Magpies v Southland
-
Southland Stags have been named:
1 Joseph Walsh, 2. Brayden Mitchell (C). 3.Guy Millar, 4. Mike McKee, 5. Manaaki Selby-Rickit, 6. Phil Halder, 7. Tim Boys, 8. Elliot Dixon
9 Liam Howley, 10. Scott Eade, 11 Mike Molloy, 12. Matthew Johnson, 13. Neria Fomai, 14. Ryan Tongia, 15. Lewis OrmondReserves:
Flynn Thomas, Shaun Stodart, Morgan Mitchell, Tepasu Thomas, Bill Fukofuka, Greg Dyer, James Schrader, Aleki Morris -
grrrr
-
Our first Magpies team of the season:
1 Jason Long
2 Ash Dixon (c)
3 Mason Kean
4 Michael Allardice
5 Geoff Cridge
6 Marino Mikaele Tu'u
7 Tony Lamborn
8 Gareth Evans (vc)
9 Chris Eaton
10 Ihaia West
11 Mason Emerson
12 Richard Buckman
13 Cardiff Vaega*
14 Hayden Hann*
15 Tiaan FalconReserves
16 Jacob Devery*
17 Mark Braidwood
18 Pouri Rakete-Stones*
19 Nick Palmer*
20 Hugh Renton
21 Zac Donaldson*
22 Pasqualle Dunn*
23 TJ Vaega**= Magpies debut
Unavailable:
Ben May (attending his father's unveiling), Tim Farrell, Matt Gardner, Jonah Lowe, Sam McNicol, Brad Weber, Ellery Wilson (all injured)Prop Jarvy Aoake and No 8 Fa'alemiga Selesele will play for the Hawke's Bay Saracens against Poverty Bay in Gisborne on Saturday and outside back Mitch Drew for the Hawke's Bay under-19s against Manawatu at Park Island.
-
It seems to me that Evans/Mikaele Tu'u are playing in each others position, and apart from the obvious issue at halfback, this is a good a team as we can hope for with the injuries.
Good to see Hann getting a start in the 15's game, and I like Mason Kean starting.
If they sub the starting front row, it will be a pretty young front row, but at least they are locals and not imports (I consider that Braidwood has been living locally long enough now to be considered a local)
West/Buckman should be able to control the backline well, depending whether West is picking balls up from his bootlaces or over his head.
It would have been good if Fomai and Tongia could have been given contracts, instead of us importing players just for Mitre10 cup. I hope that does not come back to bite us
-
Maybe they consider Evans is quicker than Mikaele-Tu'u? Or just more experienced - which he certainly is.
-
@Number-10 said in Magpies v Southland:
Maybe they consider Evans is quicker than Mikaele-Tu'u? Or just more experienced - which he certainly is.
I'm sure his both considering Mikaele-Tu'u's size, but I'm still a bit old'school I guess - I think that size is more important for an 8 than speed
-
My calculations make the average age of the starting team just under 25, and the subs average at 22.5. Exciting to have so many young players
-
Southland also have a halback injury problem. Liam Howley has withdrawn with an ankle injury and has been replaced by 19-year-old Jay Renton.
-
Damn, I thought Eaton was injured ....
-
Fuck, I hope Fomai is ok, looks really bad
-
Good speed from Emerson to chase down Tongia
-
TJ Vaega has been pretty shit so far
-
@Stockcar86 TJ or Cardiff?
-
@Tim said in Magpies v Southland:
@Stockcar86 TJ or Cardiff?
Either one, they're not as good as their old man To'o was.
-
Halftime Falcon to 12 and Buckman to 15 I hope
-
What a shitty first half by HB. Lamborn, Evans and Emerson all off injured. and Eaton still unhurt:(
-
Feels like a continuation of last year...
-
This is supposed to be the easiest game of the year
-
Did I just see Dougie on the sidelines with a top knot?
-
Bullshit yellow. At least the ref could have asked for that replay at real speed
-
Ugly win for the home team, but I will take it. Southland out boganed us through with Tim Boys over Richard Buckman
-
Man of the match for me would be Ihaia West. Despite the yellow, was really impressed by Cridge - he could be a good loosey if the Evans/Lamborn injuries keep them out for a few weeks.
