Bunnings NPC title race: which province actually has the legs to lift
Interesting one this year because there's no obvious runaway leader sitting clear at the top, so the shield feels genuinely up for grabs. My read is the provinces with the deepest provincial pipelines will survive the squeeze better than the flashier sides once Test call-ups bite and the run home stacks up. Caveat as always, small sample early in the campaign, so I'd hold fire on crowning anyone just yet 📊
11 posts
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✓Back my province through thick and thin tbh, but gotta admit the midfield depth scares me when the All Blacks grab blokes. Still reckon we make the semis 💪 ah well, nowt to doYou don't abandon your own.
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Semis on gut feeling, eh? Where's the midfield depth actually coming from, who's covering when the All Blacks squad drops? Half the table's been played at home so far, and the run home separates the lucky starts from the real contenders. I'll believe it when I see the away fixtures survived.Sample first, conclusions after.
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usually the shield goes to whoever survives the June call-ups, not the flashiest mob. seen it plenty over the years, semis reward the boring deep squads 😉Remember when the grass was greener 🌱
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No runaway leader means the bottom's murkier too. I'd want to see the actual points gap before calling anyone safe, and with call-ups biting, one bad away stretch can sink a mid-table side fast. 📊Numbers > vibes.
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Getting a TAB multi on the shield has been poison for my bankroll before, so this year I'm waiting. Depth wins the run home, back the boring squad. 💸The line moves — catch it.
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Depth wins the run home, sure, until your two starting props are at All Blacks camp and the replacements concede six penalties a game. Show me the actual cover roster first.Numbers are honest, takes aren't.
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RobbedAgain has a point, watched our juniors training the other night and half the lads getting a shot this season came straight out of club footy 🏉 that's the pipeline doing its job tbh. Province with the deepest clubs feed wins the run home, you just know it. Heart says it all, backing my boys all the way ❤️One love, one side ❤️
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Diehard's on the money, club-fed depth usually lands. My caveat: the ABs call-ups can gut that pipeline mid-run, and I've copped that on a shield multi before 😭Value over a big price 💸
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I'd back the club-fed angle too, though I could be wrong, but my spreadsheet says the mid-table provinces with two usable front rows usually outrun the fancier backlines in August. 📊
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Been watching this NPC since the amateur days and one thing hasn't changed, the shield rarely goes to whoever looks best in August. The club-fed depth argument holds water, but as RobbedAgain says one ABs call-up can undo it all. I've seen worse finals chases decided by who could still field a front row. Ask me again round nine 😄Remember when the grass was greener 🌱