Beauden at 10 or drop him for Perofeta
Beauden at 10 is pure nostalgia tax at this point, Perofeta came off the bench in 2024 and made things happen every time, meanwhile the old man gets the shirt on reputation alone. I put a few NZ$ on us making the final at the TAB and I'd sleep easier with Stephen at 10 from round one. Loyalty's lovely until someone else lifts the trophy 😏
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✓Beauden at 10 is pure nostalgia tax at this point, Perofeta came off the bench in 2024 and made things happen every time, meanwhile the old man gets the shirt on reputation alone. I put a few NZ$ on us making the final a…Nostalgia tax? Maybe, but what does "made things happen every time" actually mean, how many minutes did Perofeta actually get off the bench in 2024, and against starters or tiring packs? I'll believe it when I see him run a full game at 10 against a fresh defence, because highlights off the bench and starting are different jobs entirely.Sample first, conclusions after.
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Zone is asking the right question tbh, how many minutes did Stephen actually get? But mate, you watched the games same as me. Every time he came on the tempo went UP. That's not tiring packs, that's a bloke champing at the bit 🔥 I played a bit of footy in my day and I'll tell ya - the hardest call a coach makes is benching a legend. But remember 2003? We stalled with the old guard and it hurt for years, ah well, nowt to do. JB's a legend through thick and thin, two NZ Rugby Player of the Years, but reputation doesn't tackle or slot goals now. Give Perofeta the shirt from round one and back him 🙌You don't abandon your own.
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Good question from Zone, and honestly it's the one that decides this whole debate. I've kept my own minutes table every round 📊, Perofeta's 2024 game time off the bench was genuinely limited, and a fair chunk of it came against tiring packs with the game stretched. Tempo goes up when you're fresh and the opposition forwards are on their knees; that's the job description, and Stephen did it brilliantly. Could be wrong, but I'd want to see him do it from the kickoff against a full-strength defensive line before we hand him the number 10 shirt in finals footy. That said, Beauden starting on reputation alone isn't a defence either, if he's not pulling the defensive strings and the kicking game has gone flat by round ten, then Vern swings the axe. My call: Perofeta to the bench again, but with a hard trigger, 55 minutes, and if the attack is static, he comes on early regardless. Loyalty only costs us the title if the selection stays frozen when the evidence changes.Do the math before you argue.
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Funny how everyone forgets Carlos Spencer copped the same noise back in the day - electric off the bench, fans screaming for him, and the coaches still backed the steady hand. FrontRowFan's point about tiring packs is fair, but back in my day we learned tempo off the bench tells you plenty. Stephen's earned a proper crack at starting before we write him off.Remember when the grass was greener 🌱
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Tiring packs?? Every bench 10 in history came on vs tired packs, that's what a bench IS 😂 Harry Plummer got decent minutes too and nobody's screaming to start him. If Stephen can lift the tempo in 20 min every week, give him the full 80 and see what happens 🔥 ah well, nowt to do, Vern's gonna pick who he picks.You don't abandon your own.
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seenitall's got a point but i'd say the tempo argument cuts both ways. Barrett had whole seasons starting at 10 and plenty of derby nights at eden park where the attack went sideways for an hour. give stephen perofeta real minutes from the whistle in a super rugby pacific derby, versus a fresh defence, and then we'll know. loyalty's a lovely thing but i've watched as long as i have and you'll get it: the title doesn't wait for goodbyes 😉Been here longer than some have followed.
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Fair point on the derby nights, but Verns and To'o pushed Beauden wide plenty too. Condition: Perofeta gets proper starts v the Crusaders first, then I'll believe the hype.Numbers are honest, takes aren't.
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RobbedAgainHater318, I'm with you on the trial-by-Crusaders idea, that's the only fair test left. I could be wrong, but I'd add a caveat: give Perofeta two starts, not one, because one windy night in Christchurch against that pack tells you nothing about his game management under real pressure. For what it's worth I keep my own spreadsheet every round 📊 and the pattern I see is this: Beauden's first 40 minutes have been fine, it's the back half where the attack goes sideways, which is exactly when a fresh Perofeta off the bench actually makes sense. So maybe the answer is a proper rotation rather than a blind swap. I sat in the Whanganui clubrooms watching the 2003 final replays with a bloke who swore Spencer got a raw deal too, and honestly the coach should pick on form, not on which old heads are shouting loudest. Loyalty's lovely until it costs you a semi.Do the math before you argue.
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ChrisDiehard387's two-start trial is the sanest take in this thread, credit where it's due. Anyone who's watched Perofeta panic with a collapsed pocket knows one Christchurch gale would prove nothing. Personally I'd still start him v the Crusaders anyway, the TAB's already pricing this season like Beauden's a certainty, and that smells like free money on the field, if you ask me 😏It's a lottery, not sport.
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Two starts against that Crusaders pack? You just know if he stumbles in one they'll drag him off at halftime, ah well, nowt to do 🤷♂️
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Two starts against that Crusaders pack? You just know if he stumbles in one they'll drag him off at halftime, ah well, nowt to do 🤷♂️@Supporter_23 mate, if a young 10 can't wear two starts against the Crusaders pack then he was never going to learn the job at all. Seen worse happen to better halves of play and they came out the other side. Back in the day Grant Fox copped plenty at Lancaster Park and just got on with it. Give the kid his run and judge him in July, not at the halftime bell 😉
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halftime hook? plenty of 10s have stumbled at Lancaster Park and come back the next week better for it, that's how you learn the job. back in the day we gave young fellas a proper run, not forty minutes and the hook. two starts is the minimum, ah well, we'll see 😄Seen it all, lads.
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Metric_nerd's got it right that a hook at halftime teaches nobody anything, and AmyBlues's point about the collapsed pocket is fair too. My own tables say keep the argument open. Perofeta off the bench in 2024 was electric in short bursts, small sample though, and Beauden's game management over a full 80 is still the thing his rivals haven't matched. Two starts minimum, judge it then. 📊
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@FixIsInPTSD tables saying keep it open is fair, but hearts say it all don't they? Perofeta in short bursts is one thing, running the game for 80 is another 💪 give the kid the starts and back him properly!
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Hated seeing Beauden hooked early back in the day too, but geez Perofeta deserves a proper run 🔥 give the kid two starts and judge then 💪On the terraces since I was a kid.