Chiefs Squad announced for 2013

[TRF Mr Fish]

I think where Filipo is used will be determined based on how well Lee and Crosswell go at 8. Arguing otherwise is a bit redundant.

 

[Darwin]

he is even announced on the chiefs website 2013 squad announcement as a loose forward, not a lock. And I'm pretty sure in an interview after the squad naming Renee said he would be used as a loose forward

Yep, and last season they had Asaeli Tikoirototuma listed as a midfielder, Kane Thomson as a lock, Andrew Horrell as a first-five, Nanai-Williams as a fullback etc. The Chiefs themselves don't actually announce the squad in specific positional categories - they usually just give a list from A-Z of players, and journalists then make the positional lists. Therefore I don't read anything into positional lists like that. This is not to say that Ross Filipo won't be used as a 6, but I think it is unlikely it will be his primary position next season. As for him playing 8 -as you already mention there are 3 other players capable of playing there, so I can't think of a logical reason to play Filipo, who as far as I know has no experience at 8 playing there.

I agree that the position is up for grabs, but I disagree that they are thin there. You have 3 guys who can play there to a good level before you get to Filipo. That seems like enough to me. I would say that he has been brought in, not only for his experience, but because he can play a number of positions. However, there are some good players in the loose forwards, so unless necessary, I would be expecting him to be on the bench covering at lock (considering that is where he usually plays).

Sums up my thoughts exactly.

it's not like he can't contribute on the field. and I don't think it's a new thing to do. How many super rugby squads hire a specialist lineout coach? Some get one in as a consultant every once in a while.

I mean look at Ali Williams with the All Blacks. I have not problem with his selection, truth is he knows more about line outs than most coaches do and a big part of his squad selection will be to help develop the three young locks in the squad.

Can Graham really contribute on the field? He's been around the Super Rugby scene for the last 3 years and hasn't really established himself in any way. He is a good lineout operator, but plays far too loose in my opinion, and has serious discipline issues. I don't think he deserves a Super Rugby spot on form; personally I would have preferred they signed another loose-forward (Adam Cathcart would be my choice).

 

[bobbilycious]

Unfortunately, I believe Adam Cathcart is injured and out for around 9 months. Joe Edwards looks very promising and probably could have been given a shot somewhere. I'm not sure who else there is that would be up to it. Genesis Mamea, perhaps.

 

[Darwin]

Unfortunately, I believe Adam Cathcart is injured and out for around 9 months. Joe Edwards looks very promising and probably could have been given a shot somewhere. I'm not sure who else there is that would be up to it. Genesis Mamea, perhaps.

Thanks for that - I'm out of NZ at the moment, so a bit out of the loop. Yep Edwards looks promising, but is still a year or two away in my opinion.

 

[Larksea]

time will tell. I just dont understand the merit of dropping Alex Bradly for Filipo. As I said to me it reeks of job for the boys.

replace too many local players with imports and supporting the chiefs wont really mean much, support will become hollow when it's not a counties, waikato & BoP team but just a group of random guys from all over NZ and even further.

Bradly is not just a very good player, he's a talisman of waikato region, shield holding captian. Locals want to see him play. Who in the waikato region gives a toss about Ross Filipo?

note: exaggeration used to emphasize point

 

[bobbilycious]

I believe the first bit has been covered by Darwin, already. Bradley is slow and is a liability on defense. In ITM Cup, this is less of a problem for him. Also, Filipo is a proven performer at this level. He is a quality player who has played 4 tests for the ABs and will bring a bit of experience to the pack. Also, he will likely be better than last years' bench lock, Michael Fitzgerald.

Considering that they won SupeRugby last year, with their imports, I think those are some rather strange comments. Surely people would rather the team do well? This is backed up by attendance figures. So it seems the most important factor in attendances is winning and Rennie seems to believe that a lot of the players in BOP, CM and Waikato aren't up to it. Considering he has just won the Chiefs first ***le, I'm inclined to trust his selection methods.

 

[Larksea]

I believe the first bit has been covered by Darwin, already. Bradley is slow and is a liability on defense. In ITM Cup, this is less of a problem for him. Also, Filipo is a proven performer at this level. He is a quality player who has played 4 tests for the ABs and will bring a bit of experience to the pack. Also, he will likely be better than last years' bench lock, Michael Fitzgerald.

