Blues depth for 2021
The season drawing to a close, so it's time to start looking ahead to 2021.
Overall our forwards have been really good, we have an excellent forwards coach, and good depth. We need to improve accuracy at the ruck, and gain a few more turnovers.
Our top four props are clear, with the 3rd loosehead and tighthead spots in contention. Lindenmuth is promising, but needs more game time. Renata has shown he can play both sides, but might be a better loosehead. Fepulea'i and Adams are other possibilities, as is Lua Li.
Might be too soon for some of the age group players.
Eklund is the number one hooker going forward, with Parsons having maybe one more year ahead of him. Tolai is a good prospect, and Niuia might be back. Any good recruitment prospects?
We're pretty solid at lock. Not sure if there are any new standouts coming along.
At loose forward, will be interesting to see if Jones or Choat can force their way into the squad.
Now the hard part, the backs.
Nock is the only halfback who I'm comfortable with starting. Christie is okay off the bench, but not a starter. TTT and Taumateine might be worth targeting. Some good young players coming through, but too green.
At 10 we are okay. Zarn Sullivan might force his way in though.
Midfield is tough. We really only have one good option at 12 and 13 until Tele'a is back. Hope he can stay fit next year. Tamati Tua is in the squad as a replacement 12, but it's a long time since I've seen him play. AJ Lam might be worth a look at 13 and wing, and maybe Clarke can play centre too. Clarke may be preparing for olympic sevens next year though. Solofa Silipa plays 12 and wing in club rugby.
Any other possibilities from the region, or players worth recruiting?
We might need a couple of wings too. Hopefully Talea and Narawa improve their defence.
Perofeta went well at fullback, but is prone to injury. Duffie is okay but that's about it. I've yet to see Page play. Trainor is a possibility.
Any others? Maybe nab Stevenson.
Was just having a look at the match stats for each game, and what popped out to me was the amount of tackles we've made/attempted.
Tackles Made/Tackles Attempted
Week 1 vs Hurricanes - 152/174
Week 2 vs Chiefs - 143/161
Week 3 vs Highlanders - 109/124
Week 4 vs Crusaders - 146/171
Week 5 vs Hurricanes - 176/207
Total - 726/837
Average Per Game - 145/167
In our 7 games earlier in the year, the total tackles made/attempted was 713/828(102/118 per game), so we've made more tackles in 5 games of SRA than we did in the 7 games pre-covid.
Our penalty count has not helped with this(although we had a penalty issue earlier in the year too), but we're also kicking quite a lot with 27 kicks per game.
@Dice good work fella, appreciate the thoughts.
If you have a strong forward pack and sound defence, you'll be a contender. Coventry has finally had an effect, and we have both scored Maul tries, and managed to defend some mauls as well - just outstanding from a forward pack that was dynamic at times, but woefully weak in maul defence.
You get the feeling that if we click and get some confidence, we could tear apart some teams. People having fun out there, and it shows... but still working bloody hard for each other. Long may it last
@Dice said in Blues 2020:
Our penalty count has not helped with this
the goddamned offensive penalties we have conceded this year make me want to throw things. What's super irritating is that the pedantic calls seem to now just be ignored ... I'm such a supporter of clear and consistent rulings, but it's only taken a few rounds for refs to just shrug their shoulders and swallow their whistles.
@Dice said in Blues 2020:
Was just having a look at the match stats for each game, and what popped out to me was the amount of tackles we've made/attempted.
There's been a reasonable number of defensive errors/individuals getting exposed. What's saved us all year has been the scrambling defence has been extremely good.
Fitness, high standards and forwards to get back on their feet faster than previous years all contribute to that
The last couple of weeks the scramble has dropped off a bit which is concerning.
Remember a few seasons ago the Highlanders had a kick chase game and their forwards were racking up huge tackle stats.. then the defence fell away.. the cumulative effort took the toll in the last 3rd of the season
@Duluth Yeah, our current game plan is quite taxing. Not sure if we can continue it if we want to end the season well.
Let's see if we see a change in tactics with Beauden at 10 and Duffie at 15. I expect less kicking this week.
He had 14 months out of the game dealing with a serious knee injury around that period and moved his provincial base from Auckland to Bay of Plenty in 2019 to enable him to spend as much time as he could around his Waihi-based mum.
“It was pretty tough but the timing was good,” reflects Eklund ahead of what will be his second start for the franchise at Eden Park on Sunday. “Over that time Mum was probably at her worst and that was invaluable time I’ll never get back and I appreciated having that. Obviously losing her was pretty tough on my family, and myself.”
Eklund has no contract to play professional rugby beyond this year (he’ll be back at the Bay for Mitre 10) and though he has a solid backup plan – he is a builder by trade and keeps his time in on the tools when he can – he isn’t quite finished with this rugby thing just yet.
The weather for today's game should be good for some running rugby. Will we see a less conservative approach today though?
I did another stat dive and found that our linebreak numbers have taken a nose dive compared to our pre-covid games.
In 5 games of Super Rugby Aotearoa, we've made 27 linebreaks, which is an average of 5.4 line breaks per game. For a bit of context, the Crusaders are averaging 11.4 linebreaks per game, while the Hurricanes are at the front with 13 line breaks per game.
Pre-covid we made 84 linebreaks in 7 games, which is an average of 12 linebreaks per game. Non-derby games didn't boost the average either, as we actually averaged more linebreaks in derbies with 13 per game.
