With the 9's jersey being revealed thought it might be the right time to do a 9's team list blog. I think Forty picked the best squad on LU and I couldn't fault it so I thought I'd post it on here.
Forty20's Squad
1. Aloiai, Josh
2. Champion, Beau [Top 25]
3. Crooks, Ben [Top 25?]
4. Dockar-Clay, Zach
5. Edwards, Kenny [Top 25]
6. Goodall, Fabian
7. Hopoate, William [Top 25][Marquee]
8. Matterson, Ryan [Top 25?]
9. Ma'u, Manu [Top 25]
10. Moeroa, Tepai [Top 25]
11. Pauli, Pauli
12. Pritchard, Kaysa
13. Radradra, Semi [Top 25]
14. Robinson, Reece [Top 25]
15. Sandow, Chris [Top 25][Marquee]
16. Takairangi, Brad [Top 25]
17. Watmough, Anthony [Top 25][Marquee]
18. Wicks, Danny [Top 25?]
Don't have to worry about injury with this one, who's the best 18 players at the club that would be suited to the 9's format?
Replies
Good squad, however considering they were promoting the jersey I'd expect Champion, Norman and Gower to make the squad. Also I remember Norman scoring a blinder of a try in the 2014 9's.
Kelepi was the player used last year. Maybe they just picked the most photogenic players and the ones who could speak the best in front of the camera? The three players would have been chosen by the PR department, not BA.
Just for anyone confused by the formatting of my team list, the 2014 Auckland Nines stipulated that 12 of the 16 squad members must be from the Top 25 contracted players at the club. Additionally at least 1 of those aforementioned 12 players needs to be in the Top 5 contracted players of the club (i.e a marquee player). As such the [Top 25] and [Marquee] tags are there to aid in determining whether the squad I selected satisfies the tournament rules.
While the official rule set for 2015 is yet to be published, the Daily Telegraph were adamant earlier this year that the squad size would be increased to 18 players. They didn't indicated whether the 2 additional spots could be taken by second-tier/NYC players so at this point you can pick at your own discretion.
As for the squad I picked, here are a few thoughts on the selection process. I ruled out Nathan Peats (injury) and Justin Hunt (rumoured to be on the outer) while favouring the younger and nimbler Kaysa Pritchard and Zach Dockar-Clay over Isaac De Gois to control the ruck (with Dockar-Clay given a broader licence). In the corresponding fixtures last year, Dockar-Clay played the Tigers at Alice Springs in a decidedly second tier game. I think he has earned the chance to experience a higher level of play and we know what De Gois brings to the table.
Corey Norman is a notable exclusion but I think the chance to expose Ryan Matterson and Dockar-Clay to a NRL-esque tier tournament is too important. Chris Sandow, who missed the inaugural Nines, can easily shoulder the senior responsibility in the play making stakes and indeed should thrive in the reduced format - allowing us to carry two junior halves.
Beau Champion, Ben Crooks, Fabian Goodall and Reece Robinson can all be subbed for the likes of Morgan, Lavaka, Faraimo, Folau etc while I am uncertain of whether Anthony Watmough will play. If he is given the weekend off I think David Gower or Richie Fao'oso are his likely replacement.
Josh Aloiai was my smoky pick for the squad, which I selected before the news that he was training the house down broke. In light of that news I think he is almost a certainty to make the trip and I will be extremely keen to see how he goes.
I think Sandow played in the inaugural nines. He played a very touch football esq like game.
How is Harold?
Yeah forgot about kelepi last year. Still very disappointing he is gone. I can remember talking him up after seeing how massive he was in comparison to the other promo players from other teams last year.
I could have sworn he played fullback against the Tigers in Alice Springs instead? Apologies if I got it wrong!
*Edit* Just checked the named squads for 2014 and Sandow is indeed there, now I might need to get my memory checked!
Look at the one minute mark. That was what I was talking about with the start and stop touch footy like football. He also puts in a pretty sweet kick at 1.30.
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