Highlanders v Crusaders
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I think i would have had garden-bachop on the wing and left Gilbert at 15, he looked comfortable
only 2 backs on the bench and neither are outsides so we are being pretty transparent, we obviously think it will be won or lost up front
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Hunt is going to have to play much better than he did against the Chiefs.
Ayden Johnstone hasn't played at all so far, including the preseason games, but isn't listed as being injured.
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@bovidae yeah, hunt will need to take more control, he managed to displace a AB and the solid gatland at 10...really hope he doesn't rest on his laurels now they're both gone
I hoping Johnston is just excluded because we're spoilt for choice when it comes to props...maybe not hoft/meeuws/hayman levels of spoilt but DLB is a bloody solid super level prop to be on the bench, Ainsley and Degroot both looked very comfortable last week
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Hunt is a good Super Rugby level player. He often has one or two poor games per season, but usually bounces back.
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@tim and effectively "new" guys all around him, didn't look comfortable but hopefully they've worked that out
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That's a better highlanders backline.
TUJ at 12 and CGB at 15 went really well vs Crusaders last year in Chch.
6/2 forwards backs bench split
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@kiwimurph Paea at 13 seems substandard though. Not sure why he gets talked up or even selected. Gilbert is NPC level at best.
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@tim i have only really watched paea in the preseason games last year before his injury and thought he looked really good, was disappointed when he got injured and thought gilbert looked comfortable last year when we played him in the midfield...im honestly just hoping for players not completed out of the depth
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Hoping for a good performance from the Landers. So sick of this Crusader narrative, especially after the Tony Johnson jizz fest last Saturday. Hopefully the TMO stays out of this one.
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@canes4life said in Highlanders v Crusaders:
So sick of this Crusader narrative,
the narrative? You mean having the best collection of talent and consistently winning? That's not really a narrative
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@mariner4life nothing against the Crusaders, great side and all of that but watching last weeks broadcast made it feel like only one side was was ever in it, especially the way TJ was carrying on.
Same narrative as last year, they seemed to get the rub of the green a lot. It’s becoming so predictable that it makes you wonder.
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@canes4life said in Highlanders v Crusaders:
they seemed to get the rub of the green a lot. It’s becoming so predictable that it makes you wonder
are you English?
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@mariner4life do you have eyes and ears? I know alot of Ferners on here think the same but probably don’t want to express that opinion. The difference is I don’t care.
I’m happy to call out complete bias bullshit when it comes straight out of the mouth of Tony Johnson week in and week out.
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@canes4life said in Highlanders v Crusaders:
@mariner4life nothing against the Crusaders, great side and all of that but watching last weeks broadcast made it feel like only one side was was ever in it, especially the way TJ was carrying on.
Same narrative as last year, they seemed to get the rub of the green a lot. It’s becoming so predictable that it makes you wonder.
i get it, everyone knows they're awesome...often just by looking at the scoreboard...we dont need commentators always trying to come across like rugby oracles by stating the bleeding obvious continuously
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@canes4life said in Highlanders v Crusaders:
@mariner4life nothing against the Crusaders, great side and all of that but watching last weeks broadcast made it feel like only one side was was ever in it, especially the way TJ was carrying on.
Same narrative as last year, they seemed to get the rub of the green a lot. It’s becoming so predictable that it makes you wonder.
Funny, it felt to me the Crusadars were getting pinged a hell of a lot last week, especially in the first half. Some of the penalties leading up to the yellow card were debatable.
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@canes4life said in Highlanders v Crusaders:
@mariner4life do you have eyes and ears? I know alot of Ferners on here think the same but probably don’t want to express that opinion. This difference is I don’t care.
I say it but the TJ issue and the refs are two different things.
The 'rub of the green' stuff does get frustrating but I guess that should be tempered with that being the case in most sports comps for dominant teams. It's why other teams' fans dislike them (see ABs in a strong era as example).