It would be been good to give Donaldson a few minutes at the end for some experience
-
This sums it up for me:
terrible line-outs;
bad scrums, especially in the first half;
Falcon is not a fullback and was lucky to have his try awarded (you need luck sometimes, I'll take it
);
bad discipline;
bullshit yellow card;
Mikaele-Tu'u is awesome, but should play at no. 8;
Cridge looks very promising;
TJ Vaega can't catch balls, but can score tries;
Eaton did a good job (he's the best we got as long as Weber and Wilson are out, so I don't understand the comments before the game);
Buckman, what can't he do?; and
West had a good game (good breaks, good kicking game, 100% goal kicking).Tony Lamborn's injury looked bad (broken arm?), so don't expect him back any time soon. I hope Evans' injury is less serious, because we really need him with Lamborn already out. Selesele will be back next week, I guess. Not sure how bad Emerson's injury was; I really would like to know where McNicol is at. We need him dammit.
-
@Stockcar86 Did Donaldson come on at all? Can't remember seeing him on the field.
-
@Stargazer said in Magpies v Southland:
@Stockcar86 Did Donaldson come on at all? Can't remember seeing him on the field.
No Eaton played the full 80
-
What the hey, we've won a match. First half was awful though, awful!
Renton looked good when he came on. Least he's a ready made starter for the next match. Cridge looked good too, stupid penalty aside. These two might actually live up to the hype.
We could do with Zac, who's looking busy in the Waikato v Naki match.
Eaton didn't do a good job ... his pass is as slow as ever, he still can't pass off his wrong hand (how do you play 1st class rugby as a 9 for this long without being able to pass both ways????) and his decision making is shit.
-
Speaking of not seeing someone on the field, there was no-one more anonymous out there than Allardice. Not what I would expect of a Super player
-
@Stockcar86 He was the one responsible for the line-out calls. The line-outs were terrible and it wasn't due to Dixon's throws. I've never seen so many mistimed lifts as in this game.
-
-
Was at the game. First half was diabolical, was lucky to score the three points they did get. Second half a big improvement.
One thing very noticeable was the line speed of defence - Southland's was noticeably quicker than HB.
Also, how many tackles did Cardiff Vaega miss?
Chris Eaton and Ash Dixon both played the whole 80 which meant Zac Donaldson and Jacob Devery did not take the field.
I agree about Eaton's passing, Nepia, but I thought his runs were good and kept Southland guessing.
There was only the one high kick caught at the back wasn't there?
Brendon Edmonds and Andrew Horrell were both helping with the warmup drills before the game.
Good to win, but that was not the performance of a team that is in serious contention to win the Championship.
-
-
@Number-10 said in Magpies v Southland:
Was at the game. First half was diabolical, was lucky to score the three points they did get. Second half a big improvement.
Also, how many tackles did Cardiff Vaega miss?
He made four and missed four. The worst of all players on the field.
The best Magpies tacklers:
Cridge made 9 and missed one (the same as Tim Boys for Southland)
Mikaele-Tu'u made 8 and missed one
Eaton made 7 and missed twoTotal of 90 tackles and 23 missed tackles.
Stags: 96 tackles and 22 missed tackles. -
Also I noted in the match programme that in the 23 jersey To'o Vaega and Sam McNicol were both bracketed, but Vaega it was who took the field.
Which suggests Sam McNicol can't be too far away?
-
-
Who awards those points? And which game were they watching? The game against Wellington in the rain all those years ago?
-
In today's HBT, Philpott is quoted as saying that Brad Weber might be available for Friday's game v BOP.
That's great news, but the article also includes this info:Philpott's biggest concern after the match was his lengthy injury list. Winger Mason Emerson collected an ankle sprain in the 11th minute and could be unavailable for six weeks, flanker Tony Lamborn could also be sidelined for six weeks with a shoulder injury collected in the 24th minute and a decision on No 8 Gareth Evans availability for the Rotorua trip will be made later today after he left the field with a thigh injury in the 35th minute.
