Auckland vs. North Harbour - The Battle of the Bridge
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@nepia said in Auckland vs. North Harbour - The Battle of the Bridge:
@canes4life Is it a surprise call up as the writer states if we're all predicting it?
Also, he's going to confuse the fudge out of the NH scribes, they'll be sharpening their pens for some poaching fun then they'll take a look at him and see that he doesn't quite look like the profile.
Also also, where does this leave, love of some on the Fern, Blake Gibson - he might not be able to get a start with the Blues next year.
Dalton is a better six than seven, so we can play both.
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@sparky said in Auckland vs. North Harbour - The Battle of the Bridge:
Dalton Papali'i has come on leaps and bounds during this Mitre 10 campaign. It was a master stroke to get Ted out of retirement and working again with talented youngsters.
I give a lot of credit to Filo Tiatia. It’s fascinating watching so many players from the Blues so much better under these coaches.
Such a shame the Blues board didn’t get rolled before Tana got the pointless one year extension (dead man walking). Changing the coaches can have an immediate positive impact.
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@kiwimurph said in Auckland vs. North Harbour - The Battle of the Bridge:
That bloke playing 8 for Auckland is pretty good too...
Wouldn’t look out of place in a black Maori jersey
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@nepia said in Auckland vs. North Harbour - The Battle of the Bridge:
Also, he's going to confuse the fudge out of the NH scribes, they'll be sharpening their pens for some poaching fun then they'll take a look at him and see that he doesn't quite look like the profile.
Yeah, I immediately imagined in my mind - Stephen Jones spending a few hours writing a scathing piece, then sending it in, attaching a note suggesting the editor to search for a photo of the player in question to attach to the piece... and getting the phone call soon after... "Ah, Stephen... "
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@sparky Papali'i was off for the last 10 as well.
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@african-monkey said in Auckland vs. North Harbour - The Battle of the Bridge:
Papali'i was off for the last 10 as well.
only made 1 tackle after he came back on though wasnt it, in the 82nd minute or so...slacker.
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@sparky said in Auckland vs. North Harbour - The Battle of the Bridge:
Dalton Papali'i made 23 tackles and 47 metres with the ball in hand in this game. Dillon Hunt made 12 tackles, missed 4 and made just 6 metres.
And one of those missed tackles was on an off balanced Akira, and cost his side a try.
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@kirwan said in Auckland vs. North Harbour - The Battle of the Bridge:
I give a lot of credit to Filo Tiatia. It’s fascinating watching so many players from the Blues so much better under these coaches.
Such a shame the Blues board didn’t get rolled before Tana got the pointless one year extension (dead man walking). Changing the coaches can have an immediate positive impact.
The last time Auckland had a home semi final was 2015 - the year before Nick White took over. The coach after Nick White also gets a home semi final
Not to shit on White too much, he's a very good scrum coach and maybe he'll be a head coach in the future.
(I suspect Geoff Moon was meant to hand hold White, but MAGs success in 2016 took him away from the Auckland team.. then the team got into a death spiral) -
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@duluth said in Auckland vs. North Harbour - The Battle of the Bridge:
10 games 46 points
That's the highest regular season total in the first division under this structure (since 2011)
The previous best was Canterbury with 43 points in 2015
So pretty much any other year Ta$man's 43 points would have topped the log.
Fucking Sir Ted! I hope his fucking Waiheke lawn is overgrown and the petrol has gone off in his mower!
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@chris-b said in Auckland vs. North Harbour - The Battle of the Bridge:
Fucking Sir Ted! I hope his fucking Waiheke lawn is overgrown and the petrol has gone off in his mower!
I think that coaching in the M10 now is probably closer to coaching schoolboys than fully professional players. I think this is where Ted's capability shines.
I was so stoked to see Auckland play some territory game with the wind yesterday - it is unusual to see rugby tactics changing substantively based on weather conditions. Which makes my head explode.
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@tim Ta$man did didn't they?
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@african-monkey Yep, they did. Don't think anyone did last year?
Remember hearing Nigel Yelden talk about it early this year.
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Sweet win, especially after last season. It's good to see us get a convincing win against a decent team going into the playoffs.
Loved seeing Papali'i thoroughly outplay Hunt, especially after Parsons saying earlier in the week that Hunt has been the best openside in the Mitre 10 Cup
. He put on a masterclass yesterday and definitely deserved his AB call-up.Faiane set the tone for us in that first half. That clean out to spring the Ruru try was beautiful. At the game you could see him barking at the forwards to get in there, but decided he had to do it himself. Needs to retain captaincy next season even if Gibson is healthy.
Usually this isn't funny, but Parsons giving a familiar losing interview at Eden Park made me laugh.
