@donsteppa said in Steamers 2018:

It's a shame Parete is showing up as Taranaki, he has a lot of promise.

It was always likely to happen - he only came to us because he couldn't get a sniff in the Naki. Getting Super game time means he'll be in demand

@donsteppa said in TSF Super Rugby Tipping 2018 http://bit.do/tsf18:

@kiwipie said in TSF Super Rugby Tipping 2018 http://bit.do/tsf18:

@dogmeat Awesome statting DM. Good to see there are still 8 ever presents but quite a few who have entered more than a few.

To be honest the BOP Chiefs were a bit disappointed in Donsteppa this season with his huge reputation. He needs to realise that it is performance that will keep him in the team and not just reputation. He's still better than Sportboy though ....

It's curious to hear a captain talking about retention standards while Sportboy is a life member.

He has information about me so I have to select him

Better post some thoughts before this is ancient history

As a lover of quizzes, this was a great final for potential quiz questions.

Scorer of a goal at both ends.
Score a goal and give away a handball penalty
VAR decision in a final

Slightly chaotic game which didn't really have a pattern. Croatia were excellent in the first half, bullied France off the ball and created most of the chances. To go in 2-1 down was a little cruel although at that point you still thought they could come back.

Pogba's goal was illuminated by his pass that set Mbappe away, it was a cracker. Mbappe's goal was a lot down to the excellent Hernandez.

Was Subasic still struggling with the injury he picked up in the quarter-final? The 3 goals that went to his right hand he didn't dive for and none of them looked beyond his reach, they weren't going into the corner.

France were deserved winners though, their combination of flair and pragmatism was just what is required to win a competition where you can't afford a bad day in the knockout stages. With most of the first team relatively young and with so much talent floating around in their 2nd, 3rd and 4th teams they could become a dynasty. And Deschamps deserves a lot of credit - it isn't easy to take a team with abundant talent and make them winners.

@dogmeat Awesome statting DM. Good to see there are still 8 ever presents but quite a few who have entered more than a few.

To be honest the BOP Chiefs were a bit disappointed in Donsteppa this season with his huge reputation. He needs to realise that it is performance that will keep him in the team and not just reputation. He's still better than Sportboy though ....

@taniwharugby said in TSF Super Rugby Tipping 2018 http://bit.do/tsf18:

@dogmeat NPC is waaaaayyyy harder to guess tip!

Right now I'm enthusiastic to run an NPC tipping comp this season after taking a break last time. As long as people keep on tipping, I'll keep running it - may need to acquire some new blood when you scan down the names who are no longer involved.

And the results are in and processed.

Canes Black take the title - well done team, Hydro11 and Hurrycanes the consistent performers to bring them the title. Unlucky Blues B, after 7 seasons of finishing 6th or lower.

Hydro11 takes the individual title but by just 3 points from Winger who had a late surge but it wasn't quite enough. Hydro has been 1st, 2nd, 1st in the past 3 seasons so maybe he knows what he's doing.

The Sequel Cup is shared by Hydro and Richie, they could not be separated with 39 each.

Everything on the website is updated

Final Hurricanes Black 44 - 38 Blues B
3rd Barbarians 46 - 41 BOP Chiefs
Plate Hurricanes Gold 42 - 39 SunJags
7th Blues A 27 - 33 South Island

Final Hurricanes Black 87 - 79 Blues B
3rd Barbarians 89 - 85 BOP Chiefs
Plate Hurricanes Gold 83 - 65 SunJags
7th Blues A 61 - 62 South Island

Hydro11 39 v 39 Richie

Broughie 51
Victor 51
Smudge 50
Langakali 49
Paj 49
Cactus Jack 49
Winger 47
Higgins 46
Plastered Peni 46
Buck 46
Virgil 44
Dogmeat 44
Stockcar86 44
Unite 44
Waynes World 44
No Quarter 44
Hooroo 42
Mikedogz 42
GT12 42
Hurrycanes 41
Triple T 41
Joan and Mary 41
Hydro11 39
KP 39
Barbarian 39
Richie 39
Corkscrew 39
Donsteppa 37
Sportboy 37
Bruce Kenyon 36
DK 32
TaniwhaRugby 31
Gunner 31
Pauncefote 31
ACT Crusader 31
FarNthHayden 30
Bones 29
Crucial 29
Rico#1 27
Phooey 25
Antipodean 20
JK 20
Justin77 20
Skudderstep 20
Fiamacho 20
Tim 20
KiwiMurph 20
Handsome Ray 20

Ardron has looked like a different player for the Chiefs (dynamic) than for the Steamers (mundane)

Terrible by Lukaku to let the ball run off his foot not once but twice. He has looked out of sorts in the past 2 games although I've always had a suspicion that he's a bit of a flat track bully.

And replacing Walker with Jones is hardly like for like.

@snollygoster I don't have as much insight as you so I cannot comment on who's being picked - but appreciate you laying that squad out.

With comparative riches in the loose forwards and the dearth of experienced locks, what about moving Ardron there permanently - he's certainly done a job for the Chiefs and his mobility will be handy.

As it's the last week I'll post an interim update

Top 10 overall
Hydro11 651
Winger 638
Broughie 629
Hurrycanes 619
Virgil 614
TaniwhaRugby 611
Higgins 609
KP 601
Bruce Kenyon 597
Langakali 596

Hurricanes Black 11 - 12 Blues B (Canes Black lead by 1)
Barbarians 11 - 14 BOP Chiefs (BOP Chiefs lead by 4)
Hurricanes Gold 11 - 10 SunJags (Canes Gold lead by 16)
Blues A 4 - 6 South Island (Blues A lead by 3)

Hydro11 12 v 7 Richie