Considering that they won SupeRugby last year, with their imports, I think those are some rather strange comments. Surely people would rather the team do well? This is backed up by attendance figures. So it seems the most important factor in attendances is winning and Rennie seems to believe that a lot of the players in BOP, CM and Waikato aren't up to it. Considering he has just won the Chiefs first ***le, I'm inclined to trust his selection methods.

"Bradley is slow and is a liability on defense" utter crap plain and simple, sure he's not the fastest guy in the world, no Ardie Savea but he's fast enough. he is a go forward player, even for the chiefs last year he had a couple of games where he got go forward ball when most of the team struggled.

"Filipo is a proven performer at this level." 4 years ago?

I'm not a massive fan of Michael Fitzgerald and I was actually quite critical of him last year. But after he came back from suspension for that stupid brain explosion he had he actually performed very well, considering Crosswell and Graham can also play lock that makes it 6 potential locks in the squad? #8 will surely be a big part of Filipo's job description next year.

 

[Darwin]

"Bradley is slow and is a liability on defense" utter crap plain and simple, sure he's not the fastest guy in the world, no Ardie Savea but he's fast enough. he is a go forward player, even for the chiefs last year he had a couple of games where he got go forward ball when most of the team struggled.

"Filipo is a proven performer at this level." 4 years ago?

I'm not a massive fan of Michael Fitzgerald and I was actually quite critical of him last year. But after he came back from suspension for that stupid brain explosion he had he actually performed very well, considering Crosswell and Graham can also play lock that makes it 6 potential locks in the squad? #8 will surely be a big part of Filipo's job description next year.

As I've said before Bradley is a very good ITM Cup player, but he is clearly not up to the next level where the game is much faster. If you took your red, yellow, and black tinted glasses off you would be able to see Bradley flaws Until then there isn't much point debating with you.

Your comparisons of Brad Mika and Ross Filipo is a bit off the mark too IMO. Mika was a poor selection by the Blues as he hadn't actually played rugby in NZ before his selection, so it was hard to judge his form. In contrast Filipo had a great season with the Wellington. That is the key point: Filipo deserved a Super Rugby contract based on ITM Cup form! I thought the Canes would have picked him up, but he more than warrants a spot in the Chiefs franchise. Your main complaint against him seems to be that he may be used as a loose-forward (so took Bradley's spot) while ignoring the fact he is probably the 3rd best lock in the franchise!

EDIT: If the Chiefs did want a 8 from their own region, Rory Grice may well have been worth a shot (I'm sure he will be in the wider training squad again). He has taken a bit longer to develop than they would have hoped, but he certainly has the potential to be a very good Super Rugby player...

 

[Larksea]

man how many times have I heard the words "but he is clearly not up to the next level" or similar, how many times have I heard that and it's basically ended up being untrue, almost every single time - the vast majority it's rubbish. I honestly don't see it this year he was clearly a better more reliable option than Fritz Lee and seemed a more than adequate replacement for Kane Thomson overall a bit less breakdown/lineout work to Thomson but a better ball carrier, he only really had one average game for the chiefs and to be fair he did not get a huge amount of game time. His first couple starts for the chiefs he was one of their best players.

I find it hard to believe that Waikato's best and most consistent player this year is not good enough for super rugby/next level. I'm not a fan of all waikato players, some I don't like some continue to disappoint but I do watch most games and believe I can pick the ones that deserve to be playing more.

only thing I will admit in Alex vs. Ross is that I only saw maybe ~3 wellington games this season. Ross did not stick out in my mind other than being part of a pack that was performing well. I thought he was mostly overshadowed by the big name performers in that pack like JTA (wellington player of the year), Savea, Coles, Thrush, Redish(sp?). Bradly didn't just make up the numbers for Waikato he was their standout forward and still performed well when the rest of the pack sucked at times.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

I think Bradley is great for Waikato, but I wouldn't have selected him in the Chiefs squad either.

 

[Gena_ZA]

Just play Lelia Masaga there guys, problem sorted as all problems are sorted with Malaga
You have a great squad and lock is not such a big problem, your backs will make or break it again this season, good luck

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

On Re:Union today Dave Rennie mentioned that the Chiefs had signed an import player, as WTG member or otherwise. Confirmation should come soon...

 

[nickdnz]

On Re:Union today Dave Rennie mentioned that the Chiefs had signed an import player, as WTG member or otherwise. Confirmation should come soon...

Mmm, saw that. My initial thoughts was Daniel Adongo seeing as he's played in the area - but I'm not sure. He seemed to keep his cards pretty close to his chest.