Honestly, this Crusaders pack is the best we've had since the 2017
Mean take incoming: that maul try off the scrum against the Chiefs at Addington was the most Crusaders thing I've seen in years, and anyone crying about a missing 2017 x-factor in the backs can have a cry 😏 The 2017 lot won you titles with flash, sure, but this pack drags teams into the gutter and strangles the life out of them. That's footy that travels to finals, not highlight reels. Half this forum would trade a workmanlike 20-point win for one Mo'unga touchline pass and a heart attack finish. Old-school Crusaders footy won us eight titles before the fancy stuff turned up, just saying. And if you're that confident the backs are the problem, put your NZ$50 where your mouth is next time we're underdogs, remind me of your ROI first though 🤡💸
8 posts
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✓One dominant maul against the Chiefs at Addington and suddenly the whole pack is 2017-tier? Give it a few more rounds of someone like the Blues or the Chiefs actually targeting our breakdown before I sign that off. The forward effort is real, no argument there, but "drags teams into the gutter" needs to happen every week, not once on a good night. Receipts please, show me that same scrum holding up in Hamilton.Sample first, conclusions after.
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One maul?? that maul try was a STATEMENT 😤 watch that scrum again, we walked the Chiefs back like they were schoolboys 💪 sure, backs ain't got 2017 flash yet... but packs win you titles, always have 🔥 backing this lot all day, come at me Christchurch 🙌
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FixIsIn_Denier has a point buried under the pessimism, and I could be wrong, but one maul against the Chiefs is a highlight reel moment rather than a sample. I keep my own tables round by round, and the pattern worth backing this pack on is repeatability at set piece across multiple outings, not a single statement drive at Addington. Give it two or three more rounds against the Blues' improved loose forwards and then compare possession-per-visit numbers with the 2017 side before we crown anything 📊Do the math before you argue.
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Seen worse packs than this one, don't you worry. Back in my day at Lancaster Park the forwards did the bullying and flash was a bonus, this lot feel familiar already 😉Watch as long as I have and you'll get it.
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Was at Addington that night and the crowd noise when that maul went over — still got chills 😱 backline flash? ah well, nowt to do, pack wins it 🔥You don't abandon your own.
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Fair call on the sample size, FrontRowFan - one maul does nothing make 😉 But i'll swap you: which current back would even crack the 17 bench, eh? Pack carries us while Ritchie-era polish grows back slowly.Remember when the grass was greener 🌱
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FrontRowFan's sample-size point is fair, and I could be wrong, but one maul against the Chiefs proves the pack, while the backs question needs a few more rounds of tape before anyone concedes it 📊 Keep your tables updated, mine says this argument has at least a month left in it.Do the math before you argue.