northland kid can wait his turn until both SBW and Crotty are on the sick list. Ie next week

He's another midget Chief who doesn't know which position he is.

Whereas Crotty's AB position is well known?

Crotty's relatively small size to ALB doesn't bother me, but that he is made of glass does. (McKenzie appears to be made of elastic.)

Also, McKenzie has played one position all season hasn't he? That you don't like his position doesn't mean he and his coaches don't. It's not like Beauden doesn't play a fair bit of fullback (and the Mo'unga fans reckon it's a plus that he can play there too -- so why is it a downside for only one player?).

Crotty can play 12 and 13 equally well so that argument is moot. Crotty weighs in the same as ALB, according to Wikipedia.

I'd have thought he weighed more tbh, glass is heavy.

@shark said in Bledisloe I:

@chester-draws said in Bledisloe I:

It's funny to see complaints about how our backline is unsettled, only to then suggest a new combination. Thereby ensuring the circus continues.

Goodhue's combination with Crotty isn't helpful because 1) the starting 2nd five is SBW when fit, 2) Crotty will just injured soon enough, and 3) the ABs play a very different pattern from the Crusaders, making provincial combinations rather less useful.

Our midfield combo is all over the show. Even if we assume that SBW and Crotty are the #1 combo when both fit, what are the chances of that actually happening for an extended period as they're both ibncreasingly probe to injury? So we have to either keep the Crusaders midfield together or re-unite Crotty and ALB. Then after a couple of games SBW comes back. At some point in the RC they may try something entirely different such as SBW and ALB or SBW and Goodhue, or they may be forced to by injury. This could easily continue into 2019 and after that SBW will be gone, as may well be Crotty also. I'm not all that confident we'll even have both at our disposal this time next year.

What gets me re the midfield is we've had two and a bit seasons since we lost Nonu and Smith, yet we still don't have a clear #1 combination that's actually sustainable, nor a clear succession plan.

sort of back to the bad old days before Nonu and Smith.

My problem with SBW and Crotty as a combo is speed. Surprisingly i would be happier with ALB to add a bit of speed. I do understand why selectors love Crotty though, he's a fucking smart player.

Shark you are bang on with your points about settling though. Deciding that the two most injury prone guys are the #1 combo is fucking dangerous. However we've seen before having your eggs in a bunch of baskets can pay off come World Cup time.

@shark said in Bledisloe I:

@nepia said in Bledisloe I:

@shark said in Bledisloe I:

@cgrant said in Bledisloe I:

@shark said in Bledisloe I:

@mariner4life said in Bledisloe I:

@shark said in Bledisloe I:

ALB is bench fodder. Don't let those late season jinking feet fool you: he isn't half the centre Goodhue is, although he would be quicker. Goodhue is the man who can put the outside backs in holes. ALB may be nippy but he's a boy trying to do a man's job.

Obvious troll is obvious. ALB is way truth and light. Feeds outsides, runs quick, tackles. Total package.

The northland kid can wait his turn until both SBW and Crotty are on the sick list. Ie next week

He's another midget Chief who doesn't know which position he is.

ALB is 1.87 m tall and weighs 103 kg. Not exactly a midget.

And on another site his stats are 1.85m and 96kg. Hardly a big guy in his position, in this day and age.

So is Crotty a Crusader midget on the @shark scale?

He's a well-proportioned 12 and an under-sized centre, for mine. But he plays above his weight at 13, and it's also mightily helpful that he's has SBW inside him (ahem) for a number of tests. Crotty and ALB together in midfield is a little small for my liking.

All good, just trying to keep up:

:winking_face:

I'm obviously on the wind-up a little bit re ALB. But I am concerned about whether we have enough punch in midfield with ALB and Crotty together. In saying that, it worked ok in 2016 in a number of tests. I'll hardly throw my toys if they're named together though.

How about ALB at 12 with Goodhue as a long-term combination? I think ALB's size and jinking feet are possibly more suited to playing one further in, and his pace also might offer a counter-point if Goodhue is in fact found to be an ponderous as several people have suggested.

@barbarian said in Bledisloe I:

@mariner4life I'm in Switzerland, no idea how I'm going to watch the game.

After the last two Sydney Bledisloe matches I've decided that I am the problem. I'm the bad luck charm, and so have taken myself as far from the ground as feasibly possible.

Antipode of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

The opposite side of the world to Sydney is Relva, Azores, Portugal.

If You're quick - there's still time