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Rugby Union
Mitre 10 Cup
ITM Cup - Round 1
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<blockquote data-quote="Darwin" data-source="post: 522256" data-attributes="member: 24910"><p>Pretty much a full strength Waikato side, though you could perhaps make an argument for Holah at 7 (though I do think they need to continue to develop Hohneck).</p><p></p><p>The North Harbour side:</p><p><span style="color: #282828"><span style="font-family: 'helvetica'"> 1 Salesi Manu, 2 James Parsons, 3 Ben Afeaki, 4 Chris Smith, 5 Filo Paulo, 6 Malakai Ravulo, 7 Sam Hayes-Stevenson, 8 Jim Tuivaiti, 9 Bryn Hall, 10 Michael Hobbs, 11 Nafi Tuitavake, 12 Francis Saili, 13 Cory Aporo, 14 David Raikuna, 15 Luke Devcich</span></span></p><p><em><strong>Reserves:</strong></em><span style="color: #282828"><span style="font-family: 'helvetica'"> 16 Manu Leiataua, 17 James Afoa, 18 Api Ratuniyarawa, 19 Irwin Finau, 20 Brenton Helleur, 21 Pita AhKi, 22 Codey Rei</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #282828"><span style="font-family: 'helvetica'"></span></span></p><p>It looks like close to a full strength North Harbour side too . I'm not convinced with the make-up of the loose-trio - I understand King is out injured, but I would have thought Fihaki would have warranted a spot in the starting lineup (or in the 22 at least). Great to see Bryn Hall starting at halfback, and there is plenty of talent in the backline, though I'm surprised Devcich got the nod over Rei at fullback.</p><p></p><p>I expect it will be a close game, but I'm picking Waikato to take it out.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I have always been a bit of a fan of Mathewson, but he has become increasing ineffective over the last few years. This has a lot to do with what teams require from their halfbacks. Rather than being purely distributors, as the often have been in the past, halfbacks are now required to fulfill a playmakers role - organizing the team, and have a variety of kicking option etc. Unfortunately Mathewson has none of these attributes - he has a good pass, is a good sniping runner, and defends well, but a play-maker he is not. This means that when he is playing the team is missing a kicking option at halfback (vital in today's game), and his play is incredibly predictable - he will either pass it straight to his first-five, or have a snipe himself (or attempt a box-kick and kick it out on the full <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /> ).</p><p></p><p>I feel Mathewson will really struggle with the introduction of the '5 second rule' during this ITM Cup too. Though Mathewson usually gets the ball out quickly, if the first-five isn't ready to take the ball Mathewson could be in trouble, as he doesn't seem to have the ability to react to situations under pressure. I think if he had been around 10 years ago he would have a pile All Blacks caps to his name, but unfortunately his style of play is becoming increasingly redundant in the modern game.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Darwin, post: 522256, member: 24910"] Pretty much a full strength Waikato side, though you could perhaps make an argument for Holah at 7 (though I do think they need to continue to develop Hohneck). The North Harbour side: [COLOR=#282828][FONT=helvetica] 1 Salesi Manu, 2 James Parsons, 3 Ben Afeaki, 4 Chris Smith, 5 Filo Paulo, 6 Malakai Ravulo, 7 Sam Hayes-Stevenson, 8 Jim Tuivaiti, 9 Bryn Hall, 10 Michael Hobbs, 11 Nafi Tuitavake, 12 Francis Saili, 13 Cory Aporo, 14 David Raikuna, 15 Luke Devcich[/FONT][/COLOR] [I][B]Reserves:[/B][/I][COLOR=#282828][FONT=helvetica] 16 Manu Leiataua, 17 James Afoa, 18 Api Ratuniyarawa, 19 Irwin Finau, 20 Brenton Helleur, 21 Pita AhKi, 22 Codey Rei [/FONT][/COLOR] It looks like close to a full strength North Harbour side too . I'm not convinced with the make-up of the loose-trio - I understand King is out injured, but I would have thought Fihaki would have warranted a spot in the starting lineup (or in the 22 at least). Great to see Bryn Hall starting at halfback, and there is plenty of talent in the backline, though I'm surprised Devcich got the nod over Rei at fullback. I expect it will be a close game, but I'm picking Waikato to take it out. I have always been a bit of a fan of Mathewson, but he has become increasing ineffective over the last few years. This has a lot to do with what teams require from their halfbacks. Rather than being purely distributors, as the often have been in the past, halfbacks are now required to fulfill a playmakers role - organizing the team, and have a variety of kicking option etc. Unfortunately Mathewson has none of these attributes - he has a good pass, is a good sniping runner, and defends well, but a play-maker he is not. This means that when he is playing the team is missing a kicking option at halfback (vital in today's game), and his play is incredibly predictable - he will either pass it straight to his first-five, or have a snipe himself (or attempt a box-kick and kick it out on the full ;) ). I feel Mathewson will really struggle with the introduction of the '5 second rule' during this ITM Cup too. Though Mathewson usually gets the ball out quickly, if the first-five isn't ready to take the ball Mathewson could be in trouble, as he doesn't seem to have the ability to react to situations under pressure. I think if he had been around 10 years ago he would have a pile All Blacks caps to his name, but unfortunately his style of play is becoming increasingly redundant in the modern game. [/QUOTE]
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ITM Cup - Round 1
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