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Blues v NSW Waratahs @ Auckland - 2011R09

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TOCC

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Auckland have been flying under the radar a bit, but dam they are really fronting up in 2011, id probably rate them a very close 3rd in terms of form, only pipped by QLD at 2nd because of the win against the Stormers.
 

#1 Tah

Chilla Wilson (44)
must say the blues look good.

Dennis deserves his spot, but cant drop Mowen when Cliff comes back. Headaches you like to have.
 

Lee Grant

John Eales (66)
Palu looked dusty when he came off in Perth; so I'm not surprised that he's not playing. Will not be surprised if he misses more than one game.

It is well that Dennis will take his spot (in effect): he is a class sub.

Am pleased that Barnes is having another week off: mostly for his well-being; but win-win: Beale gets another week at 10.

Was not overly impressed by the Blues against the Force, Chiefs or Cheetahs, but I could say the same about the Tahs in some of their games. The team who shows up should win and I don't know who that team will be.
 

Gnostic

Mark Ella (57)
I hope Hickey stays with Kepu at THP. I don't relish the idea of the Fuse going up against him nemisis especially after his injury issues this year. Who is the Ref?
 

The_Brown_Hornet

John Eales (66)
The Blues have surprised me this year. They've always had the talent, but not necessarily the smarts in previous years. This season they look bloody good. I think the Tahs really have their work cut out this weekend, but if they front up in the pigs they may be able to do enough.
 

qwerty51

Stirling Mortlock (74)
If he does debut, it will be against Ranger, Toeava, Rokocoko, Payne... is there a harder challenge?
 

Newb

Trevor Allan (34)
from matty_k's article

NSW stars Berrick Barnes and Wycliff Palu will sit out Saturday's challenging Super Rugby clash with the Blues in Auckland, as the Waratahs continue their no-risk injury policy.

and how exactly does this relate to TPN?
 

Nusadan

Chilla Wilson (44)
If he does debut, it will be against Ranger, Toeava, Rokocoko, Payne... is there a harder challenge?

All the better to see what he is like... and made of, should he blows it! Palakani is not much less of a spring chicken than him come to think of it...
 

Ruggo

Mark Ella (57)
Big game for the Tahs this weekend. They are less than a win away from the Reds on the log and need to keep in touch. Big game for the Reds also as this could be their chance to pull away.

The battle between Mealamu and TPN should be a cracker.
 

Hawko

Tony Shaw (54)
This game has the potential to be one of the games of the season. With the Crusaders going so well the Blues players will be jumping out of their skin to keep their names in front of the selectors Likewise the Tahs after the Reds good game (not season, game). All over the park there are mouth watering clashes TPN vs Mealamu, front rows scrummaging, Braid vs Waugh, Matthewson vs Burgess, Ice vs the cover, Ranger and Roks vs Mitchell and the apprentice.

Overall I think the Blues have their noses in front with Palu and Barnes out but its all down to who turns up. The Tahs from round 2 vs the Blues from round 1 would be epic; but the teams who played the Cheetahs would be not so enthralling. Eden Park used to be a bogey ground, but we won there last time.
 

Lee Grant

John Eales (66)
Yours truly has been rabbiting on about Kingston since the Junior Waratahs started playing this year. He is really an outside centre, not a winger, but he has Horne-like attributes including how he uses the top 3 inches. He is going to be a "real footie player" and will be as adaptable as anyone could be at his age.


It will be a big step up in class for the 19 y.o. and we may see a few blunders and not many wonders in his first few outings, but the lad always had the "watch this space" quality, so let's watch it.


With injuries to Horne, Pakalani and BKH - and Anesi just coming back into good health, the outside backs of the Tahs squad are stretched to the limit. Using Kingston means that they are scraping the bottom of the barrel, but it's a quality scrape.


But what if someone else gets hurt in the outside backs before the game? I would go for Ben Batger at fullback. He played a few good games for either the Junior Tahs or the Oz Barbarians this year, except one against Fiji when he had to play 10. John Grant may be the people's choice because he is fast, and though he actually threw a few passes for a change in the same games, you still wouldn't call him a good footie player yet.
.
 

Joe Mac

Arch Winning (36)
They can always shift Beale back to Fullback and play Hangers at 10. My head says that is the smartest option but my heart wants to see the Beale experiment continue...
 

Lee Grant

John Eales (66)
Hangers will be a no-brainer on the bench in any event but if there is an injury to an outside back before the weekend, as I postulated for a point of discussion, a new player will have to come into the 22, with Hangers starting. He would have to be an outside back as KB (Kurtley Beale) would cover Hangers.

If they change to a 4/3 split in that circumstance there would have to be 2 new backs; so I think they will stay with 5/2, which they have used for the last 3 games. I'm assuming that they wont use Anesi in any event. We don't have anybody left except scrummie Josh Holmes. Therefore, Batger for me.

Incidentally, if Kingston does start Hangers' nose will be out out joint as the young bloke will be taking his otherwise likely spot in the XV - not that Hangers has been stellar in 2011.

I commend Hickey for giving Kingston a shot and for giving him a Super contract even before the trials started this year. Since he had never started in 1st Grade before, Hickey must have based his opinion of Tom on little else but performance and attitude at training.
 

Hawko

Tony Shaw (54)
With injuries to Horne, Pakalani and BKH - and Anesi just coming back into good health, the outside backs of the Tahs squad are stretched to the limit. Using Kingston means that they are scraping the bottom of the barrel, but it's a quality scrape. But what if someone else gets hurt in the outside backs before the game? I would go for Ben Batger at fullback. He played a few good games for either the Junior Tahs or the Oz Barbarians this year, except one against Fiji when he had to play 10. John Grant may be the people's choice because he is fast, and though he actually threw a few passes for a change in the same games, you still wouldn't call him a good footie player yet..

Kingston may be a super talent but in the picture I saw he looked scrawny. I am worried that Ranger and Roks will eat him alive. For this reason only I would like to have seen Grant called up. He's a winger (not a converted 13), doesn't seem to have soft hands and drops the ball a lot but he's big enough to really make a mess of somebody.
 
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