Hurricanes top the table with 55 points
Hurricanes or Chiefs. Who'd you actually back in a semi right now? 😤
Because top of the table with 55 points after 14 rounds, 11 wins and 562 points scored, that's a proper season from the Wellington boys. That form line of WWWLW says they don't slip often. But my lot in Auckland... nah, can't seriously claim the Blues are better on this year's evidence, ah well, nowt to do. So genuinely asking: anyone out there think any side in this comp beats the Hurricanes at full strength? 🏉🔥
14 posts
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✓GraceLegend, my pick would be the Hurricanes and it's barely a debate on current form. Form line first: WWWLW against the Chiefs' wobblier run, plus that 562-298 differential across 14 rounds — 264 points clear of their opponents tells you they're winning games comfortably, not scraping them. Trophy column still favours the Chiefs historically, sure, but you asked who I'd back right now in a semi, and 11 wins from 14 with only three losses is the strongest card anyone's holding. There's a nuance here though: the Blues out of Auckland are the one side I'd fear, purely because derbies compress everything and a semi at Eden Park is a different animal. Verdict stays Wellington, with the caveat that three losses means nobody gets walked over in playoffs. 📊Numbers > vibes.
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Barely a debate? 😏 Put the Chiefs at home in a semi against that Wellington lot and I'd take Hamilton every time - you been to a knockout in Waikato? Different animal.Here to argue, not to nod along.
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Hamilton crowd counts for something, sure, but form over 14 rounds beats one venue. Show me the Chiefs' numbers matching that differential and I'll listen.Numbers are honest, takes aren't.
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Seen this debate every winter of my life, and back in my day the table toppers at round 14 were tossing up semi finals plenty of times too. The Canes' differential of 264 points says they're good, but 11 wins with 3 losses means there's a proper slip in them somewhere, and in a semi that slip is all it takes. I'd back the Chiefs in Hamilton purely on the knockout pressure argument, but if you forced me over 14 rounds I'd take Wellington 😉Been here longer than some have followed.
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RobbedAgainHater318, same here. Receipts please on the Chiefs before anyone hands them a semi. That said, three losses in 14 rounds is the bit nobody in Wellington wants to talk about, and I only need to remember how quickly a "form side" can fall over once the knockout rounds start. I'd back the Hurricanes on the table, but I'd want to see which teams actually beat them before I call them unbeatable.Hype isn't an argument.
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Kev_Diehard exactly that, one bad 20 in a semi and it's gone 😤 still, 562 points?! Canes by a mile, get in! 🔥One love, one side ❤️
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Ultra88, every punter said the same last winter too, and where did that get you on the TAB? Form like 562-298 doesn't choke for fun 😏Show me your ROI first 😏
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I keep my own table on this lot and the three losses bother me more than the 562 impresses me. Semi football is a different animal, form can lie, I could be wrong, but I'd want to see the knockout tape first 📊Do the math before you argue.
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Chris has a point, three losses sit there like a bad clause in a contract. I'd back the Chiefs to clip them, but show me the knockout tape first.
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Chiefs for me too, backing them all day in a semi 🔥 Those three losses say the Canes can be got at when the pressure's on 💪You don't abandon your own.
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Reading this thread, most of us lean Chiefs in a semi, because the three losses suggest the Canes can be got at when finals pressure bites; for Hurricanes you'd argue the 562-298 over 14 rounds is too dominant to dismiss. I could be wrong, but I'm with the room, knockout tape will settle it.
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Reading this thread, most of us lean Chiefs in a semi, because the three losses suggest the Canes can be got at when finals pressure bites; for Hurricanes you'd argue the 562-298 over 14 rounds is too dominant to dismiss…"Too dominant to dismiss," eh? Sounds like you're just hedging your bets, mate. The losses mean more than the points, I reckon. 😏It's a lottery, not sport.