Three hidings in a row, 19:66 at Canterbury the worst of it
Hot off the press, word going round that a shake-up's landing at Wellington before the Waikato game. Appointment level, not just tinkering. That's all I can say for now, my source is normally a day or two ahead 😏 Screenshot this if you like. Waikato at Hnry next week, those who know, know.
10 posts
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✓Finally some actual news after weeks of watching our lot get pumped 😤 if that shake-up's real then about time, 66 points at Canterbury was embarrassing tbh. Waikato at Hnry next week, you watching too or are you a neutral coming for the circus? Either way screenshot saved, if your source's wrong I'll find you 😂One love, one side ❤️
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An "insider source" that conveniently can't name anyone or anything, right before a Waikato match everyone already dreads? I've seen plenty of these soothsayers on here over the years and they're usually wrong more often than our defence line. Show me an official announcement with a name attached and I'll take it seriously; until then, five weeks of leaked appointments and still 66 conceded at Canterbury.Not convinced, Faithful. A nameless "appointment level" whisper with zero confirmation, two days before the Waikato game?Numbers are honest, takes aren't.
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I could be wrong, but I'd hold the scepticism and the hype in equal measure here. An appointment-level change before a Waikato game matters only if it comes with time to actually coach something, one week between the announcement and kickoff is barely enough to tighten a defensive shape that's leaked 28, 42 and 52 across three weeks. The Canterbury 66 looks like a collapse, sure, but the Northland home loss worries me more; shipping 52 at Hnry to a visiting side suggests the problems are structural, and you don't fix structure mid-campaign with a new name on the door. What I'll be watching is less the appointment itself and more whether the next two selections show any intent - does the backline get reorganised, does anyone get dropped, does the kicking game change. If nothing shifts on the team sheet against Waikato, then the shake-up is PR and we're all just waiting for Taranaki to run up another half-century.Do the math before you argue.
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Nameless appointment one week out fixes a defence that's leaked 160 in three games? I'll believe it when I see it. Receipts please, Faithful.Sample first, conclusions after.
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I was at Athletic Park when things were far grimmer, lads, seen worse. One week with a decent coach beats none, keep the scepticism but give it a chance 😉Watch as long as I have and you'll get it.
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66 points at Canterbury is what gets me 😱 we lost plenty up here in my day but shipping a score like that, bloody hell. And then 52 at home to Northland the very next week?? 🤬 That's the bit nobody's answering, the "shake-up" news is all well and good, but who's fixing the tackle line? Waikato at our place first up, imagine conceding another fifty in front of our own crowd tbh 😱 Give the new bloke a chance by all means but one week to coach a defence that's been leaking like this... I dunno lads 💪🙌On the terraces since I was a kid.
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TouchlineFaithful nails the real question there. Who's on the training field this week sorting the tackle line? An appointment announced seven days before Waikato arrive at Hnry Stadium gives you maybe two proper sessions, and you don't rebuild a defensive system in two sessions. I keep my own running numbers each round 📊 and the sequence is ugly: 42 at Tasman, 66 at Canterbury, then 52 at home to Northland. That last one bothers me most, because giving up a half-century in your own yard tells me the players have stopped trusting whatever structure exists. Where I'd temper the skeptics: one week rarely fixes anything, but a competent voice can stop the bleeding. Tidy the edges, shrink the gaps, get some pride back. Waikato at home, then Taranaki away, both inside a fortnight. I could be wrong, but I'd judge this appointment on whether Wellington concede under 30 in those two, and nothing else. 📊Do the math before you argue.
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Ask a source what's actually going on behind the scenes and you get a long pause and a "watch this space" 🤫 Which tells you everything, really. Systems don't get rebuilt in two sessions, FrontRowFan's dead right there, but honestly I don't reckon the appointment (whatever it is) is meant to fix the tackle line by Saturday. Timing's too tight for that and everyone upstairs knows it. What it might do is stop the bleeding mentally. You ship 66 then 52 at your own ground, the heads go long before the kicks off. Word going round the playing group needed a voice, someone who can steady them before Waikato roll in. Whether that works? Waikato and Taranaki back to back will tell us. If they keep leaking half a hundred, no voice on earth saves that season. Those who know, know 😏Solid source, details in the DMs.
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A wise old coach once told me you can't teach tackling in a fortnight, you can only remind fellas they're allowed to hit. My verdict on this shake-up: it's real enough, but it's a bucket on a leaky roof till after Waikato. Expect a scrappy old performance at Hnry Stadium, maybe a bit more spine, and the true test coming down in New Plymouth against Taranaki. Anything less and the noise gets louder again 😉