Counties Manukau v Magpies
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Magpies
1 Jason Long
2 Ash Dixon (c)
3 Pouri Rakete-Stones
4 Nick Palmer
5 Geoff Cridge
6 Tony Lamborn
7 Hugh Renton
8 Marino Mikaele-Tu'u
9 Brad Weber (vc)
10 Tiaan Falcon
11 Mason Emerson
12 Richard Buckman
13 Jonah Lowe
14 Hayden Hann
15 Ihaia WestReserves
16 Jacob Devery
17 Tim Farrell
18 Jarvy Aoake
19 Josh Eden-Whaitiri
20 Fa'alemiga Selesele
21 Ellery Wilson
22 Cardiff Vaega
23 TJ Vaega -
Good to see that Dixon, Emerson and West are back in the squad and that Lamborn is fit, too.
Will be interesting to see how Farrell copes with playing at this level, once he makes his debut off the bench.Finally, also the right midfield combination of Buckman and Lowe. I hope this works a lot better. Also glad they've decided to play West at fullback and keep Falcon at 10.
I have no illusions about how hard this game will be (although Counties aren't playing great either), but am a lot more positive with players returning from injury and a better midfield combo. Now hoping that all is good between the ears, too.
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@Stargazer Going down to Pukekohe to have a bo-peep,side looks the strongest the Magpies have put out on paper at least this year..
Not to sure what to Expect,both teams will be a little dark based on their last performances.. -
@Steven-Harris Yes, on paper this side looks good. Still missing important players in Allardice, Evans, McNicol and May though, and such a young squad. They need to play well to get some self-confidence.
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@Stargazer that's a fair point,just getting out of that losing habit is tough in itself,hoping the confidence is not too dented,
Really good that Tiaan Falcon has been reinstated to first five just for his confidence alone.
I suspect Counties Manukau are in a similar boat,quite frankly given their roster they had on the field against the Cantabs,the performance they dished up was woeful..Even Maggies kept trying against Otago..!
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@Steven-Harris said in Counties Manukau v Magpies:
@Stargazer Going down to Pukekohe to have a bo-peep,side looks the strongest the Magpies have put out on paper at least this year..
Not to sure what to Expect,both teams will be a little dark based on their last performances..I'm hoping to be at the game too, work permitting
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Counties
1 Pauliasi Manu, 2. Joe Royal, 3. Coree Te Whata-Colley, 4. Ronald Raaymakers, 5. Jimmy Tupou ©, 6. Johnathan Kawau, 7. Fotu Lokotui, 8. Sam Henwood;
9 Augustine Pulu ©,10. Baden Kerr, 11.Tevita Nabura, 12. Orbyn Leger, 13. Sam Furniss, 14. Nigel Ah Wong, 15. Tim Nanai-Williams.Reserves:
16 Gafatasi Su'a, 17. Sean Bagshaw, 18. Kalolo Tuiloma, 19. Viliame Rarasea 20. Leroy Jack, 21. Jonathan Taumateine, 22. Albert Nikoro, 23. Luteru Laulala.Not considered because of injury: Stephen Donald, Glen Fisi’iahi, and Mat Vaai.
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Work intervened so I couldn't make it to the game. After 8 minutes it's a cripple fight
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15 minutes, still keystone cops play by both sides
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@Stockcar86 said in Counties Manukau v Magpies:
Work intervened so I couldn't make it to the game. After 8 minutes it's a cripple fight
But not intervening too much to stop you watching it I notice.
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@Higgins said in Counties Manukau v Magpies:
@Stockcar86 said in Counties Manukau v Magpies:
Work intervened so I couldn't make it to the game. After 8 minutes it's a cripple fight
But not intervening too much to stop you watching it I notice.
Yes, but I don't have 2 hours to spare to drive to the game and back.
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Half time Hawkes Bay lead 7-7 (away tries break the tie-breaker)
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Buckman, Lowe and Nanai-Williams looking like the only players of class out there
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Man, that was so frustrating to watch, again. Basic skills totally lacking. I thought Jonah Lowe was outstanding; he's like a predator on the field, waiting to strike whenever he gets the chance. Ihaia West was good, too; but the rest? Butterfingers.
