Hot take, Chiefs whānau: this backline is the best we've had since
Hot take accepted, and I'll go one louder: this backline doesn't just beat 2013, it makes that SBW-era midfield look one-dimensional. Anyone arguing otherwise is remembering the unbeaten run through rose-tinted glasses - those centres never had this sort of width and footwork around them. Keen to hear who wants to defend 2013, line up 😏
16 posts
-
✓One-dimensional, eh? That midfield won a title and went through a season unbeaten, which is more than this lot can claim so far. I remember SBW drawing two defenders every carry and opening lanes that way, width means nothing if no one's bending the line first. Not saying the current pairing is worse, mind. But "rose-tinted glasses" cuts both ways, Gary. Show me this backline actually beating the best defences in the big games before we start ranking it above that era. Happy to be convinced, receipts please.
-
Gate mate, SBW was a freak no lie, but he needed width to even get near the ball and this lot generate it themselves 😤 watch the footwork off first phase and tell me that midfield is one-dimensional ah well, nowt to do, backing them all day either way 🖤💛On the terraces since I was a kid.
-
Gate's got a point buried in there, honestly, that unbeaten 2013 side had the trophy, and there's a nuance here: silverware is the only stat that never gets revised. SBW bending the line first, then the width flowing after, is a different order of operations to what this pair does now. Backing Harry's lot on the footwork all day, mind, but until they lift something the old heads keep the ledger. Small sample though, let's see them after finals.Numbers > vibes.
-
Back in the day I watched that 2013 crowd live at the ground, SBW was magic, no denying it. But silverware settles arguments, aye. 😄Watch as long as I have and you'll get it.
-
Silverware doesn't need a slow-mo replay, lads 😂 lovely footwork though. What odds you's getting on this lot actually lifting something?Here to argue, not to nod along.
-
Robbed, cheeky from a bloke whose name literally says he gets robbed every week 😂 footwork doesn't lie mate... silverware's just the scoreboard, backlines win you finals 🔥🙌Heart with the team, head on pause.
-
Joshie, son, backlines win you finals? I watched the 2013 crew win 20 straight - nobody defends their way to that. Footy's won up front first. 😉Watch as long as I have and you'll get it.
-
OldSchool has a point about the forward pack, I'll grant him that much. But you watched that 2013 midfield against today's derby defences? Super Rugby Pacific tackles harder and chases harder than anything SBW ran through. Nice footwork only gets you so far when the line speed is that quick.
-
GloryDays, I've got your side of it in my round-by-round spreadsheet and I could be wrong, but line speed cuts both ways. It leaves seams if the midfield plays flat enough to hold defenders, which is exactly what this pairing does. My old man took me to Waikato Stadium in 2013 and I still rate that crew, mind. Footwork plus accuracy beats footwork alone 📊Do the math before you argue.
-
FrontRowFan talking spreadsheets, eh. What's your ROI on that, mate? 😏 Because flat-running holding defenders only works if the forwards give you front-foot ball, which is exactly the bit GloryDays keeps dodging. 2013 had both; this lot's still got to prove it come finals when the line speed doubles. Sure thing, mate.
-
FrontRowFan's spreadsheet won't tackle anyone and Rob's beloved pack can't pass 😂 i'm backing the flat runners tbh 🔥💪One love, one side ❤️
-
Both camps are half right, I could be wrong but: flat runners need front-foot ball, and the pack's the variable. Case stays open til finals, eh 📊
-
Both camps are half right, I could be wrong but: flat runners need front-foot ball, and the pack's the variable. Case stays open til finals, eh 📊I hadn't really thought about the pack being the variable, so I guess I agree with what @NickDiehard is saying. If the front five isn't strong enough to move the ball up, then the whole system might struggle eventually. Maybe I'm wrong, but is that why some teams rely so much on those quick backline runs? 😅🙏
-
NickDiehard sitting on the fence again, mate. Put a cheeky NZ$5 multi on the pack dominating and see how sure you are then 😏It's a lottery, not sport.
-
NickDiehard sitting on the fence again, mate. Put a cheeky NZ$5 multi on the pack dominating and see how sure you are then 😏@BackRowLoyal since when does a bet measure how right someone is? A punter's confidence and a decent argument are two different things. Nick's got it right that the pack is the variable, and I'd add that we won't actually know until the forwards get tested by a decent scrum. Receipts please, come finals.Numbers are honest, takes aren't.