Who will earn a first Super Rugby 2024 contract ?
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A few talents have emerged during this year's NPC but how many of them will get a SR contract ?
Hookers : Henry Bell ? Did his core duties very well after a slow start. Moananu : strong in his carries.
LHP : ?
THP : Siale Lauaki. Not bad for such a young guy. Has to improve his scrummaging though.
Locks : Plummer. He has the physical attributes. Taylor ? A bit too early IMO. Has to gain a few kgs of muscle. Cridge (not a first contract of course but could be back).
Loose forwards : Will Stodart, Che Clarke, Wrampling.
Half backs : ?
1st 5/8 : Jacomb (the find of the season IMO), Robinson, Koller, Clarke.
2nd 5/8 : Grindlay, Anderson.
Centres : Tuhakaraina ?
Wings : Murray (hasn't emerged this year but was outstanding for the Taniwhas), Banks, Filipo.
Fullbacks : ? -
Josh Southall at hooker, he's had his issues with injuries and has only recently converted to the position from openside flanker but he has the leadership qualities and skillset that would be a good investment for any side.
James O'Reilly (hooker) has come back from a season off looking so much bigger and better aswell.
I agree on Murray from Northland aswell, looks like a bit of a gun. Hopefully Moorby can entice him down to the Canes as we will need a replacement for the likes of JSav.
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@cgrant said in Who will earn a first Super Rugby 2024 contract ?:
Wings : Murray (hasn't emerged this year but was outstanding for the Taniwhas)
Not sure squads have much/any back space, and I dont think any coaches will be doign a Foz and calling in an extra wing over a forward, he hasnt been contacted by any super teams at any rate.
he has been called into 7s for trails, which is good for him, but he should be playing super.
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my first question is how many spaces are there up for grabs, i believe the Highlanders have 2 max
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@KiwiMurph said in Who will earn a first Super Rugby 2024 contract ?:
I'm amazed more teams don't leave open spots for NPC. They are in such a rush to lock up players - when a lot of the time those players are journeymen. Do you really need to contract Apisai for example.
In fairness, I think for the most part there has been a shift towards bringing through guys through local pathways. For example, looking at the Highlanders, they've contracted all the guys they wanted to keep last year + 5 players from others teams (including Patchell) and then the rest are academy players.
The only exception being Henry Bell, who is the perfect example... Apisai, the example you used was a panic move, because the Highlanders didn't expect Bell to do so well in the NPC, and I'm guessing Apisai had offers in the USA/Japan, which put the pressure on.
The only reason 'journeyman' are generally locked in these days, is if franchises are dumb enough to give them multi-year deals. For example, the Highlanders and Chiefs would probably quite happily have Heremaia Murray over Jonah Lowe and Ngane Punivai, but these guys are locked into contracts.
And in truth, most of the good talent is contracted long before Super Rugby as a result of the streamlining if U20, high performance programmes etc. There is always the odd player who slips through, but in recent times, they haven't tended to be world-beaters, and that will become increasingly the case.
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@mikedogz said in Who will earn a first Super Rugby 2024 contract ?:
From Counties Joshua Gray ( Winger) could end up as cover at Chiefs or at Moana. Kauvaka Kaivelata ( Loosehead Prop) Might get an upgraded contract he was a NDC player. Ian West-Stevens (Hooker) might get some interest from some teams.
I think West-Stevens is a bit small and limited isn't he?
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Tahlor Cahill is one the Crusaders will probably sign for one of those 2 locking spots open.
Blair Murray might also be on their radar.
A couple of North Harbour players Kade Banks and J Melvin have had good NPC seasons maybe on a teams radar somewhere.
Got to agree Jacomb has been impressive for Taranaki. -
@frugby said in Who will earn a first Super Rugby 2024 contract ?:
The only exception being Henry Bell, who is the perfect example... Apisai, the example you used was a panic move, because the Highlanders didn't expect Bell to do so well in the NPC, and I'm guessing Apisai had offers in the USA/Japan, which put the pressure on.
I guess that's my point. If not Bell there would have been other options. Zero reason to panic and sign Apisai - he's not Super Rugby standard.
