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Kiwis' tour chat

Meth

Meth

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Came across the game by surprise today. Saw the last 20 mins which seemed to be when the action was.

A few thoughts-

I am not sure whether this tour is good or bad for us.

Hiku and Lolohea- must be close to the worst halves pairing that we've put on the field?

Bromwich and Matulino were tearing Leeds apart in the last quarter at least.

Nikorima had a massive impact off the bench; scoring 1 and had a big hand in 2.

Good to see Taukeiaho in a black jersey
 
Rich102

Rich102

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11,762
I thought Luke was the stand-out player. Superb. And Nikorima was good as well.
Hiku and Lolohea are the worst halves pairing in football. If Kearney doesn't have a plan B for the halves we are a danger of losing the series.
Moon has trimmed down, played pretty well.
Ali had some good moments.
I wish Matulino had stayed at home. He looks really tired.
 
Fast Eddie

Fast Eddie

First Grade
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8,085
Rich102 said:
I thought Luke was the stand-out player. Superb. And Nikorima was good as well.
Hiku and Lolohea are the worst halves pairing in football. If Kearney doesn't have a plan B for the halves we are a danger of losing the series.
Moon has trimmed down, played pretty well.
Ali had some good moments.
I wish Matulino had stayed at home. He looks really tired.
Click to expand...

Missed 3 games to suspension during the season and just had 6 weeks off, shouldn't be tired.
 
Rich102

Rich102

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As I understand it he wanted to play No 6; and only 6. So he left.
And he still isn't a six.
 
ozbash

ozbash

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26,922
Hiku and Lolohea- must be close to the worst halves pairing that we've put on the field?
Click to expand...

thought Tui was good in the 2nd half. Hiku shouldnt be anywhere near the halves..

the poms will be forming a cunning plan.
 
S

spear tackle

Juniors
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1,176
We did loose a lot without Foran,Johnson and Mannering looked a little flat at times ,half asleep even in the first half except for Luke
 
Philip_Smith007

Philip_Smith007

Coach
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17,770
Caught only highlights on YouTube.
A few shirt grabber tackles in Leeds tries.
Hiku must have been a Harris moment that didn't work as well?
Nikorima had to play himself into a starting half?
Luke will normally play 80mins.
I would say we are in trouble against the Poms.
Would like to see coverage vs France.
International league really gets a shit deal, I would like to watch the European Championship as well.
 
The Clan

The Clan

Juniors
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693
Leeds were the better side in the first half and but for a lack of composure could have posted another 3 or 4 tries. The Kiwis were very susceptible to a short passing game straight through the middle channel and Leeds 'off the cuff style' mixed with periods of structured 'lead and out the back' had the NZ defence guessing.

Isaac Luke made a visible step up in the second half and created a lot yards for himself and those around him, Bromwich also showed he's a cut above with some great drives and late lines allowing him to make a number of busts.

Ash Golding was the man of the match for me but young Lilley was also outstanding.
It was great to see Ali Lauitiiti play for Leeds against the Touring Kiwis and his performance showed he was there on merit with his countrymen struggling 3 on 1 to contain him at times, class is permanent and Ali is all class!

Nice touch after the game when in front of a stadium still packed to the rafters the Kiwis accompanied by Kylie Leuleuai and Lauitiiti performed a full blooded Haka.

Leeds didn't deserve to lose by so many but New Zealand took their chances late on when they had the ascendency whereas Leeds didn't when they were on top early on.

20,500 passionate Rugby League fans created an amazing atmosphere which started an hour before the game and didn't dissipate until the pitch had emptied long after the final whistle.

A great taster for the full Test series against England and I'm sure the Kiwis enjoyed the superb atmosphere created by this occasion.
 
sup42

sup42

Juniors
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2,466
Bout time we got back to touring England.

The kiwis are looking pretty marketable just now. Aussie neglected thier duty to the game when they were number one, I hope these tours become a regular fixture.

These tests can only help us to get stronger.

Going off that Leeds game....I don't think we will have everything our own way against the POM's, its going to be a tough initiation for our halves.


RTS and Luke are a joy to watch, the Captaincy seems to sit well with Luke.
 
P

Penrose Warrior

First Grade
Messages
9,467
It's just bloody hard to watch two guys who won't play their club league in the halves, playing in the halves. You don't find your feet at 6-7 based on a couple of international games. They'll struggle all tour.

Our forwards are going to have to absolutely monster theirs if we're going to win. Given parity, I can see England doing the business.

On a positive note, isn't it still bloody fun to see Ali running around, holding the ball in one hand like an orange.
 
JJ

JJ

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32,725
:lol: yeah, building for the future - Tui, Hiku and Nikorima in the halves... too funny
 
Fast Eddie

Fast Eddie

First Grade
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8,085
JJ said:
:lol: yeah, building for the future - Tui, Hiku and Nikorima in the halves... too funny
Click to expand...

Nikorima will hopefully be our back up half option from next year on so playing him the halves now is building for the future. From an on field perspective he should be playing alongside Benji but anyway. Kearney better not use him as a bench hooker this series, would be really strange.
 
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