With the current game plan we're playing, it means we have to be very efficient with the ball we have, which we have been to an extent, but it leaves little room for error. We've only had one game with the possession edge, and in our two losses, we averaged 37.5% of possession.
Parsons noted this week that with all the tackling we're doing, it leaves less energy for attack. So maybe a change in approach is needed?
@Tim do you know what happens to teh money if we do get a heap of good crowds? Does it all get distributed, or can some go into recruitment funds? We should have the deepest pockets of any franchise, but All Blacks contracting borks the model, and we've been terrible for ages.
Edit: obviously not this year, with all the surprises
@African-Monkey said in Blues 2020:
@Kirwan Dreams are free I guess haha.
Plenty of money in Auckland rugby
@Dice said in Blues 2020:
Parsons noted this week that with all the tackling we're doing, it leaves less energy for attack. So maybe a change in approach is needed?
I'd suggest not handing over possession via stupid penalties.
@Tim said in Blues 2020:
The season drawing to a close, so it's time to start looking ahead to 2021.
Eklund is the number one hooker going forward, with Parsons having maybe one more year ahead of him. Tolai is a good prospect, and Niuia might be back. Any good recruitment prospects?
Kereru-Symes? Has already played for the Blues during preseason.
@Tim said in Blues 2020:
Midfield is tough. We really only have one good option at 12 and 13 until Tele'a is back.
Blues have had PUJ in their sights for a while now but after his recent performances the Canes will prolly up the ante on him
@Nogusta I remember thinking that we should take a punt on him when off contract because he had plenty of potential, but seemed out of favor down there. If the Canes didn't suddenly play him, we might've had a good chance to grab him, but his stocks are too high now.
He's pretty similar to Tanielu as a player(injuries included), but Tanielu is a better defender and PUJ probably has a bit more polish as an attacker.
@Tim said in Blues 2020:
Interesting stat given all the talk about locks: Pierce is listed at 202 cm tall.
and he's added a lot of muscle in the last couple of years. Good skillset, but still learning. I'm confident he'll be an AB in 2-3 years
@Dice said in Blues 2020:
He's pretty similar to Tanielu as a player(injuries included), but Tanielu is a better defender and PUJ probably has a bit more polish as an attacker.
Pretty spot on with your assessment there Dice I reckon. PUJ and his brother were rugbys hottest property coming out of school IMO.
Hopefully the 2 of them (Umaga Jensen bros) can put the injuries behind them and string some consistent games together...actually that goes for Telea as well!
@Dice the Canes already have PUJ locked up for next year, TUJ is a free agent though I believe and could do worse than linking up with his uncle.
@Kirwan said in Blues 2020:
And the other Barrett for fullback.
I reckon you could be onto something there....
@Kirwan said in Blues 2020:
And the other Barrett for fullback.
Keep your dirty mitts off the best Barrett. 
@Nogusta said in Blues 2020:
@Kirwan said in Blues 2020:
And the other Barrett for fullback.
I reckon you could be onto something there....
Virtual chocolate fish for my favourite poster
@Tim said in Blues 2020:
Loose forward injuries are certainly mounting:
Robinson
Sotutu
Gibson
PapaliiI wonder if GCT can play six?
It's WRK time surely.
Well, we've had a good season. Winning against teh Crusaders in a fortnight would set up next year nicely I reckon, give the lads some confidence.
Massive improvements all over teh park. I think the most visible thing is the defence - Blues are now hard to break down, and have even built a maul defence. Well done Tom Coventry, he's got those guys really playing for each other up front.
Improved players for me - there are plenty. Ofa, Kurt, PT, GCT, all loosies, Nock/Christie.
Our scrum has become a real weapon. Lineout not wobbly any more,a nd we even scored some maul tries.
Backs speak for themselves. TJ >> Plummer (and I"m a massive Plummer fan, but he hasn't delivered this year). Rieko is going to be hard to go past in the ABs at 13 I suspect - so much upside, and starting to really find his feet.
BB a really mixed bag. Probably gave teh team some confidence, and kicked very very well at times, but also responsible for some absolute howlers. Goalkicking a real workon ... again.
So, for next year. Keep building; not sure we're losing any big names which is nice. We have shown that we can win despite conceding massive penalty counts, territory and possession. Need to play smarter and just dismantle teams; a lot of that is in the top two inches.
Overall, I'm absolutely stoked with the year. If we win on the last weekend, we finish with the same number of wins as teh Crusaders, and don't win the comp due to bonus points. I'll take that every single day, particularly given how far back we've come from. The franchise has created a credible place to play rugby and push for higher honours, and that more than anything should keep us on the up for years to come. Watch out 2021/2022.. could easily be our years!
Also, a shoutout to every damn team in this competition. It's been sensational, no easy beats, everyone has competed all the way through. Awesome for testing the ABs, but not sustainable I fear, with all the injuries we're seeing.
@nzzp I think GCT is still going at the (good) level he was at the last year or so, just everyone else has stepped up and therefore he looks even better.
Aussie abroad: Daniel Halangahu
Daniel Halangahu could scarcely be in a better place right now. The former Waratahs flyhalf is currently based in Auckland working for the Blues…
Without any Barretts next year, the fullback situation is a little clearer.
Within squad:
Perofeta (good but frequently injured)
Page (haven't seen him play)
Narawa (green)
Within region and unsigned:
Trainor
Off contract at other franchises:
Alaimalo (frequently injured)
Nanai-Seturo (NPC quality)
Time for Lemeki Namoa to be NPC rookie of the year? 