Reds v Blues
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@Duluth said in Reds v Blues:
Choat & Akira got through some good work on defence
Thought Akira was outstanding on the tryline. Not just big hits but picked his timing to perfection.
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@antipodean said in Reds v Blues:
@KiwiMurph said in Reds v Blues:
Best game Nock has played for ages. Good stuff.
Good decision making, fast and accurate pass. Best Blues #9 performance this year IMO.
My only complaint (and it's a modern 9 issue aside from Smith) is not firing the ball out quickly from rucks. Not pass speed, but getting the ball off the ground and in the air. So many 9s seem to want to wait for the defence to get set and ready to tackle ... it's weird.
Minor quibble in teh scheme of things, and probably a coaching/gameplan related issue, but I don't love it -
@nzzp said in Reds v Blues:
@antipodean said in Reds v Blues:
@KiwiMurph said in Reds v Blues:
Best game Nock has played for ages. Good stuff.
Good decision making, fast and accurate pass. Best Blues #9 performance this year IMO.
My only complaint (and it's a modern 9 issue aside from Smith) is not firing the ball out quickly from rucks. Not pass speed, but getting the ball off the ground and in the air. So many 9s seem to want to wait for the defence to get set and ready to tackle ... it's weird.
Minor quibble in teh scheme of things, and probably a coaching/gameplan related issue, but I don't love itAlso need you offensive line ready for the quicker ball too -- running the lines, hitting the holes for the likes of Smith to put it there... but agree a bit more urgency to getting the ball off the ground and in the air really puts the pressure on to the defensive team and certainly creates more opportunities for the attacking team.
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@kev said in Reds v Blues:
@Dan54 said in Reds v Blues:
Am I wrong, or did we see that Rangi has team playing a little different at end of season. Almost looked like they have decided it is onto ball in hand.
BB running ball in first half. Unheard of.
What I meant, I did wonder if they were playing the kicking game under instructions, and now mixing it up?
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@nzzp Nock has always had the tools, particularly his pass, and IMO he is second to Smith in being able to hit players in traffic....its other parts of his game that are the issue, not to mention when he has a good game, backing it up the next week.
Man Heem looks sharp, certainly wouldn't look out of place wearing black.
Good to see BB running more though, that's always been where his strength is, even if he has lost a yard of pace.
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@taniwharugby said in Reds v Blues:
@nzzp Nock has always had the tools, particularly his pass,
I agree - but haven't seen it for a while. I really wanted him to succeed, but he has not delivered to his potential in the last couple of years. Last night was a breath of fresh air by comparison.
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@nzzp said in Reds v Blues:
@antipodean said in Reds v Blues:
@KiwiMurph said in Reds v Blues:
Best game Nock has played for ages. Good stuff.
Good decision making, fast and accurate pass. Best Blues #9 performance this year IMO.
My only complaint (and it's a modern 9 issue aside from Smith) is not firing the ball out quickly from rucks. Not pass speed, but getting the ball off the ground and in the air. So many 9s seem to want to wait for the defence to get set and ready to tackle ... it's weird.
Minor quibble in teh scheme of things, and probably a coaching/gameplan related issue, but I don't love itYeah not the 9's fault generally. Don't wanna be hitting runners that are just gonna get isolated and turn it over because there's no one to clean.
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@Bones said in Reds v Blues:
@nzzp said in Reds v Blues:
@antipodean said in Reds v Blues:
@KiwiMurph said in Reds v Blues:
Best game Nock has played for ages. Good stuff.
Good decision making, fast and accurate pass. Best Blues #9 performance this year IMO.
My only complaint (and it's a modern 9 issue aside from Smith) is not firing the ball out quickly from rucks. Not pass speed, but getting the ball off the ground and in the air. So many 9s seem to want to wait for the defence to get set and ready to tackle ... it's weird.
Minor quibble in teh scheme of things, and probably a coaching/gameplan related issue, but I don't love itYeah not the 9's fault generally. Don't wanna be hitting runners that are just gonna get isolated and turn it over because there's no one to clean.
There's two ways of looking at it though - if it's fast ball, teh defence isn't set and coming forwqrd to hit hard. So continuous fast ball (like Smith does) puts defences in real strife, and gets runners metres. It's not without risk though as you say - but I far prefer fast ball against a defence that retreats, than static ball.
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@taniwharugby said in Reds v Blues:
Nock has always had the tools, particularly his pass, and IMO he is second to Smith in being able to hit players in traffic....its other parts of his game that are the issue, not to mention when he has a good game, backing it up the next week.
Decision making is what normally lets him down. That was his best game in a couple of years
An interesting stat from the match. Nock made zero runs. Maybe that was instructions from the coaches? I suspect it was because of the terrible Reds line speed. A lot of the bad runs from halfback are when there’s a lack of options outside
Some quick calling from people like Barrett and Plummer may have helped too
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@taniwharugby said in Reds v Blues:
Man Heem looks sharp, certainly wouldn't look out of place wearing black.
An injury or two away from squeezing in as a specialist sub. The NZ XV selection shows he is closer that most of us thought last year
The advantage he has over other centre/wings is his lower error rate and ability to play 12
He'd be useful in a RWC squad when the inevitable injuries hit
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I was at the game last night at Suncorp and got to hang with some of the Blues post-match via a mutual friend. Great bunch and really focused on making this game the momentum builder into finals.
It wasn’t a vintage performance but I’ll take the win. The Blues looked the much stronger team ie, contact area, scrum but we couldn’t breakdown the Reds in 1st half.
Heem looked better than Rieko has all year TBH. Not saying he should replace him but damn I wish we could find a spot for him in the backline. Lam was good until he went off, beat the highly touted Vunivalu all ends up on one occasion. Vunivalu looked awful, like it was his first game of union.
Akira has bounced back well from injury and was busy around the park, really impressive in close and defended well. Choat like Heem needs to be in the lineup somewhere.
Nock hasn’t seen much action but he was good, clearing and defending well.
Nepo..I’m not sure what he offers atm. Renata is scrummaging well and is light years ahead around the park. Maybe it’s a form thing but he is not playing well and I’ wouldn’t be surprised if Tamaiti Williams has leapfrogged him.
All in all a 7/10 for Blues. Did enough to win but bonus point or lack thereof is a prob.
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Forgot to mention Telea. Is there a harder player to get a good hit on? Plus man he’s busy, constantly running. Would love to see his stats on how much ground he covers.
Only problem is teams have worked out one of his weaknesses which is he can get caught upright and turned over after maul goes to ground. I was chatting with Reds halfback this morning at our local school game and he said it was a deliberate tactic Reds have been targeting and they did it twice last night, almost caught him another two times.
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Blues player ratings vs Reds | Super Rugby Pacific
The Blues returned to winning ways on Friday night, but it may have come at a cost with star playmaker Beauden Barrett limping off the field early in the second half.
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'Couldn't get his boot on': Blues coach gives update on Barrett injury
Star first-five hobbled off early in the second half of Blues' clash against Reds
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Lam should be starting ahead of Clarke.
