@taniwharugby Robinson has been signed as 6 that can play lock.

@Tim just a few off field issues to sort out, but may have missed the bus for this year at least.

@taniwharugby
Just process of elimination.I am thinking Alex Gale tighthead from a Kamo.Sean Sweetman Lock from Wellsford or Lucas Albornoz might be rewarded..
And one more midfield back, Maybe James Cherrington from Mid Northern ,might have to refer the Wider training and Contracted squad..it would be real surprise if they went outside that squad..

@Stargazer what’s strikes me is some of the over the top headlines by a lot of sectors of our sports media, if they had done their home work ,the loss to Australia in the Oceania was slight pointer to where this team was heading not mention a few key unavailabilities along with an average pack..
And that without even mentioning the quality of the coach..
Poor journalism,all they look for is the sensational headline without looking deeper.

Northland have announced a group of signings for the 2019;Mitre 10 Cup Season

Mathew Johnson OBM. (Midfielder)
Pisi Leilua. Waipu (Fullback)
Tom Smith.Kerikeri(First Five)
Corey Taylor. Kerikeri (Halfback)
Jonty Rae. OBM (Fullback/Wing)
Paddy Jo Atkins. Wellsford. (Hooker/Prop)
Nikau Graham. Kamo (First Five) Apprentice Program

Blake Hoahaia has extended his contract through until the end of 2020 season .

Really excited about having Mathew Johnson (Former Southland and Blues Midfielder part of the Taniwha set up)
Pisi Leilua is in the Solomon Alaimalo mould is a very big quick fullback ,played sevens for Auckland
I especially like the look of Jonty Rae, tall rangy player who can play fullback or wing with a super big left foot, similar to James Lowes ,great for exits
One things for sure Northland will probably be fielding one of the biggest backlines in the Mitre 10 Cup.

Fantastic to see the highly promising first five Nikau Graham bought in on an Apprentice programme, this kid looks the goods, played for the Northland under 19s last year .

Only 3 places to fill,
Tight head Prop,Lock and another midfielder

Northland have announced a group of signings for the 2019;Mitre 10 Cup Season

Mathew Johnson OBM. (Midfielder)
Pisi Leilua Waipu (Fullback)
Tom Smith Kerikeri (First Five)
Corey Taylor. Kerikeri (Halfback)
Jonty Rae. OBM (Fullback/Wing)
Paddy Jo Atkins. Wellsford. (Hooker/Prop)
Nikau Graham Kamo (First Five) Apprentice Program

Blake Hoahaia has extended his contract through until the end of 2020 season .

Really excited about having Mathew Johnson (Former Southland and Blues Midfielder part of the Taniwha set up
Pisi Leilua is in the Solomon Alaimalo mould is a very big quick fullback ,played sevens for Auckland
I especially like the look of Jonty Rae, tall rangy player who can play fullback or wing with a super big left foot, similar to James Lowes ,great for exits
One things for sure Northland will probably be fielding one of the biggest backlines in the Mitre 10 Cup.

Fantastic to see the highly promising first five Nikau Graham bought in on an Apprentice programme, this kid looks the goods, played for the Northland under 19s last year .

Only 3 places to fill,
Tight head Prop,Lock and another Midfielder.

I decided to go back over the NZ Under 20 team that won the World Cup in 2017 to track how many players have gone to play Mitre 10 Cup rugby and on to play Super Rugby.

By my reckoning and I stand to be corrected of the 28 originally selected 18 have gone on to play super rugby (John JP Sauni) who has played for the Warratahs the rest having all played Mitre 10 Cup..and I still reckon several who have not played super rugby still have an opportunity moving forward.

Even the 3 that were unavailable have gone on to play super rugby with Jordie Barrett, Dalton Papalii & Asafo Amua becoming All Blacks
It’s not a bad bench mark if you think about it , a very well selected team even without the 3 that were unavailable..
Just on a footnote,Stephen Perofeta replaced Tiaan Falcon who was injured for the final..

I had a nephew in this team so extremely proud as a uncle what they achieved .
It will be really interesting to see how many in this years team go on to Mitre 10 Cup rugby ,super rugby or even All Black Rugby..
Be interesting to hear your feedback

I know when the 2017 Baby Blacks flew in ,I was at the airport to meet the team , I ended up having a really good chat to NZ Rugby CEO Steve Tew..he told me during our conversation if they got a strike rate of around 45% that ended up playing Super Rugby and the rest playing Mitre 10 Cup ,that would be a real success moving forward .

Asafo Aumua Wellington
Sam Caird Waikato
Adrian Choat Auckland
Tom Christie Canterbury
Ryan Coxon Waikato
Tim Farrell Hawke’s Bay
Alex Fidow Wellington
Luke Jacobson (C) Waikato
Ezekiel Lindenmuth Auckland
Marino Mikaele-Tuu Hawke’s Bay
Dalton Papalii Auckland
Jacob Pierce Auckland
John (JP) Sauni Auckland
Samuel Slade Auckland
Pouri Rakete-Stones Hawke’s Bay
Isaia Walker-Leawere Wellington
Backs
Caleb Clarke Auckland
Ereatara Enari (VC) Canterbury
Braydon Ennor Canterbury
Tima Faingaanuku Tasman
Tiaan Falcon Hawke’s Bay
Will Jordan Tasman
Kemara Hauiti-Parapara Wellington
Orbyn Leger Counties Manukau
Josh McKay Canterbury
Jona Nareki Otago
Tamati Tua Northland
Thomas Umaga-Jensen Wellington
Players unavailable for selection:
Jordie Barrett Taranaki
Stephen Perofeta Taranaki
Peter Umaga-Jensen Wellington

@Snowy very funny..!

@Chris players are becoming so dependable at taking high kicks ,its now starting to become such a low percentage play.
I really like the idea of long kick to grass with a really good line chase..play the game in the opposition half and if they kick back that’s your counter attacking opportunity..
Thought the Blues absolutely killed them selves last night by not finding touch..which would have been the obvious thing to do with a dis functional line out effecting the Canes once Amua had replaced Coles in the hooking role.

@nzzp I can tolerate the odd handling error or even the odd overthrown line out or the over cooked line kick during general play simply because pressure is being applied by the opposition (sounding more like that halfwit Rod Kafer)

But what I can’t stand is the really dumb shit..
Here’s the list.
A reverse pass to nobody ..!,
A 50/50 offload ,that’s why they are called 50/50 offloads.
Total neglect of a support player with a simple draw and pass.
A drop kick start that does not go 10 metres.
A Goal kicker with kicking average of under 70%
A poor red zone exit
I should throw in poorly directed kick passes.
Running into contact with no support
Running into contact with no support
Thought I would mention the above twice, because that happens a lot,.
What every happened to knowing where the space is and then backing up..
A drop kick off that goes over dead ball line.
A line kick from a penalty that goes dead.
Pulling a maul down after you have been numerous times and you concede a penalty try and loose a player to the bin for 10

What’s frustrating about many of these ,with practice and attention to detail many of the above should be a big part of a players skill set.