Is Winning The NRL Minor Premiership A Curse?

PSDT has won player of the year twice in the last 2 years? Where? In 2019 and 2024, that’s not 2 years.

It’s Dupont, not DuPont.

I think the more likely scenario here is that Razor will experiment more in selection next year. While biding his time for Mounga to come back.

He wasn’t going to risk a sub 70% first year out. But now that he’s got his feet under the desk, he’ll be forgiven a bit more for losses in the name of building depth.

He can always reference how necessary it is given how much further ahead the competition is in the depth department.

The All Blacks will have a worse win ratio next year as they bring in new players. But his job is more secure.

And ofc that means greater risk for the English teams, and potentially the French too over time…

If you have watched that much rugby it just makes it sad how poorly you understand it.

Defensively our line out has gone to another level this year. S.Barrett, Tuipolotu, Vaa'i, and Sititi have won more ball against the throw than anyone. It has become a genuine weapon.

Why do we need a tall no.8? And what about Ardie or Sititi is not skilled?

Line out jumpers need be fast off the ground, not 3cm taller.

Darry got game time and looked OK, but the incumbents all played better.

Unlike SA we don't have 6 world class players that are 2m+. They are in the team because they are good, not because they are tall. Picking a player just because they are tall is the weirdest thing I keep reading in comments on this website.

At 1.85m Sititi is 6 inches+ shorter than a lot of the guys he jumping against and beating, try telling them that you need to be 2.03m rather than 1.98m. Total nonsense.

Jordan should definitely be back on the wing. His decision making was terrible, he lost the ball so many times in contact trying to push a crazy pass, 4 or 5 times in one game, that insane quick throw in hospital pass, numerous other moments where he took the worst option available. Just as much promising ball died with him as it did with Ioane. I don't know if he was "overplaying" trying to make a case for being the second playmaker but he is definitely not that.

Jordie needs to be used properly. He is not a battering ram, or a DDA style 4th loose forward. He is a genuine playmaker who can come into first receiver and have DMac/BB playing off him very comfortably as he been able to do seamlessly at Leinster with only 10 days prep, with the addition of being a strong ball carrier. He was used in this role successfully by Schmidt and it gave the backline a lot more variation and adaptability. At the moment they look like Warren Gatland is the attack coach which is embarrassing when you look at the riches available. Leinster have already made better use of JB in one half than Razor and co did all year.

Reiko has not been able to gel with anyone on attack despite playing alongside Barrett, DMac, JB, Jordan etc.. for years. It is not going to happen and he needs to be jettisoned. A 5 on 2 overlap to win the game went begging against France when BB and Reiko were unable to coordinate simple running lines between them. BB very clearly wanted to take the ball to the line and put Reiko through a big gap, but Reiko was hanging back on a holding thinking the ball was going to ALB (which was probably the better play) and in the end ALB decides to run into the gap and BB, Reiko, and ALB ended up within a few feet of each other, almost stationary, with the ball being knocked on by Reiko after a terrible pass from Barrett that was designed for Ioane steaming through the gap rather than standing beside him. The French defence made such a bad read that had Reiko caught the ball, even while stationary, we probably still would have scored. It's the kind of thing a social team that doesn't train would have run in easily, yet B.Barrett and Reiko with 200+ tests between them, probably having played 70+ together were clueless about. Reiko's defence is excellent, but he has become such a drag on attack that he is definitely a net negative.