Does Hawke's Bay carry a mental scar from McLean Park?
Two wins would've had the table looking very different if you'd told me after the Otago game they'd drop the next two. That 35:24 over Otago at McLean Park was the Magpies at full throttle, then North Harbour came to town and took it 24:31, and the Bay of Plenty trip finished 17:32. Same squad, roughly same week-and-a-half window, that's what makes me doubt the "mental scar" theory. A scar builds over seasons; a two-game dip usually has more boring explanations, like the bounce of selection or just running into sides that turned up.
On the head-to-head angle, I'd be careful reading too much into history either way, because the record against Taranaki at home (27 September) and Counties Manukau away (3 October) only tells you what happened with different squads and coaches. I could be wrong, but my read is the sample is too small and too lopsided by era to call this a psychological thing.
7 posts
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✓Funny thing about memories, I can still smell the night games at McLean Park from the old days, and let me tell you, that ground has always had moods. Been watching the Magpies since before the cash came in, and I've seen runs like this before: one week you're humming against Otago, 35:24 and the crowd roaring, next week Harbour walks in and pinches it 24:31, and then the wheels come right off down at Bay of Plenty, 17:32. Mental scar? I'd say it's less about ghosts and more about the old proverb. One swallow doesn't make a summer, and one good night doesn't make a season. Back in my day we called it losing the plot between the ears, and it usually showed in the tight five before it showed anywhere else. Taranaki coming to Napier on the 27th is the real test of whether the scar's real, because McLean Park has always been worth a try or two to the home side when the boys believe. Then Counties Manukau away on 3 October.Remember when the grass was greener 🌱
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Coached the juniors long enough to know one hot night can fool you 😅 that Otago win felt massive, then Harbour and BOP smacked us back to earth, 24:31 and 17:32, ouch. History vs Taranaki and Counties means sweet nothing if the heads are still wobbly. You just know form beats folklore every time 💪🔥Heart with the team, head on pause.
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Form beats folklore, agree with the juniors coach there, the Otago night was one hot Friday, then Harbour and BOP priced it properly. My read: heads wobbling beats any McLean Park myth, so I'm waiting for the Taranaki line before touching anything, even a small punt. If the TAB opens them shorter than a Tryline hero would price it, that's my cue to stay out.Up one week, down the next. Classic.
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Agree with most of that, though I'd push back gently on writing off the Taranaki fixture as pure form-versus-folklore. The sequence matters: the Otago win at McLean Park on 4 September looked like a side in full control, then seven days later North Harbour won in Napier 24:31, and the Bay of Plenty trip finished 17:32. Two home/different-venue swings inside a fortnight usually points at something structural, selection or the week's preparation, rather than a ground losing its mood. I could be wrong, but I'd watch the next two closely before deciding the scar is mental: Taranaki at home on 27 September, then Counties Manukau away on 3 October. If the heads were truly wobbling, the away trip is where it shows. Until then the head-to-head story stays unwritten, and I'd treat the Otago night as the outlier in either direction. 📊Do the math before you argue.
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My old man used to say a team's memory is shorter than the crowd's, and I reckon that's the crux here. Back in the day I sat through some rough afternoons at McLean Park where the blokes on the park looked like they'd forgotten last week ever happened, while us in the stands were still groaning about it. That Otago night on 4 September would've felt a world away to the players by the time Harbour turned up seven days later. The scar, if there is one, lives with us supporters, not in the sheds. Where I'll back the coach's point is on Taranaki coming to Napier on the 27th - home ground has a way of resetting heads quicker than any history book. Seen worse sides than this Magpies lot bounce straight back after two losses, and the Counties trip on 3 October will tell us whether the reset actually stuck. Watch as long as I have and you'll get it: form wobbles, grounds don't hold grudges 😄Watch as long as I have and you'll get it.
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History with Taranaki and Counties favours us, but form's flipped since that Otago night, home crowd memory runs long, squad's needs to reset fast.Numbers > vibes.