Auckland nines

[clontarfkid]

Never thought Id say this about a WT team,but think this squad is actually too heavy to win a 9s comp..?
Its a bit of an unknown of course,but i would have thought the ideal forawrd wld be big enough to bend the line in attack & draw opposition players,but mobile enough to be capable of defending in one on one defence which were going to need.
Guys like Sironen Blair Thompson fit this description.we have lots of props with somewhat limited mobility
Next,I wld have thought that speed in the outside backs wld be a great asset,so wheres lawrence?
Maybe were looking at this as another trial,but there is significant $$ on offer
Having said all that,its encouraging to see weve got a lot of big boppers in our ranks this year..Im still recovering from that Souths match late last season where they simply outmuscled us(like most teams did all season)

 

[pHyR3]

blair is 111kg i think, so he's heavy too.

but you might be onto something there.

although I think it'll be a lot closer to 13s than people expect though. we're too used to watching 7s imo.

 

[The_Hill]

Never thought Id say this about a WT team,but think this squad is actually too heavy to win a 9s comp..?
Its a bit of an unknown of course,but i would have thought the ideal forawrd wld be big enough to bend the line in attack & draw opposition players,but mobile enough to be capable of defending in one on one defence which were going to need.
Guys like Sironen Blair Thompson fit this description.we have lots of props with somewhat limited mobility
Next,I wld have thought that speed in the outside backs wld be a great asset,so wheres lawrence?
Maybe were looking at this as another trial,but there is significant $$ on offer
Having said all that,its encouraging to see weve got a lot of big boppers in our ranks this year..Im still recovering from that Souths match late last season where they simply outmuscled us(like most teams did all season)

The props listed may be even more mobile than Blair or Sirro so don't know what you're on about there. The middle of the field will still be fairly congested.

And you say you want speed in our backs yet 3 of our 4 fastest players are named (simona the other). Rowe and Moses are both very quick too. Lawrence wouldn't even be in our top 6 for speed these days unless some miracle has happened over Christmas.

We have a combination of agile big guys, fast outside backs ,a couple of quality halves and a great hooker. Perfect mix. Comes down to combinations now, but really we have listed the best squad out of all the clubs in the NRL so we'll be in with a good shot for winning the comp.

 

[alex]

Nofoaluma ruled out. BMM his replacement.

 

[happy_tiger]

No Brooks ,Simona ,Lawrence ,Fulton and Nofoaluma

$17 isn't even tempting now

 

[phil1986]

No Brooks ,Simona ,Lawrence ,Fulton and Nofoaluma

$17 isn't even tempting now

I don't think this is going to be as much of a problem as most think… We still have plenty of speed with teddy and koro.
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Plenty of strength and offload, with bmm taupau Siro gavet

Should be interesting to see how we go?

_Posted using RoarFEED 2013_

 

[Fraze23]

Assuming Nofoaluma is being replaced by either Rowe or Hoeter, is having one speedster on the bench enough for the entire tournament?

 

[Cultured_Bogan]

Assuming Nofoaluma is being replaced by either Rowe or Hoeter, is having one speedster on the bench enough for the entire tournament?

BMM is going.

 

[Fraze23]

Assuming Nofoaluma is being replaced by either Rowe or Hoeter, is having one speedster on the bench enough for the entire tournament?

BMM is going.

I meant in the run on side mate.

 

[Guest]

Ben Murdoch-Masila added to NRL Auckland Nines squad
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Wednesday 12 February 2014 9:30 AM
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Wests Tigers forward Ben Murdoch-Masila has been added to the NRL Auckland Nines squad this morning after David Nofoaluma was ruled out through injury this morning.

Nofoaluma has a hamstring strain with Club medical staff deciding not to risk the 20-year-old winger suffering a more serious injury during the pre-season tournament.

Murdoch-Masila will replace Nofoaluma in the squad, wearing the number 18 jersey for the tournament.

While the loss of Nofoaluma is disappointing for Wests Tigers, Murdoch-Masila is a handy addition to the squad that already includes damaging forwards such as Aaron Woods, Martin Taupau and Adam Blair.

