2 changes for Kiwis

[nadera78]

Benji needs a really old fashioned organising scrum half in the team. He can do all the organising and manouver the team around the park and it allows Benji to flit in and out as and when he sees things open up in front of him. That's when he is dangerous. If I was the NZRL I'd be looking for an NRL team to try and bring Piri Weepu back from the dark side, although it'd have to be for 2008 'cos he'll be playing rah-rah in their world cup next year.

 

[mean_maori_mean]

Seems to be a general consensus on here, which is quite rare. Agree about Tupou, he really needs to do some work on his handling skills,

Not here Tupou the man, just what you need in a winger, he's a machine. Definetly should of replaced Simon Mannering with Shontayne Hape at Lock -
Mannering has good future particularly at centre and played reasonable last week- but doesnt deserve a kiwi yet- possibly a token white boy.lol

Handling skills look at our other wing Vatuvei he hasnt played good all year
and has even worse hands - though he still a good player an.

Yeah puletua didnt do much for me - big fan when he at devastating best, fa'alogo will be hard working, but you need some spark on attack pritchard can offer that.

I would've liked to see some like Eastwood or Harrison to come of the bench, big, mobile and hungry to throw a wrench at the aussies. wldnt know what to expect like da old days.

 

[Martli]

Mannering was one of our best! In my opinion he should have been put in the centres on Manu's side since that's what he's used to in the NRL.

I still honestly can not get it into my head why Pritchard has been dropped :crazy: he played a f**kin' decent game!!

 

[mean_maori_mean]

Mannering was just there (no direspect), wasnt dynamic, If we dont have a real standoff we need a lock who is either barnstorming or has strong offloading ablity. We looked unorganised and uninspiring on attack.
Be interesting to see who plays good in NZ A, some of them will most likely play later in the series, as going by the last game there will be a few more injuries

 

[nadera78]

Mannering ran his knackers off for 80 minutes on saturday. You can't drop him after that. Personally, I think it was a mistake not to include Lance Hohaia, he's a quality player and a good option off of the bench.

 

[Pierced Soul]

Mannering tried hard in a postiion unfamiliar to him. Darlinghurst Frank got dropped cos he didnt knock anyone out.

i'd rather see ben roberts given a go at 5/8 ahead of thugnana. puletua is still in the team cos of his reputation. the loss of jason cayless will be a big blow.

where's rauhihi? I noticed he wasnt in the squad

 

[Martli]

I think Rauhihi has retired from international footy. He was water boy in the Great Britain test this year hahaha.

I'm surprised with the omission of Ben Roberts to be honest. We need to start developing him as a genuine NZ half before the world cup. I've no doubt he'd do a better job than vagana...

 

[yobbo84]

I like the selection of Fa'alogo on the bench - he has been one of the few Kiwis in good form all season and is a good mix between a grafter and a ball player.

David Fa'alogo's specialty is running on the left-hand fringes and popping round the corner offloads to his centres/wingers. It's come off for him numerous times for him but also many more where he's had nobody backing him up (bloody Souths). He's also been very consistent for the last 2 years. In fact he's more of a starter than bench impact player so don't be suprised for him to start as he did the Anzac test.

 

[KeepingTheFaith]

Vagan at five eight - damnit.

Tupou did some very good things but also his hands let him down. It pretty much summed up his night when he beat three players in the ingoal just to lose the ball 1 metre out after trying to bulldoze over Hodges rather than doing the smart thing and ensuring he got out into the field of play.

Depth always has been and for some time will continue to be the Kiwis achilles heel. We lost Benji so what do we get? Vagana? WTF? Sonny Bill would've been lock but instead we get an experiment with Mannering (as hard as he tried he's not in the SBW category yet). I don't even want to think about what happens if we lose Webb or Jones. On the flip side Australia lose Johns but replace him with Thurston, they lose Buderus but replace him with Smith etc.

A lot was made of the fact the Kiwis had more test caps compared to the Aussie but that was a media beatup. It just proves that the Kiwis are forced to blood players sooner they they should be blooded which exagerates the stats a bit.

Hodges on test debut. 2 Premierships with 2 different clubs, grand final 2004 (he missed the 2003 one didn't he?) SOO rep. He may have been on debut but he still had one hell of a resume. Cameron Smith was in a similar situation. NZ players are still picked after a handful of first grade games. It'd be great to have someone with Hodges resume unable to make the Kiwi team because of the quality of players in front.

Looking at the NZ and NZ A teams, as well as the players who aren't there (Benji, SBW, Webster, Faiumu etc) it does offer a lot of hope for the future. Unfortunately it could be 5-6 more years before we can consistently challenge the Aussies week in and week out.

If the teams were 100% full strength then it'd be interesting but the reality is that'll never happen. This year Australia have lost just as many players through injury as NZ and yet the quality of player they can replace them with is what seperates the two teams as much as anything.

 

[Martli]

Great post, sums it all up really.

It all boils down to New Zealand being a Rugby Union nation. More kids here grow up with the ambition to be an All Black rather than a Kiwi and that is translated into our amazing depth in the All Blacks. We just have to accept that for now, New Zealanders don't like league as much as union so most of our top contact sport athletes are going to play union rather than league.

 

[Inferno]

Sam Perrett ahead of Luke Covell? Give me a break. Covell played for New Zealand A last year and had a great game.

When is the Australian side going to be announced?

 

[Inferno]

Australian side just named

1. Shannon McDonnell (Wests Tigers)
2. William Zillman (Canberra Raiders)
3. Ben Jeffery (Wests Tigers)
4. Brett Morris (St George Illawarra Dragons)
5. Jarryd Hayne (Parramatta Eels)
6. Jarrod Mullen (Newcastle Knights)
7. Ben Hornby (St George Illawarra Dragons)
8. Luke Douglas (Cronulla Sharks)
9. Stuart Flanagan (Balmain Ryde)
10. Antonio Kaufusi (Melbourne Storm)
11. Cory Patterson (Newcastle Knights)
12. Joe Picker (Canberra Raiders)
13. Scott Bolton (North Queensland Cowboys)
14. Todd Carney (Canberra Raiders)
15. Joel Moon (Toowoomba Clydesdales)
16. Jacob Selmes (Cronulla Sharks)
17. David Taylor (Toowoomba Clydesdales)

 

[East Coast Tiger]

The 'A' game should be a cracker too. The Kiwis might even have the edge in that game because thay have a few more expereinced players in their side. I notice the sides are basically under19/20 teams with the 3N squad members not involve din the Test in the side.

 

[Mal Meninga]

Todd Carney dropped... Disgraceful! Congrats on Joe "The Nose" Picker and Will Zillman!!

 

[Phillips]

Sam Perrett ahead of Luke Covell? Give me a break. Covell played for New Zealand A last year and had a great game.

When is the Australian side going to be announced?

key words being 'last year'

Perrett >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Covel

 

[Sanchez]

they both suck