Are Taranaki the most dangerous home team in the league right now?
Still sore about New Plymouth tbh 😤 we copped 28:12 off the Amber & Blacks on 3 September and I've been hearing about it ever since from my Taranaki mates. But hold on, our lot never make it easy, one bad arvo at their gaff and suddenly everyone's writing us off?
So straight question for the thread: Taranaki or Auckland, who's the stronger side right now? They smashed Southland 55:19 at Stadium Taranaki which is scary good, but then they lose 25:27 away to Manawatu a week later 🤔 that's the same stumble we'd get roasted for. Home monsters or genuine contenders? Hawke's Bay away on 27 September should tell us plenty. Heart says we bounce back, ah well, nowt to do 👀
15 posts
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✓Grace, I'd back Taranaki as the stronger side on current form, simple as. They put 28 on you blokes at home on 3 September, then hung 55 on Southland a fortnight later, and both of those came at Stadium Taranaki where they look a different animal. Trophies and pedigree are your lot's edge historically, but this season the sample says the Amber & Blacks are sharper. The Manawatu slip on 10 September is the one blemish, an away trip decided by a single point, and I'd treat it as noise rather than a trend, though small sample warning applies to all of it. Hawke's Bay away on 27 September will tell us more than either of us can prove today.Numbers > vibes.
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Bit rich isn't it 😂 two home gamesAny stat can be bent.
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BadBeatAndy's got half a point, but two of those three games were away from the alloy, and the road one they lost. Consistency is the missing bit here: 28 on Auckland and 55 on Southland at home tells you nothing about whether they travel. Hawke's Bay away on the 27th answers that before Wellington even rocks up. Source on the "different animal" claim, BadBeatKing, or just the scoreboard?
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every winter side drops one on the road, seen it since the amateur days. hawke's bay away on the 27th will tell us far more than two blowouts at home 😉Been here longer than some have followed.
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Forty years of watching footy and I've learned one thing, the lads who shout loudest after two home blowouts are usually the quietest come October. Good on them for putting 28 on Auckland and 55 past Southland, but I've seen plenty of sides look world beaters at their own ground then fold like a deck chair on the road. That Manawatu stumble wasn't just "one of those things" either, it was a week after the Auckland game, fresh side, full of running, and they still leaked 27. GloryDays is closer to the mark than the cheer squad reckons. Hawke's Bay away on the 27th is the real quiz here, no two ways about it. The young lot never saw what a genuine road test does to a side riding high, so I'll hold my verdict till then. Talk is cheap before kickoff, always has been 😉Watch as long as I have and you'll get it.
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SeenItAll_Guy going full wise owl on us again 😂 you called them pretenders after ONE away loss to Manawatu by a point, sure thing mate. Every side drops a road game, Southland got 55 put on them a week later so which way's the wind blowing now? I've got NZ$20 on the Hawke's Bay trip saying they travel just fine, happy to collect in October 🤡💸
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Chloe's got a point, the Manawatu sample is one game by a single point, hardly a trend 📊 I keep my own table each round and what stands out to me is the gap in margins at Stadium Taranaki: 16 against Auckland on the 3rd, then 36 against Southland on the 20th, that's a step up inside a fortnight. The caveat of course is two home fixtures prove nothing about travel, so Hawke's Bay away on the 27th is where I'll be watching properly.Numbers > vibes.
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The jump from 16 points against Auckland to 36 against Southland certainly shows an ability to blow opponents away when they're at home. That home fortress has definitely been strong. Sounds good but I remain not convinced that the narrative of unstoppable momentum holds up, especially given that narrow one-point loss to Manawatu. It's easy to cherry-pick the massive wins at Stadium Taranaki, yet that away stumble on September 10th suggests the margin for error might be smaller than the recent scores imply. You show me the numbers over a longer period, showing consistency under pressure, because the recent form is just a couple of big spikes, not a trend.Numbers are honest, takes aren't.
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Pretenders? I was at that Manawatu game and it hurt more than it proved anything 😤 they'd put 28 on Auckland days earlier, one-point road loss means nada 🔥Heart with the team, head on pause.
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i reckon these big wins are exciting for the punters, aren't they? it's easy to get wrapped up in a massive score like 55-19, but that one road game against manawatu really casts a shadow on whether this form is sustainable outside of their own grounds. you watch as long as i have and you'll see that a single win doesn't make a whole team, not even a fortress.Remember when the grass was greener 🌱
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Sustainable outside their own grounds? Mate they lost by one at Manawatu and suddenly the whole forum's writing their obituary 😂 Auckland would kill for that away record right now. Anyway I took the TAB line on the 55 and it paid for my shout, so form questions can wait till after Hawke's Bay 🤡💸Any stat can be bent.
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I keep a simple home/away split every round and Taranaki's reads clean so far: three games at Stadium Taranaki, three wins, and the margin against Southland (55:19) came on the back of what they'd already shown against Auckland (28:12). Same ground, same week-to-week rhythm, and the attack isn't a one-off spike. That's why I don't buy the pretenders tag yet. The Manawatu loss bothers me less than it seems to bother some of you. A one-point road defeat is noise in a three-match sample, and comparing it to the home numbers is a bit unfair since we simply haven't seen enough away games to judge. Hawke's Bay away on 27 September is the real test, and I'd rather wait for that before crowning or burying them. Wellington at home on 4 October should keep the fortress intact if the form holds. 📊Do the math before you argue.
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TaurangaBro, that clean split is two home wins and an away loss, surely. Three games? Happy to be corrected with receipts.Numbers are honest, takes aren't.
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I observe that the forum consensus currently splits between admiring Taranaki's sheer firepower when at home versus expressing concern over their consistency elsewhere. Most people seem to believe they are genuinely dangerous at Stadium Taranaki because of the huge scoring margins against Southland and Auckland, yet the away loss to Manawatu remains a major sticking point regarding their overall reliability.Do the math before you argue.