TJ is just a nob when he does their games which understandably winds up those that support other sides. He calls the Crusaders attack, the Crusaders defence, his favourite players, any Tasman players in the opposition, and then anything else he feels he has to in that order. -
@crucial I guess it’s the combination of both that grinds the gears. The reffing thing happened last year aswell. They just seem to always have match changing decisions fall in their favour. All I ask is for consistency on both sides but it just doesn’t feel that way when the Crusaders are involved. It almost felt like no matter what the Canes did the TMO was always going to interrupt vs the Crusaders where he seemed to cast a blind eye. Take that knock on in the lead up to Lester’s try as an example. A hell of a lot more blatant than Ben May’s, yet it wasn’t even questioned.
Anyway, I’ll be backing the Landers on Friday.
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@crucial said in Highlanders v Crusaders:
TJ is just a nob
could have stopped right there
A high pitched excitable child.
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@canes4life said in Highlanders v Crusaders:
@crucial I guess it’s the combination of both that grinds the gears. The reffing thing happened last year aswell. They just seem to always have match changing decisions fall in their favour. All I ask is for consistency on both sides but it just doesn’t feel that way when the Crusaders are involved. It almost felt like no matter what the Canes did the TMO was always going to interrupt vs the Crusaders where he seemed to cast a blind eye. Take that knock on in the lead up to Lester’s try as an example. A hell of a lot more blatant than Ben May’s, yet it wasn’t even questioned.
Anyway, I’ll be backing the Landers on Friday.
Not sure it was all bias toward the Crusaders.
2 players in the bin and a penalty count against them some questionable .
All fans of other teams look at things in a different light.
For me as a Crusaders fan I think we get some BS penalties against us sometimes 3 or 4 in a row which changes the momentum every game.
It seems to keep other teams in the game at times. -
the simple fact is, rugby is a stupidly complicated game with laws based on timing and interpretation.
I look at so many highlight gifs on instagram and think "how was that not a penalty at the breakdown?"
You can look at any game, and find probably a dozen penalties you "should have gotten" and think you got robbed. It's a game of non-stop contest, decided by milimetres/miliseconds, by players cheating at every single opportunity.
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@mariner4life christ... you're right...and that makes it sound thoroughly unenjoyable game to watch
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@kiwiwomble said in Highlanders v Crusaders:
@mariner4life christ... you're right...and that makes it sound thoroughly unenjoyable game to watch
it sorta can be if your mindset isn't right. Fuck being a pro ref. You have to find the balance of materiality between "letting the game flow" or just blowing everything. And you absolutely know which ever way you go, people will crucify you.
All you can do is your best to be consistent. But even being consistent will differ depending on the timeframe of the game.
And someone will lose, so half the viewers will fucking hate you. And a losing coach will blame you.
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@bovidae said in Highlanders v Crusaders:
Hunt is going to have to play much better than he did against the Chiefs.
Ayden Johnstone hasn't played at all so far, including the preseason games, but isn't listed as being injured.
The whole team will have to play better, the amount of ball turned over to the Chiefs through dropped balls was iinsane for this level. Almost as high as the amount of times the Chiefs coughed up a line out lol.
I think Umaga -Jensen and Mikaele-Tu'u made a decent impact last week, one rewarded with a start.
Forwards solid which will help keep them in this one, but Crusaders backs look stronger, so saders for me
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@mariner4life i just dont remember it being that bad back in the day, almost certainly due to social media giving everyone a voice but also, rules seems to have become more intrusive and needing more interpretation from refs which is just a recipe for disaster
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@kiwiwomble said in Highlanders v Crusaders:
@mariner4life i just dont remember it being that bad back in the day, almost certainly due to social media giving everyone a voice but also, rules seems to have become more intrusive and needing more interpretation from refs which is just a recipe for disaster
how far is "back in the day"? because it has been like this for ages. As soon as rugby teams were made up of 15 dudes who are good at the breakdown every ruck became a shit fight.
Professional rugby means way better analysis and prep, so teams know exactly how to push the laws to the fullest extent.
Social media heightens the gripe. Super slow-mo crystal clear replays of eeeeeeverything gives commentators ample time to look at something and say how the ref was wrong (even if they just made the law up aye Justin?).The law changes are legislators trying to free the game up. But they are dumber than the coaches, so every change is exploited negatively almost instantly.
There is no way to "fix" rugby without a fundamental rethink of the game. And then the coaches will fuck it up anyway. Coaches are paid to win, not entertain.
