Right, lads. Who do we raid to fix that centre hole before the NPC
Heard a whisper at training ground talk, certain Chiefs outside back whose contract runs out, and apparently he'd fancy a shift south if the coin's right. Centre hole sorted in one go if we can pull it off. Getting him in red and black would be sweet as. 😏
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✓A whisper at a training ground talk? Which one, and who was doing the talking - the groundsman? Source on that, because "he'd fancy a shift south if the coin's right" describes roughly every off-contract player in the country. I'll believe it when the signing is on the Canterbury site, not before. Until then this smells like someone's cousin's mate stirring the pot during a quiet pre-season. Name the player or park it.
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Imagine him hitting the line off Ioane in red and black 😍 we'd walk this comp tbh. Pay the man,rugby park deserves it 🔥 ah well, nowt to do but dream till it's signed eh
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A few things would need to line up before I'd take this seriously. First, squad logic: if he's a Chiefs outside back, is he even a genuine 12/13, or are we projecting because the profile looks right? I could be wrong, but NZ rugby has a history of shifting blokes one position inwards and calling it a fix, some of those experiments work, plenty don't. Second, sample size: one whisper at one training ground talk is a data point of one. GloryDays is right that "he'd fancy a shift south if the coin's right" applies to half the off-contract list. Third, and probably the clincher: NPC clubs rarely outbid Super franchises for a player they're still developing, and NZR contracts sit above everything anyway. If the Chiefs rate him, they'll usually find the coin. 📊 My honest read, a punt, worth watching the contract news trickle through the usual channels, but I wouldn't budget the season around it. If someone can actually name the bloke, then we can start running the numbers properly.Do the math before you argue.
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Seen this movie before, mate — outside backs get shifted to centre and it looks lovely until the first big hit. I'd rather we raid properly and sign a real 12. 😄Been here longer than some have followed.
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Funny how every lad on this thread suddenly becomes a talent scout the second a whisper drops 😂 GloryDays wants a source, FrontRow wants a CV - relax, it's February, half the NPC squads aren't even finalised. My two cents from actually watching him: he's got the build and the step for 13, no doubt, but every time the Chiefs shifted him infield he looked like a bloke doing his mate a favour. Defence reads well though, which is half the battle out there. And anyone saying pay whatever it takes. Sure thing, mate, until the salary cap maths bites and we lose two props to fund one shiny back 🤡💸 I'll put a lazy $20 on the TAB that this ends with him re-signing in Hamilton and us all feeling mugs 😏
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UnderdogNightmare has a point - I watched a bloke at Tasman get shunted from the wing into 13 a few seasons back and he spent the whole year looking like a lost tourist. Caveat though: an off-contract outside back on decent coin is worth a look even if he stays on the wing, so maybe the centre hole gets fixed elsewhere and this signing is just gravy. Show me the numbers before anyone books the parade.
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@Josh_Legend aye, one bloke looking like a lost tourist doesn't kill the whole idea 😂 been plenty of wingers who slotted into midfield and thrived. Threw my money on it happening tbh. 🤣Hold my pint.
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Nah Josh's mate at Tasman isn't the argument imo, good athletes who've actually played midfield juniors convert fine, remember all blacks stars who started on the wing 🏉 You don't leave an off-contract outside back with real pace sitting at another province while we've got a hole at 13 wide open. Backing them all day if we pull it off!! 🔴⚫Heart with the team, head on pause.
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Remember a few whispers like this over the years that died the day contracts got announced. Time will tell, lads 😉Watch as long as I have and you'll get it.
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Took the joker's angle there myself, chucked a few dollars on the TAB ages back that we raid someone for midfield cover, still waiting on it landing 😅. LeeLegend, 13's more than defence though, reading the attack and timing your pass off 10 is what separates them. Pace without that and you've just got a winger standing in the wrong channel.