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Here is a 23 of the best uncontracted players... I've chosen not to include guys who already seem to be in pathways, and could well have signed pre-contracts for 2025 (e.g Wrampling). This was quite difficult, particularly in certain positions so willing to tweak to get the best possible team.
- Adams
- Rhys Marshall
- Hintz
- Cridge
- Parsons
- Ryall
- Melvin
- McGahan
- Hauiti-Parapara
- Cruden
- H Murray
- Grindlay
- Tuhakaraina
- Filipo
- T Robinson
- O'Reilly
- Brighouse
- Mitchell
- Franklin
- P Tuifua
- Judd
- Jacomb
- B Murray
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@KiwiMurph said in Who will earn a first Super Rugby 2024 contract ?:
@frugby said in Who will earn a first Super Rugby 2024 contract ?:
The only exception being Henry Bell, who is the perfect example... Apisai, the example you used was a panic move, because the Highlanders didn't expect Bell to do so well in the NPC, and I'm guessing Apisai had offers in the USA/Japan, which put the pressure on.
I guess that's my point. If not Bell there would have been other options. Zero reason to panic and sign Apisai - he's not Super Rugby standard.
Teams are probably more willing to risk it in the backs, but I guess they felt Apisai offered a level they felt was worth taking as the third choice, because if not him, it could have even been someone worse, and you are always going to need your third hooker.
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@mikedogz Kaivelata and Bartlett would be the options if McMillan wants a younger LH. Proffit did a decent job so I wouldn't be surprised if he is retained. Kaivelata has also played TH, and that is the position that needs to be filled. I guess that depends on whether they are confident he can fill that role.
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@KiwiMurph In theory that should be what happens.
BUT (a) the players want certainty that they have a contract or they risk missing out on a MLR gig too, and (b) the teams probably feel they can't afford to wait until after the NPC as one of the other teams could swoop in and sign the player you are looking at.
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@Bovidae said in Who will earn a first Super Rugby 2024 contract ?:
@KiwiMurph In theory that should be what happens.
BUT (a) the players want certainty that they have a contract or they risk missing out on a MLR gig too, and (b) the teams probably feel they can't afford to wait until after the NPC as one of the other teams could swoop in and sign the player you are looking at.
Times have changed. Player ID is way better these days, Heremaia Murray has been around a couple of years, so if anyone would have wanted him, they'd have snapped him up by now. Has he been any better this year than he was last year, or has he just scored more tries which has people talking more?
Grindlay is the only real new name to crop up this year, who might have piqued the interest.
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@frugby said in Who will earn a first Super Rugby 2024 contract ?:
Grindlay is the only real new name to crop up this year, who might have piqued the interest.
What do mean by "new"? Grindlay was a 1st XV/NZ Schools star and was also in the NZ U20s. He moved back to Taranaki as he wasn't wanted in Auckland. Sure you can identify the talent but that doesn't mean they are all contracted.
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@frugby obviously I am bias.
But some of the tries he scored have been excellent tries that require some ability and vision, and its his smarts that put him up a level or 2 more.
Gets himself in the right spots to be able to take advantage, he is quick, but not super quick.
After his debut season last year got called into the Highlanders earlier this year as injury cover, but didnt get used.
Be interesting to see how he goes at 7s and hopefully this is a stepping stone for him into super rugby.
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@Bovidae said in Who will earn a first Super Rugby 2024 contract ?:
@frugby said in Who will earn a first Super Rugby 2024 contract ?:
Grindlay is the only real new name to crop up this year, who might have piqued the interest.
What do mean by "new"? Grindlay was a 1st XV/NZ Schools star and was also in the NZ U20s.
By 'new' I mean new at NPC level.
He moved back to Taranaki as he wasn't wanted in Auckland. Sure you can identify the talent but that doesn't mean they are all contracted.
No it does not, but if you look from 2017 onwards, there has been a steady decline in the amount of players shooting through from 'nowhere' into Super Rugby squads... there tends to be 1-2 a year, but the contracting has almost gone full circle back to the days when teams picked 'local players', local now being locally by NPC teams, or academies.
List of 2023–24 Super Rugby transfers (New Zealand) - Wikipedia