One thing I noticed, since Tim Farrell came on, the scrum didn't go backwards anymore. Coincidence, or is this lad really strong?
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Still no evidence of them playing as a team. Just having a few players having good games won't help them win anything. Taranaki-Harbour-Northland looking like a hard slog
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@Stockcar86 said in Counties Manukau v Magpies:
Still no evidence of them playing as a team. Just having a few players having good games won't help them win anything. Taranaki-Harbour-Northland looking like a hard slog
I assume part of the reason is that - due to injuries - they have not been able to field the same team every game. Players playing out of position is another one. It would be great if they can now persist with today's line-up (injuries permitting), but even then, you're right about the remaining games; they are going to be very difficult.
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Just got in from today's Magpies game,my first impressions were,the level of play mirrored where both teams are sitting on their respective tables..Mistakes for Africa..!
Being at the ground,what was noticeable,you would have almost thought some of the backs had met in the car park before the game.
The ball just seemed to go through the hands,without anyone straightening the line.Jonah Lowe looked very dangerous,but needed Buckman to run hard at the line a couple of times to keep CMs drifting outsides guessing..would have been good to see the ball also in the hands of Mason Emerson with space.
I thought the pack did reasonably well against a big physical Counties pack,Cridge was good at lineout time,a bit upright in contact..apart from the odd creaky scrum,in the main they did well,there were a lot of scrum penalties conceded by Counties on the tight head side
There was a good battle on the tight head side,Pauliasi Manu the loosehead Counties and Pouri Rakete Stones,Manu is a very shrewd,experienced and powerful operator,and I thought the young fella at 20 years old did well.
I was disappointed with Brad Weber,we all know how good he can be,just wondering if he is trying too hard,and what was noticeable on at least 2-3 occasions his optionn taking left a bit to be desired.
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@Steven-Harris Thanks for your impressions of the game. Always good to hear from someone who was at the ground!
Despite our terrible season, and the high error rate in games, I think some of our young players are coping reasonably well, all things considered. Just out of interest, I looked up the age of the players in today's line-up:
1 Jason Long (25)
2 Ash Dixon (c) (29)
3 Pouri Rakete-Stones (20)
4 Nick Palmer (25)
5 Geoff Cridge (22)
6 Tony Lamborn (26)
7 Hugh Renton (21)
8 Marino Mikaele-Tu'u (19)
9 Brad Weber (vc) (26)
10 Tiaan Falcon (20)
11 Mason Emerson (21)
12 Richard Buckman (28)
13 Jonah Lowe (21)
14 TJ Vaega (20)
15 Ihaia West (25)
16 Jacob Devery (18 or 19)
17 Tim Farrell (19)
18 Jarvy Aoake (29)
19 Josh Eden-Whaitiri (27?)
20 Fa'alemiga Selesele (28)
21 Ellery Wilson (27)
22 Pasqualle Dunn (23)
23 Cardiff Vaega (25)Rakete-Stones & Mikaele-Tu'u were never meant to start every game, but they do because of injuries to Ben May and Gareth Evans. Three of our six frontrowers are 19-20 years old. Our reserve lock isn't a squad member but a member of our development team. Two of our four loosies are 19 and 21 years old. Of our starting backs, four players (10, 11, 13 and 14) are 20 or 21 years old.
We're having a frustratingly bad season, but looking at the age of many of these players, you could see this as a development year for those players. It's a pity though, that some of the senior players they are supposed to learn from are either injured (May, Allardice, Evans) or have just returned from injury after a long injury break (particularly Weber). Some of these young players also have themselves struggled with injury (Cridge, Farrell & Emerson in particular). All these losses are also bad for self-confidence; while some losses can teach valuable lessons, you don't want these young bucks starting their rugby career without wins either. For the players who debuted last year (Mikaele-Tu'u, Emerson, Lowe and Falcon), it has been two bad seasons already.
It would be nice if we could have at least one more win this season, but I doubt it will happen. Even the Turbos are playing better than us
