2018 AB Depth Chart
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@cgrant Having seen plenty of Weber play for both the Chiefs and Waikato he does have some faults, namely erratic passing. I am just saying that he should start as the no.1 halfback next season.
Christie impressed me in the Chiefs-Lions game and his passing was very good last week as well. I'm not too sure about his kicking. Although he was born in Scotland he moved to NZ when he was 7.
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@cgrant said in 2018 AB Depth Chart:
I'll go with :
- Smith
- TJP
- Christie
- Pulu
- Weber
The other nines are nowhere near an AB jersey.
Enari and Parapara are the ones who will get under scrutiny next year.Well, Billy Guyton was preferred to Christie for the Mako$ last year, so probably he should slot in third on the list.
Maybe he's even better than Perenara?
@Tim?
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A lot of love for Christie on here based on a couple of showings. Earlier in the season he looked very ordinary. I'd wait to see a string of good performances before getting too excited. He has certainly shown that he can be good but has also shown he can be poor.
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@mariner4life said in 2018 AB Depth Chart:
given recent history, look for people debuting this year in Super rugby.
Figured I'd scroll through this thread, after the recent squad naming.
A few interesting pieces, but m4l's one of the standouts. -
Random thought. With 51 in EOYT squad, and a few others who've trained or better with ABs -- Aukira/Taufua/Frizzell/JTA/Cane, etc., nearly 30% of the 2019 Super squads have been through the AB system this year. Talk about not leaving any stones unturned!!
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Has the situation really evolved since June 2017 when this thread was started ?
There is now an incredible depth as far as props are concerned, even with the likes of Hames, Moli, Fidow and Ross out of contention. There are four new All Blacks : Perry, Tu'inukuafe, Ta'avao and Lomax.
For the half-backs, the pecking order is now firmly established behind AS and TJP : TTT and Drummond.
But depth at hooker and Nr.8 are still a concern despite Coles' return from injury. There is no established midfield though the depth is not a problem here. There is still not a world class replacement for Jerome Kaino and no one seems to be lurking around. Squire is an adequate replacement but does not set the world on fire, while Frizell and Fifita haven't been convincing. Maybe Hemopo could be the best answer at Nr.6.
The depth on the right wing is a concern too. -
@cgrant I'm not convinced that Drummond is clearly ahead of Hall, though if we were making the list right now he would certainly slot in above. But that selection in Japan could easily have been simply because he has an established combination with both Mo'unga and Cameron.
Hall was clearly ahead this year at the Crusaders - though Drummie probably had a better NPC.
Squire is pretty clearly the man they want to play at 6 through the RWC. Fifita is the other 6 they've taken to Europe, but that's apparently because Frizell is injured. For a rookie, I think Frizell has done OK - he was very good against the Argies in Nelson. The wildcard might be Jordan Taufua, who of course hasn't managed to get on the field, but has been picked.
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@chris-b said in 2018 AB Depth Chart:
Squire is pretty clearly the man they want to play at 6 through the RWC. Fifita is the other 6 they've taken to Europe, but that's apparently because Frizell is injured. For a rookie, I think Frizell has done OK - he was very good against the Argies in Nelson. The wildcard might be Jordan Taufua, who of course hasn't managed to get on the field, but has been picked.
I'm happy enough with Squire, as he provides what they want from their no.6, particularly as Read's role has changed (playing much tighter now).
S Barrett has also been used a bit at blindside so you could see him replacing Squire off the bench more often, once the BBBR/Whitelock combo is back together again.
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@chris-b said in 2018 AB Depth Chart:
Hall was clearly ahead this year at the Crusaders - though Drummie probably had a better NPC.
TTT didn't start generally for the Chiefs. I don't think that means the selectors should have gone for Weber though.
But that selection in Japan could easily have been simply because he has an established combination with both Mo'unga and Cameron.
Are you suggesting that Hall's combination with Mo'unga is not relevant, but that Drummond's is? Because that would be bizarre.
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@chester-draws Hall doesn't really have a combination with Cameron, though. Where Drummond played the whole M10 Cup with him.
What I'm mainly suggesting is that if Mo'unga had been injured in the first five minutes, then Drummond was a better option to have on the bench due that established combination.
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Shit, I hope the AB selectors never pick on that basis.
Imagine missing out on an All Black jersey because a complete newbie, who might never see black again, has a season's connection with your competition! That would be beyond shit.
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@chester-draws I've worked it out!! Akira will only get picked if the other 7 guys in the akld or blues pack are selected... oh plus the 9 as well!!
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@chester-draws Well, not if there's a huge difference between players - but when it's close, then I think it's pretty sensible.
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@paekakboyz said in 2018 AB Depth Chart:
@chester-draws I've worked it out!! Akira will only get picked if the other 7 guys in the akld or blues pack are selected... oh plus the 9 as well!!
Worked for Sam Broomhall!