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@mariner4life yeah, pretty much agree. I feel even the 90's, you'd talk about a clanger of an individual call rather than games in general
ive said it so many times...i would love to see a study where someone takes the laws back to first principles to see if they even resemble what we have now or if we're just witnessing the result of building flawed rules onto of flawed rules
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@kiwiwomble said in Highlanders v Crusaders:
building flawed rules onto of flawed rules
i don't blame the laws. I blame coaching
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@mariner4life and im the opposite, don't blame people playing whats in front of them, we litterally tell everyone to play to the whistle
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@kiwiwomble said in Highlanders v Crusaders:
@mariner4life and im the opposite, don't blame people playing whats in front of them, we litterally tell everyone to play to the whistle
so tell me how to legislate the breakdown?
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@mariner4life never said i had the answers, but at a high level...id just let more stuff go, leave it to the players to stop the opposition pinching the ball, more and more rules about very specific ways we can turn over the ball are a) just derived from people upset they're own team lost the ball...hardly impartial and b) too open to subjective calls by the ref which then makes people annoyed again
i honestly dont care if a jackle has gone on his hands before grabbing the ball or if theyre knees are touching someone on the ground, clear the fucker out or you dont deserve the ball
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@kiwiwomble said in Highlanders v Crusaders:
@mariner4life never said i had the answers, but at a high level...id just let more stuff go, leave it to the players to stop the opposition pinching the ball, more and more rules about very specific ways we can turn over the ball are a) just derived from people upset they're own team lost the ball...hardly impartial and b) too open to subjective calls by the ref which then makes people annoyed again
i honestly dont care if a jackle has gone on his hands before grabbing the ball or if theyre knees are touching someone on the ground, clear the fucker out or you dont deserve the ball
welcome to an absolute fuck load of kicking. And far more conservative attacking patterns.
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@mariner4life honestly think id prefer that to penalties (and potentially losing points) for things i dont care about, id rather be talking about the players playing a form of rugby, even if unattractive to some, than talking about the refs and how much they affected the game
obviously realise its only my preference and only answered because you asked
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1 Joe Moody
2 Brodie McAlister
3 Oli Jager
4 Samuel Whitelock
5 Scott Barrett (C)
6 Pablo Matera
7 Tom Christie
8 Cullen Grace
9 Mitch Drummond
10 Fergus Burke
11 Leicester Fainga'anuku
12 David Havili (VC)
13 Braydon Ennor
14 Sevu Reece
15 Will Jordan16 Shilo Klein
17 George Bower
18 Tamaiti Williams
19 Quinten Strange
20 Corey Kellow*
21 Bryn Hall
22 Simon Hickey
23 George Bridge -
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@canes4life said in Highlanders v Crusaders:
I know alot of Ferners on here think the same but probably don’t want to express that opinion. The difference is I don’t care.
🤣 This guy! Speaking up for the little man! So unflinchingly brave.
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@bones no? he looked ok last week and was very good for Otago in last years NPC
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@mariner4life said in Highlanders v Crusaders:
the simple fact is, rugby is a stupidly complicated game with laws based on timing and interpretation.
I look at so many highlight gifs on instagram and think "how was that not a penalty at the breakdown?"
You can look at any game, and find probably a dozen penalties you "should have gotten" and think you got robbed. It's a game of non-stop contest, decided by milimetres/miliseconds, by players cheating at every single opportunity.
Did you watch the crusaders game in the weekend? Watch many last year?
I'd be bloody interested in the penalty split between franchises when playing for the ABs too.
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@kiwiwomble said in Highlanders v Crusaders:
@bones no? he looked ok last week and was very good for Otago in last years NPC
I barely watch NPC, but I thought Gilbert was pretty meh last week, had some yuck moments and looked anything but comfortable...
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@bones ok fair play, as i say thought he looked very good under the high ball and where things did start to fall apart was where he didn't get support once he attacked the line, got caught out running to upright true but some better support would have helped there, didn't say perfect but i thought enough to have another go to build on
I guess we'll see if this way around works better, im just concerned CGB seems more of a natural finisher and so id rather have him on the wing going for the corner
