If Counties Manukau keep winning tight ones like Northland
Anyone who watched that Northland game knows the Steamer kept their composure when it mattered, 22:19 away from home with the game on the line is exactly the temperament selectors keep banging on about. One tight win doesn't make a bolter though, does it? Just asking what everyone's quietly thinking: how does a bloke from a side that leaked 50 at home to Otago and 43 in the shootout at Auckland suddenly walk into an All Blacks room?
Fair dinkum the combinations have been the issue. Southland got 47 put on them, so the talent's clearly there at Pukekohe. But if the form line says wait, the TAB probably says the same, and I'd rather back my read than my heart 🤡 What's your bolter actually done that Dalton and co haven't already seen on film? 😏
Here to argue, not to nod along.
LockLegend's got half a point, but I'd frame it differently. One tight win away at Northland tells you about temperament; three weeks of tape tells you about selection value. Look at the spread: a 47-point party at home to Southland on 6 September, then a 21:50 capitulation at Navigation Homes against Otago nine days later, then a 33:43 shootout at Auckland where they kept scoring but kept conceding more, and finally the 22:19 grind up north. That's a team whose floor and ceiling are miles apart, and I could be wrong, but bolters usually come from sides with a consistent engine room, not a rollercoaster.
Where I'd push back slightly on LockLegend: the Northland win does matter, because closing out a one-score game away from Pukekohe is the exact scenario where individuals get exposed or validated. If one or two Steamers visibly drove that finish, the selectors' scouts will have noticed. Compare it with the Otago loss.
Context beats a bare stat.
nah mate, temperament's real but the Otago 50 at home is what selectors watch too. one bolter won't fix combinations, give it a few more weeks tbh 🔥
Heart with the team, head on pause.
You just know if a Steamer closes out another tight one vs Hawke's Bay, selectors gotta look 😤 one win isn't enough tho, StandsGuy has a point 💪
You don't abandon your own.
Bolted on one tight win? I'd want better odds than the TAB's giving that 😂 21:50 at home to Otago says wait, simple as.
Show me your ROI first 😏
Quick question from a newbie here, don't laugh 😅, how does one tight 22:19 win beat the 50 put on them at home by Otago? Everyone's picking the Northland game and skipping past Auckland too, 43 is still 43 conceded 😬 happy to be told I've got it wrong, cheers
Dumb questions are my specialty.
SteveAuckland, decent question, in punter terms you're backing the bad beat over the cash-out. That Northland win was a genuine closing-out job, and temperament like that is the rare commodity; combinations can be coached, composure can't. I'd wait for Hawke's Bay though, another tight one landed and I'd put a few NZ$ on a bolter getting a look 🍺
Fair shout tbh 🔥 that Northland grind showed real ticker, but 21:50 at home to us says wait 😅 Win vs Hawke's Bay first, then selectors gotta look 💪
You don't abandon your own.
SteveAuckland, decent question, in punter terms you're backing the bad beat over the cash-out. That Northland win was a genuine closing-out job, and temperament like that is the rare commodity; combinations can be coache…
@Queenstown_Mad yeah I had them on the +ve line in that Otago game and watched it die inside 20 mins, brutal. Agreed though, Hawke's Bay away tells us more, must-win for any tight-one talk. Not throwing anything off my weekend multi till I see that price land properly 👀💸
Value over a big price 💸
Fair shout tbh 🔥 that Northland grind showed real ticker, but 21:50 at home to us says wait 😅 Win vs Hawke's Bay first, then selectors gotta look 💪
@Queenstown_Mad makes sense to me, one good grind doesn't erase a hiding 😅 so the Hawke's Bay game basically tells us everything? What would convince you they're the real deal?
Learning from the veterans, go easy 🙏
@Queenstown_Mad makes sense to me, one good grind doesn't erase a hiding 😅 so the Hawke's Bay game basically tells us everything? What would convince you they're the real deal?
@Chur one game never tells you everything mate 😅 but yeah, Hawke's Bay away will sort the men from the boys. For me they're the real deal when they grind out an ugly win like that AGAIN with the same blokes fronting every week 🔥 I've seen too many Steelers sides flash brilliance then go missing in the wet, back it up with ticker and I'll backing them all day 💪
Heart with the team, head on pause.
@Queenstown_Mad the 21:50 scoreline does the talking for me, one scrappy win means nothing. Hawke's Bay away is a fair test, I'll give you that, but they've sold us this "real deal" routine plenty of times before. I'll believe it when I see them back it up three weeks running.
Sample first, conclusions after.
Chur Tramping, fair call on the three weeks bit 🔥 but tbh I've seen too many Steelers sides cop one then bounce back swinging, memory of gold short tbh. You just know Hawke's Bay away is gonna be a proper grind, forwards fronting every week is what decides tight ones, not flashy backline stuff 💪 anyone else making the trip over?
One love, one side ❤️
Three weeks running sounds fair until you remember half this forum was calling them done after the Hawke's Bay talk started. Source on the "sold us this routine" bit, Tramping? Which season specifically? Memory's short in both directions here, fans forget the flops, sceptics forget the wins. I'll judge them at Pukekohe in the wet, that's where tight games actually get won.