Blues 2019
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@Kirwan said in Blues 2019:
No competition basically. Look around the country too, not many good hookers.
as I said above, I think there is more to it.
Sure Moulds had his issues with throwing, but he is no worse than Parsons there in recent times, we have been told in previous years (not just once) that Moulds is a great leader, I know he is a huge trainer, so why does he sit on the bench so much?
Maybe I am blinkered, but it is clear he offers much more than Parsons with ball in hand, is a strong scrummager (although I have seen some times in scrums he is involved in, when neither hooker strikes the ball) both are solid defenders.
In the 4 years or so he has been at the Blues, unless Parsons was injured, he has ridden the pine...each time the Blues re-sign him (Moulds) I have to question why (from both sides) as I am sure Moulds could earn better coin off shore, and if they are gonna let someone ride pine most of the season, they could do worse (and do with Apisai) than Ross Wright or Jordan Olsen or Eklund (or others too I expect)
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This year, that’s even more an issue as Parsons is rapidly going backwards.
I guess my point is Moulds would have pushed him out if he delivered what the coaches wanted on the field. So there has to be some issue there.
Bear in mind, I had this same conversation with Duluth yesterday and I wanted to give Moulds a 60min start. Parsons taking the ball up is about as effective as a jellybean Owen Franks hitup.
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My mail is telling me James Parsons will be re signing with the Blues for another 2 x seasons ,I have also heard much of the reasoning behind Parsons being held onto is in and around his work ethic to training and attention to detail things..he also ticks a lot of boxes in and around playing stats.
I suppose it’s hard to argue with when your picking through a players playing details.My only real issue is,whilst he has great work ethic on and off the paddock..does he really have X Factor..?,I often see him running in Channel 1 and getting rag dolled which in effect creates slow ball because he does not get over advantage line..and to be honest,if you asked ourself this question,is he in the top 5 hookers in this comp..?,probably not..!.
I am hearing that Matt Moulds out of frustration is looking for an overseas contract at the end of this super rugby season.
Personally I would make an offer to Asafo Amua from the Hurricanes as an understudy who at least has X Factor..I have also heard Ma Nonu apperars to be settling into some bad habits,pissed off that he was dropped after the Jaguaries game..the former All Black sat on his own in a corner stewing on his phone during the Blues v Sunwolves game as opposed to joining the non playing group who either joined the Coaches in the box or sat with the rest of reserves..
Is this telling us something..?,one thing I will give SBW ,whenever he is not involved in the playing 23,he’s one of the most supportive players in the squad. -
@Steven-Harris SBW cops an awful lot of shit (on and off the field) most of it unwarranted.
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Yikes, that could be worrying. Offering Amua a big contract to come and start would be the ticket, IMO. If I were the blues, I'd also be chasing Ennor like mad too (and I hope that Cooper, the fuck knuckle, is reading this post).
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I don't have an issue with Parson being one of 3 hookers. He should be drifting out of the starting lineup though
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@Steven-Harris said in Blues 2019:
I have also heard Ma Nonu apperars to be settling into some bad habits,pissed off that he was dropped after the Jaguaries game..the former All Black sat on his own in a corner stewing on his phone during the Blues v Sunwolves game as opposed to joining the non playing group who either joined the Coaches in the box or sat with the rest of reserves..
Hopefully they take a hard line with him. If he is introducing negativity like that I would rather he was paid to sit at home and not be involved with the squad at all. Negativity is contagious.
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@Duluth no issues with what you are saying,as long as we can have 3 hookers that can apply some genuine pressure on each other..
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Yeah and we should definitely be trying hard to recruit other hookers. The main issue is there aren't 15 Super Rugby quality hookers in NZ. If Parsons is a pro and will handover knowledge that keeps him in the mix
I would like to see Moulds start now that some other leaders are back (Gibson, Scrafton, Duffie etc)
And hopefully a guy like Eklund has a good NPC
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He'd make a nice third hooker, but I guess the problem arises when the youngsters aren't accurate enough, so then you're left with him starting and - while being more accurate - also not being very effective. Seriously, would be you all be happy losing Moulds now (who seems to be getting there) and keeping Parsons?
You know it's bad at the Chiefs when I'm commenting on the Blues development thread. We are going to be a dumpster fire for a few years.
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Aumua has already extended with the Canes until 2021. I'm pretty sure he extended before Coles extended, so I'm wondering if he regrets it now.
TTT is one I'd like us to target. It's best to strike now while he's still only getting 10 minutes off the bench for the Chiefs. Leon has said that he wants to play an uptempo style of rugby and TTT fits that a whole lot better than our current crop of halfbacks.
It'd be nice if Leon could get David Havili to be our fullback. I think he's off contract this year.
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@Dice said in Blues 2019:
@gt12 We might be the only NZ franchise where he'd have no competition for minutes. He could wait to see if Weber goes overseas after this year and re-sign for the Chiefs, but he might be too pissed off at Cooper by then to do that.
Nothing to argue about there. With Rennie and Smith (also at the Saders) they also often switched their two main HBs (eg Drummond & Hall) but we haven’t seen that yet. If we lose TTT, I’ll fucking spew.
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@Duluth said in Blues 2019:
@Steven-Harris said in Blues 2019:
I have also heard Ma Nonu apperars to be settling into some bad habits,pissed off that he was dropped after the Jaguaries game..the former All Black sat on his own in a corner stewing on his phone during the Blues v Sunwolves game as opposed to joining the non playing group who either joined the Coaches in the box or sat with the rest of reserves..
Hopefully they take a hard line with him. If he is introducing negativity like that I would rather he was paid to sit at home and not be involved with the squad at all. Negativity is contagious.
Agreed. Blues are much better giving Tele'a, Faiane and even Aumua gametime. MacDonald should take the long term view - this season is about setting the Blues up for next year and beyond.
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@Steven-Harris said in Blues 2019:
I have also heard Ma Nonu apperars to be settling into some bad habits,pissed off that he was dropped after the Jaguaries game..the former All Black sat on his own in a corner stewing on his phone during the Blues v Sunwolves game as opposed to joining the non playing group who either joined the Coaches in the box or sat with the rest of reserves..
Seems like a teachable moment for both guys. Leon use his experience sitting on benches for a good part of his AB career to show Ma'a how to do it. Nonu can use his experience has a world-class midfielder to teach Rangi the basics of midfield play.
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@Steven-Harris said in Blues 2019:
I have also heard Ma Nonu apperars to be settling into some bad habits,pissed off that he was dropped after the Jaguaries game..the former All Black sat on his own in a corner stewing on his phone during the Blues v Sunwolves game as opposed to joining the non playing group who either joined the Coaches in the box or sat with the rest of reserves..
Is this telling us something..?,one thing I will give SBW ,whenever he is not involved in the playing 23,he’s one of the most supportive players in the squad.I think it's telling us that Umaga and Rangi have/had a very different vision of signing Nonu.
Putting him at 13 against the Saders (which showed a loss of edge in pace, especially in defence) then discarding him was a bit dumb. They should be using a SBW/Nonu double act at 12. SBW to start and Nonu to come on and add punch in the last half hour. -
