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    Which player was missed most during this EOYT ?

    Sports Talk
    allblacks
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    • C
      cgrant last edited by Duluth

      Ben Smith, Israel Dagg, Nehe Milner Skudder, Jordie Barrett, Brodie Retallick, Owen Franks or Joe Moody ? I would be tempted to add Kieran Read to this list because he missed the games against Scotland and Wales.
      For me, it was Ben Smith because he is always making the right choice, has the ability to break the line at will and brings safety under the high balls. Without him, the AB back play was in trouble.
      The second most missed player IMO was BBBR for he his the best lock in the world and an important part of the AB structure. Neither of his replacements was up to the standard. Romano fared OK but he is not BBBR.

      A booboo 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • No Quarter
        No Quarter last edited by

        Hands down BBBR. Thread complete.

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 9
        • A
          ARHS @cgrant last edited by

          @cgrant

          I disagree. Our back 3 constantly posed a threat to all opponents in the absence of Ben Smith. We hardly shelled a lot of points through his absence either. I don't think Jordie Barrett, Israel Dagg or Nehe Milner-Skudder would have made any difference at all.

          What was missing most was discipline, and that stemmed from being under pressure at the breakdowns, and not being able to secure enough turnover balls to disrupt long spells of opposition possession. I think our inside backs suffered as a result, being sloppy in the latter stages of matches - when the AB's typically run rampant.

          The most notable absence was BBBR by a very long distance. It was his aggression, athleticism and accuracy that was missed whenever he wasn't playing. Joe Moody might have made quite a difference too.

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • Billy Tell
            Billy Tell last edited by

            Do we care? Flush dunny move on...

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
            • rotated
              rotated last edited by

              Rettalick and then Coles if he was at full strength - not that Taylor was poor by any stretch.

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • S
                Samurai Jack last edited by

                Ben Smith or Dagg were missed big time. Specifically, it was their positioning that was clearly missed. The Scots kicked well but were helped by having virtually an open ground to kick to.

                Crucial 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • Crucial
                  Crucial @Samurai Jack last edited by Crucial

                  @samurai-jack said in Which player was missed most during this EOYT ?:

                  Ben Smith or Dagg were missed big time. Specifically, it was their positioning that was clearly missed. The Scots kicked well but were helped by having virtually an open ground to kick to.

                  We were certainly missing any instinctive communication and positioning at the back and as you point out this was exploited by the Scots.

                  BBBR was by far the most missed player though. His midfield play on both attack and defence was sorely missed. then when the opposition revert to playing close in he gets in there and smashes bodies instead.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • booboo
                    booboo @cgrant last edited by

                    @cgrant said in Which player was missed most during this EOYT ?:

                    Ben Smith, Israel Dagg, Nehe Milner Skudder, Jordie Barrett, Brodie Retallick, Owen Franks or Joe Moody ? I would be tempted to add Kieran Read to this list because he missed the games against Scotland and Wales.
                    For me, it was Ben Smith because he is always making the right choice, has the ability to break the line at will and brings safety under the high balls. Without him, the AB back play was in trouble.
                    The second most missed player IMO was BBBR for he his the best lock in the world and an important part of the AB structure. Neither of his replacements was up to the standard. Romano fared OK but he is not BBBR.

                    Err ... Read played v Scotland.

                    BBBR

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • mariner4life
                      mariner4life last edited by

                      We won, so missed no one.

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 3
                      • taniwharugby
                        taniwharugby last edited by

                        I miss Jonah and Jerry...

                        mariner4life 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 4
                        • mariner4life
                          mariner4life @taniwharugby last edited by

                          @taniwharugby bring back Buck!!

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                          • Chester Draws
                            Chester Draws last edited by

                            We played two power wingers, which meant DMac had to cover more ground. Ben Smith would not have fixed that, but Israel on the wing might have. It's not like DMac leaked tries.

                            However in return we had two wingers that scored most of our tries. "Fixing" the coverage at the back by playing two fullbacks would likely have come at a cost in try scoring.

                            I'm 100% in the Retallick camp on this one.

                            taniwharugby 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • taniwharugby
                              taniwharugby @Chester Draws last edited by taniwharugby

                              while there is no doubting BBBR quality or awesomeness, but what exactly would he have bought that would have changed anything? Would we have won by more, would we have just won better?

                              For me, I would go with Dagg, with Dagg there, it makes BB more dangerous and gives him more freedom to play how we want/expect him to.

                              Bovidae rotated 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
                              • Rancid Schnitzel
                                Rancid Schnitzel last edited by

                                Ngatai?

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 4
                                • Bovidae
                                  Bovidae @taniwharugby last edited by

                                  @taniwharugby

                                  For me, I would go with Dagg, with Dagg there, it makes BB more dangerous and gives him more freedom to play how we want/expect him to.

                                  The two best AB performances of the year were against SA at Albany and vs Aust in Sydney (1st half), and Dagg didn't play in either of those tests. No doubt Dagg would have provided another kicking option and is safer under the high ball but he wouldn't have scored the 2 tries Naholo did vs Wales either.

                                  BBBR is the enforcer in the middle of the park (cleaning out at rucks, big tackles) and can be used as a ball player. None of SB, LR or PT gave us that.

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 3
                                  • rotated
                                    rotated @taniwharugby last edited by

                                    @taniwharugby said in Which player was missed most during this EOYT ?:

                                    For me, I would go with Dagg, with Dagg there, it makes BB more dangerous and gives him more freedom to play how we want/expect him to.

                                    Tough to go Dagg considering Smith plays both 14 and 15 better than him these days.

                                    taniwharugby 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • taniwharugby
                                      taniwharugby @rotated last edited by taniwharugby

                                      @rotated Dagg usually does more kicking than SMith...but Smith would have been handy too...

                                      And it is as the other kicking option where I feel Dagg gives BB ore freedom and makes him more of a threat, kicking wasnt really needed v SA in Albany (although we were shite for the first 20 mins anyway)

                                      At the end of the day, we won, so technically, didnt miss anyone of Moody, Coles, Franks, BBBR, Read, Smith, Dagg...

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • D
                                        DMX last edited by

                                        I thought we really missed B. Smith when it came to chasing kicks. That really affected are ability to regain possession and it affected Aaron Smith's kicking game. BBBR obviously in the forwards.

                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • Salacious Crumb
                                          Salacious Crumb last edited by

                                          Retallick.

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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