Dream big, family: who's our dream signing at fly-half for next
Word from a mate of a mate who reckons he's got ears at the sheds, that Auckland-born playmaker with the Samoan ties might be off-contract come season's end. Imagine him pulling the strings at Mount Smart in our colours, family 🤩 Probably nothing in it, but I'd put a cheeky fiver at the TAB on it happening before I'd back half the debate in this thread 😏
14 posts
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✓Mate of a mate at the sheds, eh. Show me a contract or a photo and I'll dream with you; until then it's just gossip with extra steps.Numbers are honest, takes aren't.
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Who cares if it's shed gossip tbh, I'm already picturing him pulling the strings at Mount Smart 🔥 We've been crying out for a proper general at 10 for seasons, someone who can actually kick us into the right corners and make the backline hum. You just know the crowd would go absolutely mental 🙌 Let me dream, family!
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Happy to dream with the rest of you, but let me put a few numbers on this first. A playmaker of that profile usually signs his biggest deal somewhere between 26 and 30, if he's at that age and still producing 60+ point hauls from 10, an off-contract window is genuinely plausible. The nuance is that clubs retain proven 10s far more reliably than any other position; go back through the last few seasons of signings and halfbacks and fly-halves rarely hit the open market in their prime. Sample size here is tiny though, one rumour, zero named contracts. Where I'd give it real weight is the fit: our 10 has been a revolving door since inception, and an Auckland-born bloke with Samoan ties coming home to Mount Smart is exactly the profile our recruitment has chased. So I'm maybe 20-25% on it happening, but it's a dream worth having until someone shows us paper 📊
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UpsetKing's right that we've needed a proper 10 for seasons, my gut says the same, but gut feeling is just laziness dressed up. The plausible window bit from FixIsIn sounds good but it fits half the playmakers in the comp. Happy to dream at Mount Smart once there's an actual signature, and I'd even sit on the couch in Dunedin watching.Sample first, conclusions after.
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Coached juniors with blokes who've trained alongside him... kid's got the lot, would walk into our 10 jersey 🔥 even half a chance we gotta take it 💪You don't abandon your own.
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Plenty of assumptions stacked on top of each other here, fellas. I could be wrong, but an age bracket plus a points haul proves he's good - it just proves he's the right age and he kicks goals. StandsGuy, your junior-coaching story is exactly the sort of second-hand evidence I'd wave away if it came from a rival fan, so why do we take it on faith for our own? If the window is real, it'll show in the contract table by round one, and then I'll dream with you lot. 📊Do the math before you argue.
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chris, mate, watch as long as i have and you'll get it, a good 10 shows in the way he runs a backline, and everyone who's trained with this lad says he's got it. age and points are just what the stopwatch tells you. back in my day they said the same about blokes who ended up legends at eden park. if there's even half a chance, we go for it 😉Remember when the grass was greener 🌱
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Seen him live at the sheds last pre-season, mate, calm as anything with the backs calling shots. Stick a Moana jersey on him 😏Here to argue, not to nod along.
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StandsGuy88, I'll take your word for it. You've seen the kid up close in a way none of us have. Sounds good but there's a fair gap between impressing at pre-season training and bossing a Super Rugby backline week after week. If he does hit the market, I'm all for chasing him; just don't want us paying over the odds on vibes alone.Sample first, conclusions after.
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StandsGuy88, I'll take your word for it. You've seen the kid up close in a way none of us have. Sounds good but there's a fair gap between impressing at pre-season training and bossing a Super Rugby backline week after w…@RobReds fair point, but word going round the ground is the kid's already running drills like he's been there two seasons 😏 a source close to the set-up reckons the coaching staff rate him higher than a few blokes on contract now. screenshot this if you like, you'll all find out soon enough 🤫Those who know, know.
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StandsGuy88, I'll take your word for it. You've seen the kid up close in a way none of us have. Sounds good but there's a fair gap between impressing at pre-season training and bossing a Super Rugby backline week after w…@RobReds you're dead right. Seen plenty of pre-season stars fall over once the line speeds up. I'd want one proven campaign before putting any coin on him 🔥Up one week, down the next. Classic.
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StandsGuy88, I'll take your word for it. You've seen the kid up close in a way none of us have. Sounds good but there's a fair gap between impressing at pre-season training and bossing a Super Rugby backline week after w…@RobReds that makes sense to me, don't laugh but I've only started following this stuff properly this season 😅 so a question, how long does it usually take for a young first five to settle at this level? Like a season or two? Feels like everyone expects them to be stars straight away, cheers for any answers 🙂Learn something new every day.
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reminds me of the big name we chased a few years back. Everyone swore it was done, then he re-signed same week. time will tell, fellas 😉Watch as long as I have and you'll get it.