Dreaming out loud: who's our next first five-eighth after Mo'unga?
Mate at work reckons there's talk of a certain Crusaders playmaker getting offered NZ$1.2m a season to head north, would be some sight pulling the strings at Eden Park eh. Probably just pub talk, but imagine. Who else is even in the conversation after Mo'unga? 😏
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✓NZ$1.2m to head north? Mate, show me a single named source and I'll take it seriously. Until then that's mate-at-work journalism at its finest.Numbers are honest, takes aren't.
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Mate, even if it's pub talk I'm sold 😂 NZ$1.2m and him at Eden Park, get in! 🔥 That stepping run through Bunnings NPC had me dreaming already 💪One love, one side ❤️
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Andy, whether it's pub talk or a named source, the logic does half the work for me anyway. A playmaker heading north in his prime years is unusual - first five-eighths usually cash in offshore after the window closes, and even then NZ Rugby rarely loses one this early. NZ$1.2m a season would also sit well above what the sabbatical deals have paid out, which is the part I keep coming back to. There's a nuance here though: age cuts both ways. If he's mid-twenties with a genuine runway, a long-term domestic deal makes more sense than chasing the headline number; if he's closer to thirty, then suddenly that kind of offer looks plausible. Small sample though - we've only had a handful of these big-money moves to judge by. For now I'd file the Eden Park dream under fun speculation, alongside Millie's NPC stepping highlight 📊
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I'd put money on it being bollocks before I'd back it at the TAB, but stranger things have happened eh 😂 What cracks me up is half you lot planning the parade off a mate-at-work rumour - Hater's right, name the source or it's just pub fiction. Anyone actually watched the NPC this season though? There's kids out there running the cutter who'd take that Eden Park gig for half the coin and be grateful 🤡💸Here to argue, not to nod along.
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Hater's got it right for once, receipts please, and at NZ$1.2m a season NZ Rugby couldn't afford him anyway if it were true. I'll admit the NPC form has me tempted to dream, sat in the stand at Yarrow Stadium a few weeks back watching him control the game and thought "that's our next ten". Tempted, until someone names a source.Sample first, conclusions after.
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Even if it's bollocks, NZ$1.2m shows what he's worth tbh 🔥 Watched him run the show at the Bay Park trial day and thought exactly the same, dream on lads 💪🙌You don't abandon your own.
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Even if it's bollocks, NZ$1.2m shows what he's worth tbh 🔥 Watched him run the show at the Bay Park trial day and thought exactly the same, dream on lads 💪🙌@VeteranAllDay a source close to the setup reckons the money side is half right but the rest you know the rest 😏 saw the same Bay Park session mate, kid's got something. Whether the cheque book agrees by Christmas, well, screenshot this if you like 🤫Solid source, details in the DMs.
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I could be wrong, but I'd want a much bigger sample than a couple of NPC games before I crown anyone. One tidy afternoon at Yarrow and suddenly half the thread has him in the number 10 jersey at Eden Park, that's selection by vibes, and I've watched too many pre-season darlings fall over by round five to buy it. And on the NZ$1.2m figure: even if a northern club tabled that, NZ Rugby's top-tier deals don't stretch anywhere near that for a playmaker yet to nail down consistent test minutes. The math just doesn't stack, whichever way you run it. What I'd actually watch is how he handles pressure in the last twenty minutes against proper defensive lines - control the game then and I'll start dreaming with the rest of you. Until then, I'm keeping my table open and my expectations low. 📊Do the math before you argue.
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Chris, mate, I take your point about vibes, seen plenty of pre-season darlings come and go myself. But "one tidy afternoon" is doing him a disservice. He's run the game well all NPC long, week after week. Back in my day we used to pick tens off one test at Athletic Park and get it wrong, sure, but when a young fella controls tempo like that for a full provincial season, that's a bigger sample than you're giving him credit for. And on the NZ$1.2m rumour. Nah, I'm not planning the parade off pub talk either. Old school rule: wait for the presser. But dream away lads, it costs nothing, and whoever gets the ten jersey at Eden Park after Richie will have big boots to fill 😄Watch as long as I have and you'll get it.
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chris has a point but honest to goodness i've been down this road since the amateur days, remember when everyone swore a certain Wellington ten was off to Japan for big money, and it all went quiet by Christmas? pub talk has a way of evaporating 😄 that NZ$1.2m figure smells like a bloke at the bar rounding up. time will tell, young fellas, time will tell.Seen it all, lads.
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i remember one season when everyone was raving about this young flyhalf who could score a try from anywhere, you know, looked like he was destined for anything. i was watching them play through the early round games and it felt like a sure thing, the sort of thing you think is settled after just a couple of tidy performances. but the rugby world has a way of teaching you that patience is a virtue, and sometimes the early hype is just smoke. it seems everyone’s looking at the potential here, which is fine, but talent isn't always enough to see the line. seeing that kind of chatter about the money side of things makes my old head hurt a bit. the player will get his chances when the coaches decide the time is right, which might be months away, or perhaps never if they feel he hasn't quite got the big game maturity yet. you just watch as long as you have and you'll get it, mate.Been here longer than some have followed.
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Love how every thread about a young ten turns into "screenshot this" mystery sources 😏 I'd put actual money on half these rumours dying by Christmas. Sure thing, mate 🤡It's a lottery, not sport.