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  1. Manu Vatuvei

    2024 Pacific Championships - 18 Oct to 10 Nov

    Exceptional 40 minutes from McLean. Good that we’ve poached someone for once.
  2. Manu Vatuvei

    2024 Pacific Championships - 18 Oct to 10 Nov

    Kini’s running game is electric but he’s shocking under the high ball and overplays his hand a lot on attack
  3. Manu Vatuvei

    2024 Pacific Championships - 18 Oct to 10 Nov

    Timoko and JFH have been disappointing this tournament
  4. Manu Vatuvei

    2024 Pacific Championships - 18 Oct to 10 Nov

    oh so CNK is gonna ball play now
  5. Manu Vatuvei

    2024 Pacific Championships - 18 Oct to 10 Nov

    An excellent sentiment, apart from calling the Tongans loyal when they are essentially all disloyal Kiwis and Aussies
  6. Manu Vatuvei

    Pacific Cup 2024

    I wasn't saying club footy will die, I'm saying that Auckland club footy (mostly junior footy because realistically players who have made it to senior footy in NZ have often already missed the boat for an NRL contract) will effectively be a pathways system for the NRL, Tonga, and Samoa. Again...
  7. Manu Vatuvei

    Pacific Cup 2024

    I can't back this up with stats (which probably don't exist tbf) but I would say combined non-Maori Polynesians significantly outnumber Maori. As someone who attends Fox games throughout Auckland regularly I would consider it a predominantly Pasifika sport (although granted I'm not going around...
  8. Manu Vatuvei

    Pacific Cup 2024

    Probably not right at the moment, no. There are several NZ born guys who moved to Australia before age 10, where I couldn't really criticise them too much if they had chosen Australia over NZ (S Katoa, I Katoa, Kaufusi, Paseka). Lolohea and Havili are Kiwis (and literally ex-Kiwis) but they...
  9. Manu Vatuvei

    Pacific Cup 2024

    Interesting also that Naufahu Whyte is Tongan but a massively proud Kiwi. I sometimes wonder if this is more prevalent in kids with a Union background where there’s more emphasis on playing for the national team?
  10. Manu Vatuvei

    Pacific Cup 2024

    I realise also there’s massive irony in me being named after a Kiwi great who now openly supports Tonga over us
  11. Manu Vatuvei

    Pacific Cup 2024

    And yeah all that aside, we still should've won and I'm filthy about how we played.
  12. Manu Vatuvei

    Pacific Cup 2024

    I doubt the administration of the code has much to do with it. I think there are two main factors (1) The State of Origin eligibility rules encouraging players to select tier 2 nations (2) A broader cultural issue where, as you say, players feel a "closer connection" to the country of their...
  13. Manu Vatuvei

    Pacific Cup 2024

    My weekend ruined so we can keep on humouring a non-existent rugby league nation. Ah well. Deep breaths.
  14. Manu Vatuvei

    Pacific Cup 2024

    I hope Australia beat those pathetic cowards 100-0 next week, but the universe hates me so “Tonga” aka the Aus/NZ exhibition 13 probably win it all. f**k Tonga and f**k every piece of shit who supports them.
  15. Manu Vatuvei

    Off Season 2024/25

    I think he's a plodder tbh. I haven't watched him that closely but my sense is that he's a "run first" type of plodder too, without a great kicking game. If we were going for a plodder I would've preferred a pure organiser with a long punt.
  16. Manu Vatuvei

    Pacific Cup 2024

    He defended a helluva lot better than Timoko did.
  17. Manu Vatuvei

    Pacific Cup 2024

    I don't really see them as stronger on paper. Seems extremely even to me. I think our bench is stronger. We have 4 very solid first graders, apart from Paseka for mine their bench is made up of emerging (Wong, Luke) or past their best (Tupouniua) fringe-to-average first graders. Surprisingly I...
  18. Manu Vatuvei

    Off Season 2024/25

    I think the White Ferns probably win the Halberg even though I think the Black Caps' achievement is greater. At the same time I'd feel weird about the Black Caps winning it because I feel like they have been pretty crap for the last 3 years and I'm not convinced that this series win...
  19. Manu Vatuvei

    Ivans' new book

    Devil's advocate (for a position that has basically been proven to be wrong, I know): even in those excerpts Ivan's comments are a little bit odd and contradictory. In 2001 and 2002 he played in perhaps the best Warriors era ever, one which was renowned for local players and "razzle dazzle"...
  20. Manu Vatuvei

    2024 Pacific Championships - 18 Oct to 10 Nov

    Yeah you're right. As infuriating as the woefully clunky attack was, it's probably a hard ask to get much more out of this spine, and that's basically down to injury woes in the key spots. Some of the stuff on Sunday was absolutely schoolboy though, like Crossland passing to no-one from dummy...

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