The squad will depart for Auckland tomorrow morning.

Under tournament rules, teams are required to play one of their top five players, as well as 12 of their top 25 squad members.

Player Profile – Ben Murdoch-Masila
Age: 23
Junior Club: Otahuhu
Height: 186 cm Weight: 114 kg
Position: Prop/second-row

 

[alex]

I just hope he can hang on to the darn ball. He's shown he can be a damaging line runner, and I think with his size and power he could excel in this format. I've lost count how many tries he's butchered

 

[clontarfkid]

If The Hill thinks Woods & Gavet (two of the forwards selected)are more mobile than Sirro,then I fear for the kids future in any form of Rugby League!!
We may not all appreciate there will only be 3 forwards(incl a hooker) in 9s.so why select guys who may lack mobility & endurance to defend one on one & provide backup(& Sirros gotta have those two covered surely,or we shld punt him now?)
As for Blair…I reckon he played at around 105 kgs last season at best-see he now claims to be 111kgs.
I hope thats true,as he needs to do something entirely different from the past two seasons & re-invent himself to demand anywhere near the $$ he's currently being paid as an international forward
Actually ,this will be a good test for the coaches too-we'll see who is truly innovative & thoughtful re tactics,particularly first time around

 

[pHyR3]

If The Hill thinks Woods & Gavet (two of the forwards selected)are more mobile than Sirro,then I fear for the kids future in any form of Rugby League!!
We may not all appreciate there will only be 3 forwards(incl a hooker) in 9s.so why select guys who may lack mobility & endurance to defend one on one & provide backup(& Sirros gotta have those two covered surely,or we shld punt him now?)

actually its 5 forwards and 4 backs.

 

[clontarfkid]

Yr rite of course re 5 forwards(officially),but I wonder with all those open spaces whether most teams will play it that way other than for scrums(& there'll be very few of those),& select their teams accordingly .
Thats my point about coaching innovation,where i hope we do well

 

[clontarfkid]

Last thought-despite MrTs shortcomings I wld have thought there wld be a role for him to play in this format,not necessarily on the wing but as an impact player on the fringes of the ruck.With just a little space to work in …?
Im looking forward to it on sat

 

[pHyR3]

Yr rite of course re 5 forwards(officially),but I wonder with all those open spaces whether most teams will play it that way other than for scrums(& there'll be very few of those),& select their teams accordingly .
Thats my point about coaching innovation,where i hope we do well

well its been brought up quite a lot that forwards will have a bigger role than expected and i kinda agree there. Even 7s has 3 forwards, so 9s will have 4 maybe 5 forwards who can defend the quick guys if the other team spreads it wide and also to make good metres/2nd phase play.

 

[innsaneink]

The whole concept is a bit of a mystery…I saw some 9's on youtube but it was only highlites.....lots of long passes, lots of one on one stuff....I imagine it may be a little like touch on the early tackles trying to get the D on back foot but thats par for the course...dunno what to expect really but looking forawrd to it regardless

 

[tigsta]

The whole concept is a bit of a mystery…I saw some 9's on youtube but it was only highlites.....lots of long passes, lots of one on one stuff....I imagine it may be a little like touch on the early tackles trying to get the D on back foot but thats par for the course...dunno what to expect really but looking forawrd to it regardless

I can't wait.

I hope it goes well and does feature next year as 6 week pre season comp.

I think it will be very similar to 13 a side though. There isn't enough time to take advantage of tired forwards. It will be fast but finding gaps might be harder than everyone thinks.

_Posted using RoarFEED 2013_

 

[Wacko_Jacko]

When Nofo was ruled out we needed to replace him with another player in Top 25 to meet the rule of 12 out of Top 25 man squad must play in 9's so this is why BMM was selected and why we couldn't promote Hoeter

 

[system]

When Nofo was ruled out we needed to replace him with another player in Top 25 to meet the rule of 12 out of Top 25 man squad must play in 9's so this is why BMM was selected and why we couldn't promote Hoeter

Hoeter was already picked in the squad. Is the above statement fact or just your opinion?

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