Are we just a collection of superstars?
Dynasty talk already? 😂 We haven't even strung two decent seasons together and half of you are measuring trophy cabinets. Meanwhile the kid at 10 is rotting on the bench so the old head can rack up minutes like it's a TAB multi on himself. Give the junior proper game time or this "pipeline" is just a fancy word for a waiting room 🤡
9 posts
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✓Funny how the same blokes who want the kid thrown in at 10 were calling for the coach's head last time we handed a rookie the keys at home. Nobody's "rotting", he's getting minutes off the bench and training against the best in the country every week. I'll believe the dynasty stuff when I see it, sure, but rushing him in for feel-good selection calls is how you lose both. Show me the junior tearing up training consistently and I'll happily change my tune.
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Bench minutes and running the attack in training are two different things tbh 😤 I remember sitting behind the posts watching a young 10 get thrown in cold once and it went sideways, but he LEARNED from it. Kid needs proper game time or the pipeline means nothing. Ah well, nowt to do 🤷On the terraces since I was a kid.
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Watched the kid run the second-unit attack at training last month and honestly he looked sharper than half the starting backs. That's the frustration here. Bench cameos tell you almost nothing, small sample and all that, but the pattern is consistent: a handful of minutes a week against tired legs teaches a young 10 nothing about managing a tight game from the first whistle. Retro's got a point about throwing rookies in cold, I was there for that home game too. But there's a middle path nobody seems to want. Give the kid one full start in a dead-rubber fixture or against the weaker conference sides, spell the incumbent for 20 minutes earlier rather than the last five. Training reps are good but they're not the same animal, ask anyone who's played. If the pipeline actually means anything, this is where we find out. 📊Numbers > vibes.
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i remember the grind back when we were running attack out of Eden Park for the big crowds, the pathways weren't as clear for the youngsters then. you learn real quick that even brilliant talent ain't worth much if you never get the chance to prove yourself under the lights. it takes seeing a full campaign to know if they've got the grit, not just the flash in a training session.Watch as long as I have and you'll get it.
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His handling of pressure in the recent trial games was genuinely elite. That kid deserves consistent game time, full stop.Hype isn't an argument.
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Kev_Diehard is onto something with those trial games. I've got the kid's minutes logged round by round in my own spreadsheet and the pattern is ugly reading, one cleanup shift here, a dead-rubber cameo there. No wonder he looks rusty when he finally gets fifteen off the bench. My caveat though, and I'll say it from experience: I watched a young first five at Rugby Park a few seasons back get thrown in for six straight starts before he was ready, and it knocked two years off his development. Game time is only good game time when there's a structure around it. So give him proper runs, sure, but pick the fixtures where the forward pack can actually protect him. Otherwise we're just burning the pipeline to flatter the incumbent's minute count. 📊
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Yeah nah, Rusty Rusty Rusty... wait, that's the kid's nickname now apparently. Anyway I'd back him for a full 80 before the season's out, and I'd put NZ$50 on it at the TAB. 🤡It's a lottery, not sport.
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It’s wild seeing how much discussion there is over whether the squad is built on immediate success or long-term foundations. If we look past the noise from the TAB punters, the core issue remains the limited exposure the younger players receive when the established fly-half is playing at his peak. Getting that consistent game time for the juniors, even just through a few more focused phases, is probably the biggest determinant of whether we see sustained growth or just short-lived glory.Do the math before you argue.