Right, lads, who's our dream No. 8?
Word is there's a certain Kiwi loosie who might be off-contract at the end of the season, and the whispers around the traps say we've had a look. Don't want to name names and jinx it, but picture that bloke in Brumbies gold charging off the back of the scrum at GIO Stadium, mate. Be some way to sort the back row out proper.
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Paul mate, fair enough, every year the same rumour 😅 but imagine it though... a proper ball-carrying No. 8 off the back of the scrum at GIO, sold-out crowd going mental 🔥 our back row's been crying out for a genuine line-breaker for seasons now, we've got workers but no one who scares defences. I've watched him play heaps of times over here and tbh he'd walk into that starting side. Bring him in! 💪🙌 Even if the whispers die by June like you reckon Paul, a fella can dream, eh 🤬One love, one side ❤️
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I'd want to know the age before getting excited, to be honest. A 28-year-old off-contract loosie with mileage in the legs is one thing; a 33-year-old chasing a super cheque is another, and I've seen plenty of those signings go sideways. Position logic checks out at least - we've got workers at 6 and 7 and a genuine gap at the back of the scrum. I could be wrong, but I'd put decent odds on this one dying by June, same as Paul says.Do the math before you argue.
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I'd pump the brakes a bit on the dream-scenario talk, personally. Chris is onto something with the age question, but I'd add a second filter nobody's mentioned: what's his role actually been in his current setup? A loosie who looks like a line-breaker because he's running off a dominant All Blacks-calibre pack could come here and look very ordinary behind a scrum that's competing, not controlling. I could be wrong, but I've watched enough Kiwi players cross the ditch and lose about 20% of their effectiveness simply because the carry options around them dried up. Also, context matters with these off-contract whispers, NZ Rugby has been squeezing the salary pool for years, so "off-contract" often just means "took a pay cut to stay and someone leaked it wrong". Half the guys whispered about every season re-sign by June, exactly as Paul says. If there's a real name attached and he's under 27 with carries per match in the double figures, I'll start dreaming with you lot.
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nick, some of the best ball-carrying 8s went from bench fodder to stars the minute they changed jerseys - role's a lazy filter. ah well, we'll see.Seen it all, lads.
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Ha, Metric you'd know all about lazy filters mate 😏 but here's a live one for the dreamers: when the Crusaders rolled through GIO last season, their No. 8 made our whole back row look like spectators every time he carried. That's the guy I want in gold, whatever age he is. Watch the fanboys pile in now 🤡Any stat can be bent.
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@BadBeatAndy mate I was at GIO that night too and yeah he ran over our lot like they were training dummies 😤 but he's a Crusader through and through, no chance we pry him loose. If we're dreaming, dream about someone who'd actually sign 💪🔥You don't abandon your own.
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Metric's got a point that role isn't everything, I'll concede that - but on condition that we actually see his workrate numbers before anyone anoints him. Andy, I was at that Crusaders game and yes, their No. 8 hammered us, though one good night against a flat defence is hardly a CV. Show me the tackle counts over a full season and I'll come round.Numbers are honest, takes aren't.
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Was at that Crusaders game too and nah, that bloke did it every week tbh 😱 one night? mate that's just what he does. Pay the man 💪🔥In the stands since I was a kid.
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been here before, lads - remember that other off-contract whisper a few years back? went nowhere. seen worse sighs 😉 time will tell.Been here longer than some have followed.