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V Bookie: Super15 R12 Hurricanes - Blues
- Thread starter TRF_RC
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argh. Just 1 more point for the blues and I'd have been in the money LOL. At least the Gear try helped me out a bit in Fantasy rugby. Can't have it both ways I guess.
Amobokoboko
Waikato Junglist
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Cheers man, good to see the men blue secure their spot in the top 3
That one nutter in the crowd flipping his lid when Hosea scored is just how I imagine Nick was reacting at the time
I'm not going to say that I wasn't similar to that...
Darwin
AKA Dingo_Darwin
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A bit of a messy game, though a lot of that was probably down to the weather conditions. Blues will be happy to take the win, but in reality either team could have won the game, with the game ending with Tyson Keats knocking the ball on when he was over the Blues tryline. If he had scored it would have given Cruden a pressure kick to win the game for the second week in a row. There were a couple of big forward passes in the lead-up to Keats' non-try, so I'm sure the Blues would have felt pretty aggrieved if he had managed to score. The Canes blew another try when Thrush lost the ball over the line, after some great interplay between himself and Coles from a lineout. Likewise the Blues also missed out on a couple of tries, with a desperate tackle by Mark Reddish preventing Mathewson from scoring his second, and a great spot tackle by Hosea Gear forced a knock-on by Payne with Rokocoko unmarked outside him.
The Blues certainly didn't look as effective with MacAlister and Toeava in the backline, and without Kaino in the forwards, who went off early with a leg injury (which hopefully is not too serious). I thought Ali Williams looked very good for the Blues, both at lineout time and around the field; if he can stay fit he could well make it to the RWC. Luke Braid looked good with the ball in hand again, while I though Peter Saili had another solid game. Tom McCartney had a good game when he replaced Mailau at loose-head prop, though he's primarily a hooker I wouldn't mind seeing him given the start in the 1 jersey next week (assuming Woodcock is still injured).
Steven Brett had a shocking game in my opinion. He didn't kick well for field position, and when he did kick it was often charged down putting the Blues under lots of pressure. He also made some basic handling errors, and threw the ball into touch at one stage... he certainly looks better with MacAlister outside him to help run the show (though personally I would start MacAlister at 10 next week). Ranger was very quite at centre, likewise Payne at fullback. Rokocoko was quite with the ball in hand, but did some good things on the wing. A couple of times he showed he still has some extreme pace, for example when he caught Cruden from behind with ease, and when he beat Hosea Gear to a loose-ball on the ground. If he could show this sort of pace with the ball in hand it would be great!
For the Canes I thought Victor Vito was the standout forward; brilliant around the field, and good in the lineout. James Broadhurst had a pretty good game for the Canes as well. The halfbacks was where the Canes lost the game in my opinion. Eaton was very poor in the first half, but started to improve in the second half before he was replaced by Keats. Keats got himself yellow carded 2min after he came on for a spear tackle (an should hopefully get a few weeks suspension for it), then ruined his chance for redemption by dropping the ball over the line (well having it knocked out of his hands anyway). Cruden had an ok game, poor in the first-half, but much improved in the second half (though it would have been hard to be impressive given the service provided by his halfbacks). He was getting some good distance on his punts, which was great to see, and his running game was as dangerous as ever. Kirkpatrick did a good job at 12 shutting down Ranger (though he offered nothing on attack), while Gear and Taylor had solid games defensively (though had few chances with the ball in hand).
The Blues certainly didn't look as effective with MacAlister and Toeava in the backline, and without Kaino in the forwards, who went off early with a leg injury (which hopefully is not too serious). I thought Ali Williams looked very good for the Blues, both at lineout time and around the field; if he can stay fit he could well make it to the RWC. Luke Braid looked good with the ball in hand again, while I though Peter Saili had another solid game. Tom McCartney had a good game when he replaced Mailau at loose-head prop, though he's primarily a hooker I wouldn't mind seeing him given the start in the 1 jersey next week (assuming Woodcock is still injured).
Steven Brett had a shocking game in my opinion. He didn't kick well for field position, and when he did kick it was often charged down putting the Blues under lots of pressure. He also made some basic handling errors, and threw the ball into touch at one stage... he certainly looks better with MacAlister outside him to help run the show (though personally I would start MacAlister at 10 next week). Ranger was very quite at centre, likewise Payne at fullback. Rokocoko was quite with the ball in hand, but did some good things on the wing. A couple of times he showed he still has some extreme pace, for example when he caught Cruden from behind with ease, and when he beat Hosea Gear to a loose-ball on the ground. If he could show this sort of pace with the ball in hand it would be great!
For the Canes I thought Victor Vito was the standout forward; brilliant around the field, and good in the lineout. James Broadhurst had a pretty good game for the Canes as well. The halfbacks was where the Canes lost the game in my opinion. Eaton was very poor in the first half, but started to improve in the second half before he was replaced by Keats. Keats got himself yellow carded 2min after he came on for a spear tackle (an should hopefully get a few weeks suspension for it), then ruined his chance for redemption by dropping the ball over the line (well having it knocked out of his hands anyway). Cruden had an ok game, poor in the first-half, but much improved in the second half (though it would have been hard to be impressive given the service provided by his halfbacks). He was getting some good distance on his punts, which was great to see, and his running game was as dangerous as ever. Kirkpatrick did a good job at 12 shutting down Ranger (though he offered nothing on attack), while Gear and Taylor had solid games defensively (though had few chances with the ball in hand).
