Right now our centre channel is leaking tries
Our midfield got carved up again on the weekend and I nearly put my fist through the wall watching that 13 channel open like a driveway. Word is there's a bruising second five down south quietly unhappy with his game time - take that with a grain of salt obviously, but my TAB money says we need someone who actually tackles in that jersey. Dream combo? Big hitter at 12, feet at 13. 😏
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✓A quiet unhappy second five down south, very convenient. Show me the numbers on that rumour before anyone spends a cent of TAB money on it, most line breaks conceded or not, "word is" from your mate isn't a recruiting strategy. I'll concede we need a proper 12, on condition that someone actually names the bloke with evidence he wants to move.Numbers are honest, takes aren't.
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Sign me up for a big lad at 12 who flattens anything coming down that channel 😤 saw the Crusaders game last year, we got bullied up the guts all night ah well, nowt to do 💪🔥You don't abandon your own.
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The rumour has one thing going for it: southern clubs are stacked at 12 and a bloke stuck behind the All Black depth chart would want minutes somewhere. But age matters, if he's past 27 we're buying two good seasons at most, and we've been burned on that before. I'd wait until Bunnings NPC starts and watch how that 12 channel holds up with proper tracking before spending a cent.
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Fair point from NickDiehard on the age curve, though I'd push back on the whole premise a bit. Before we sign a bruising second five off a rumour, I'd want to know how many of those line breaks came from a gap at 12 versus our edges falling off tackles and the wingers being caught in transition. I keep my own table on conceded breaks by channel, and honestly the 13 channel was bad last season, but the 12 numbers were mid-table. Could be wrong, but the tape suggests our problem there is defensive connection more than a soft body. So my dream combo isn't a name off a whisper, it's whoever fits the system: a 12 with a solid kicking game and communication, and a 13 who reads the sweep. A big lad who flattens things sounds lovely until he's bitten by every decent draw-and-pass in this comp. Get the recruitment right, sure, but get the midfield drills sorted first, otherwise we'll spend NZ$ nicely and leak breaks all over again. 📊Do the math before you argue.
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chris raises a fair point about the edges, i'll grant him that much. but watch as long as i have and you'll get it, when the same channel opens up week after week, that's a pattern, not bad luck. back in my day at athletic park a soft midfield got sorted by putting a bloke there who simply refused to be run around, and the whole defensive line stood taller for it. i remember the bledisloe nights at eden park where the game was won in that 12/13 corridor before anyone even touched the ball wide. sure, fix the winger transition work too, but you don't leave your front door unlocked while you repaint the fence 😄 i'd rather spend the money on a proper enforcer now than watch another season of driveway defence. seen worse squads turn it around with one signing in the right spot.Been here longer than some have followed.
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Watched the Crusaders game replay again - every break came straight at 12, our bloke was scrambling sideways before the ball even got there.Here to argue, not to nod along.
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ChrisDiehard387 asks a fair question about the edges, and I'd want that split too before anyone starts waving the chequebook around. Source on that? Not the vibe, actual numbers, line breaks by channel. But UnderdogNightmare has a point I can't wave away: the same gap opening week after week stops being coincidence somewhere around round six. My caveat is this: whoever we chase, the buy only works if the ten in front of him defends the channel properly as well. I coached my nephew's under-13 side in Rotorua for a few seasons, and even at that level you'd see it - a centre can be solid all day and still look terrible when the inside man keeps sliding out and leaving him holding two attackers. Fix the pair, don't just buy a body for 12. And yes, if the rumoured bloke is past 27, receipts please on why two good seasons is worth what he'd cost us.
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Backed Underdog here — I coached juniors for years and you can SEE it before the pass even goes wide, our 12's feet pointing at the sideline instead of the ball carrier. Drift defence only works when the inside man sets the line, and ours keeps getting done off that shoulder. Give me a big bashing 12 and let 13 run the show 💪 ah well, nowt to do till selections drop eh 😅One love, one side ❤️
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i've seen us chase "the answer" at 12 before, and more than once the big name signed elsewhere by round three 😄 remember a couple of seasons back when everyone swore we'd land that enforcer and he ended up across the tasman. Old school rumour mill stuff. good on Grace for the coaching eye, feet don't lie, but i'll believe the new midfield when i see it on the park. ah well, we'll seeSeen it all, lads.