Manawatū v Canterbury
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What was Cameron thinking??? Very strange given the siren had gone a while back and we are 10 metres out. Brett we are 2-2, a bit of points For and Against help wouldn’t go astray!
Some good signs from a few of the young fellas tonight.
Anyone else feel a little sad seeing NMS out there looking a real shell of the player that made a massive impact on the highest stage. I love that he’s playing NPC and offering some valuable insight for the Turbos particularly the younger guys, but it looks a real struggle out there particularly at fullback.
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@ACT-Crusader I was thinking about him today funnily enough and how far he's fallen mainly due to injuries. He's been done for a few years now, the signs have been there since that test against South Africa in 2017 at Albany where we won 57-0. He got 2 tries that day iirc but he had lost so much pace even at that stage of his career it was sad to watch.
It's a shame really as we'all remember how damaging he was in 2015.
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@African-Monkey his fall has been rapid alright (yeah alot of injuries, but I am not sure his game was rounded enough to dominate for multiple years as some do) but I guess for him, he has alot to offer the next wave of kids, and he can dine out on 2015 where he was the premier wing in the RWC winning team
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@Chris said in Manawatū v Canterbury:
@Steven-Harris said in Manawatū v Canterbury:
@Chris that was an average play from Cameron ..
No vision Burke at 21 is miles ahead of Cameron
Wonder what effect that early AB call-up had on him?
It pinned a target on his back for every armchair critic and might have destroyed his confidence.
Have to agree - Canterbury look significantly better with Burke at 10. Pretty fair chance he'll be backing up Mo'unga for the Crusaders.
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@Chris-B said in Manawatū v Canterbury:
@Chris said in Manawatū v Canterbury:
@Steven-Harris said in Manawatū v Canterbury:
@Chris that was an average play from Cameron ..
No vision Burke at 21 is miles ahead of Cameron
Wonder what effect that early AB call-up had on him?
It pinned a target on his back for every armchair critic and might have destroyed his confidence.
Have to agree - Canterbury look significantly better with Burke at 10. Pretty fair chance he'll be backing up Mo'unga for the Crusaders.
Yep good call
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The young front rowers did well. I felt they had the ascendency most of the game and given Manawatu's starters were experienced SR props that's no mean feat. Having a tank like Romano behind them doesn't hurt either. How many of those young blokes are out of Goon HS??
Sam Darry will be a bloody imposing lock if/when he adds some bulk. He looked half a head taller than Romano, but only around half his girth!! Let's hope the Blues don't fuck that up.
The one-two punch we have with Harmon and/or Christie on is proving effective. I'm not sure we're seeing as much as we should expect from Whetu Douglas though. He had that awesome part-season in SR out of nowhere, unwanted by the Chiefs, as a drafted in replacement for Read and has never reached those same heights since. At NPC level - given he's capable of that level of form - he should dominate but he just kind of seems to be serviceable these days.
Burke has cemented that spot at 10. Cameron probably does get more grief than he deserves due to that cap and subsequent target on his back as rightly suggested above, but he's still generally ok. His biggest failing is that he's a midget and gets tossed around too easily if he's forced to go to ground with the ball. Possibly as a result he rarely takes on the line from set play. Not so bad when it's un-structured. And to his credit he has one heck of a punt, not even relative to his diminutive stature but regardless. But he might struggle now, probably well down on confidence, and we could see him drift off the scene fairly quickly from here.
Much greater endeavour from 12 out this week although Ngani Punivai seems strangely anonymous and seems to be taking a while to establish himself at 13 at this level considering he's deemed to be SR level by the Highlanders. Perhaps he just needs a solid string of games. Knewstubb though, jeez, he has a dose of Brett Cameron about him in close contact. He's a whippet but gets tossed about too easily also.
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@KiwiPie said in Manawatū v Canterbury:
@Chris He seems to take a few strides to reach full pace then he looks like a 200m runner. If they can improve his acceleration he'll be a weapon.
Good call he’s been pretty effective at FB for the very reason you mentioned .
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Another thing. Chay Fihaki looked really good last night, which is great. But it annoys the living fuck out of me that Canterbury retain Fihaki, an Auckland kid out of Sacred Heart, and allow local lad Sam Gilbert to go to Otago. Both were in NZ U20 last year, and sure, Gilbert is a 15-cum-10 who can cover wing as he did last year for Canterbury, while Fihaki is a wing-cum-centre, but they're near enough postionally that it looks like Canterbury (and the Crusaders) made a choice and the local kid lost.
