Magpies 2021
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@stargazer said in Magpies 2021:
unlce
I don't know why people are complaining about where this man comes from. No one did when we signed John Bradbrook years ago, or Kahn Fotuii. People have got to be realistic. We are now in the premier division and defending the Ranfurly Shield. Last time we were there we relied on a lot of local talent, and look what happened. The fact of it is this guy is better than any local halfback running around. He'll bring experience and class to the side. In my opinion he's a very good buy. Good luck to him, he'll serve Hawkes Bay well
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@billsy111 I agree. I've been critical of signing "imports" in the past, but only when I wasn't convinced they were clearly better than available locals. Guys like the Vaega brothers, Ben Power, to name just three recent examples. I'll again be critical if they sign someone like Kienan Higgins instead of Jordan Thompson-Dunn, again because I'm not convinced he's much better.
But I don't think there's any doubt Enari is much better than the local halfbacks available and he brings a lot experience that they simply don't have. I think we have some good lads coming through, but obviously, if they had had the talent of Fakatava, they'd already be in the squad. And Enari has a link to the Bay, so it's all good.
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Article with info on the long injury history of Enari. I think people who suddenly feel the need to criticise him for not moving provinces sooner, probably have no clue why he was not able to play for a long time (and therefore would have had trouble finding a new province).
To be perferctly honest, I really have no idea how good or not good he is, but he should have learned a lot from being in the Crusaders environment (even when he couldn't play) and I hope he can take that experience with him and use for the Magpies. He was really good for NZ U20s and full of promise. I hope to see that talent when he's playing in a black and white shirt.
By the way, the article says that he was born in Auckland, but that's not correct. According to his own Facebook page, he's from Gisborne. -
@stargazer said in Magpies 2021:
Saw an interesting post on the Magpies' Facebook page, in reply to comments from people complaining that the HBRU have signed an outsider instead of a local halfback.
Darryl Tapara (the poster)
Chur Paddy, Just a small whakapapa of Ereatara who was named after Ereatara Whaitiri aka Ernie Whaitiri of Whakatu, Tamatea Hard 🙂 Tama Cooper, lots of connections to Kahunungu his unlce's JB Smith & Tipene Heperi of Takapau, and the Takitimu Waka as he is half Samona from his Dad Falefatu Enari, Fatu"s mum is from Wairoa, the Smith whanau. Ere's mum Parehuia is a sister of Casey Tapara nee Whaitiri. We claim him to Whakatu with his Whaitiri uncles who are wanting to line him up to play for Clive 🙂, If uncle Ere has his way, he will line him up for Tamatea. Yes he has not played locally but he Whakapapa to us, "Bay All Day"
I wouldn't take too much notice of Tane and some of the ones whinging, they are Tamatea to the bone and are pushing the Tamatea halfbacks cause which is fine but we are at the very top level this season and you can't pick players just because they are local.You have to explore every Avenue to get the best squad and depth available ,imo.
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@kiwimatrix I only posted the reaction from Darryl Tapara because I find the whakapapa part interesting.
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Also posted in the exodus thread: Mason Emerson (Hawke's Bay) has signed a 2-year contract with French club Valence Romans, which has just been relegated from the Pro D2 to the Championnat Fédéral Nationale.
Emerson has been good for the Magpies for several years, but I think it's fair to say that he's been overtaken in the pecking order by other, better players the last two years. So good on him to get a contract overseas, even if it won't earn him a fat paycheck, as it's only 3rd division. Because of COVID, his stint in the MLR didn't last long, so it's great he gets this opportunity in France and travel a bit.
It's unclear whether he will still play NPC, but I guess we'll find out soon enough.
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Just in case you were wondering who they were last night:
Bottom left: Frank Lochore. Behind him from left to right: Josh Gimblett, Gene Syminton, Elijah Martin, Kienan Higgins and Dennon Robinson-Bartlett.
hbmagpies: Congratulations to our 6 debutants! You look good in the ⚫️⚪️
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UNE DIX-SEPTIÈME RECRUE POUR LES DAMIERS !
