Welcome to your NZWF game day thread for todays clash. Please note that this thread will be locked following the final whistle with or without warning. Discussion will then be shifted to the POST MATCH thread.
Let's eat! I'll take any win given our outs this week. I think we win this 1-12 on the back of an SJ kicking masterclass and AFB and Barney leading from the front again.
With the weather looking much better than previously expected, you would think both teams would move away from having 2 hookers selected on the bench. A late change of Laban in for Lussick would calm my pre match nerves massively.
They are also missing 3 big names and a handful of impact players as well. This will be a fairly even battle.
Every time we play a team, we seem to get them at their best. I expect nothing less from souths today. But if we are a serious team, we need to win games like these away from home when things are going against us. Weather can't be an excuse for us today. The side that will take the field should beat souths today. Sure we will miss Niukore, but we've gone well without him this year. The remaining pack is not that different to the one that fronted up in rounds 1-3 where we outran our opposition in all three of those games. The souths pack may be big but they have been anything but impressive this year: they are 11th in running metres (we are 3rd). I think we can handle them physically. We still have enough class out wide as well to put enough points on souths to win.
I get the feeling Webby is taking no chances with injuries. All the reports say CNK was ready last week, now DWZ and Marata given the day off, magically though Ali and Laban are ready
I get the feeling Webby is taking no chances with injuries. All the reports say CNK was ready last week, now DWZ and Marata given the day off, magically though Ali and Laban are ready
Although I am loving everything webby is doing, One criticism I have is the lack of transparency around our injuries. Clearly Egan was never playing in rounds 2 or 3 but he continued to be named anyway. I suspect webby knew Niukore wasn't playing this week- I find it hard to believe 8 week injuries pop up out of nowhere. The DWZ seems minor and precautionary but still I'm not sure if the club is hiding the extent of any injury.