Nathan Stephens is in his first year out of Hamilton BHS. He is likely to be covering for David Lewai.
@bovidae I wish the Taniwha were brave enough to promote younger players , I look at Charlie Sinton who played for Bop last year and Mika Muliaina who turned out for Southland and I think it’s more than possible
There’s probably others that have escaped my mind
We are so bloody conservative there’s no promotion relegation the worst case scenario you finish bottom of the table the upside is your not forking out on a high end salary at least for the first couple of years before the player either cuts it or not full credit to Waikato for this initiative
@steven-harris It's one of the reasons I like the NPC, as I've seen so many of these players since their time in 1st XV rugby.
Steamers pack looks pretty solid with the core of the group from the last few seasons. Missing some star power in the backline with 3 in the AB squad and Kele Lasaga injured.
@steven-harris said in Waikato v Bay of Plenty:
@kiwipie I have seen some video clips of the lad Tamiro Armstrong playing club footy looks strong and elusive
Any background on him ?
It's always hard to get info as we all know but from piecing together stuff online, he first played for us in 2023 and then it looks like he had 2024 without rugby due to a concussion(?) and then was back in 2025, mainly on the bench. Paul and Armstrong as a combo could be really good but raw
We have a pretty good run-on team. The scrum performed well against Auckland last week and the lineout also (Ah Kuoi was exceptional) but we could possibly be out played in the loose forwards. The backs are pretty solid and I'm hoping Joe Webber will, in the absence of Narawa and Carter, be our weapon. He is deceptively fast and elusive but needs to be given space and freedom.
The real concerns are the impact players and I hope injuries don't have a part in our season. Sione Tupou had troubles last week throwing the ball in. Toby Taylor looks pretty raw but was quite mobile. Solomone Tukuafu scrumed pretty well but appeared to be carrying a bit of weight and slowed down noticably as the game progressed. Reuben Palmer hasn't had much exposure at this level so hopefully will develop with more game time. Riley Hohepa has been around a while with stints in the Hurricanes and Crusaders so has plenty of experience but I thought was outshon by Cashmore last week. Jason Robertson is a bundle of energy but is small.
The BOP Union has bought in a few club players to the squad who aren't playing tonight so it will be interesting to see how much game time they get over the season and how they develop. One to look out for was Hunter Weaver who played last week but I don't think is officially in the squad.
I'm looking forward to tonights game. Surprisingly the TAB has us as favourites.
@higgins said in Waikato v Bay of Plenty:
What's with The Steamers wearing all white socks? Looks like a sign of surrender.
So does the tackling