One-point squeaker over North Harbour has me panicking
Watched the Harbour game tape twice and that one-point margin flatters Canterbury a touch. The 25:24 result was more about them hanging on than cruising. Compare it with the 66:19 demolition of Wellington eight days earlier and the drop-off in control is real. I could be wrong, but four from four with a massive for-and buffer still screams top side; the Southland scrap at One NZ Stadium looked scrappier than it probably was. Manawatu away on 3 October will tell us more than either squeaker.
Context beats a bare stat.
Queenstown, "a win's a win" is what people say when they've got nothing else. 25:24 against Harbour after the 66:19 over Wellington? I'll believe the run holds when I see it at Manawatu.
Sample first, conclusions after.
Nah Rob, a wins a win - we ground that Harbour one out when it mattered 🔥 Cracks? Maybe, but 4 from 4 says otherwise. Manawatu away will tell us tbh 💪
You don't abandon your own.
RotoruaLoyal speaking sense here tbh 😱 25:24 against Harbour after slapping 66 on Wellington? that's a proper wobble, you just know Rob saw it on the tape 🔥
and yeah SweetAsNZ, the line moving all week says plenty, punters smelt it too. as a Manawatu bloke I'm buzzing for the 3rd, gonna be at the ground instead of milking early for once 💪 our boys at home don't lie down, Canterbury better turn up or that run goes up in smoke 🤬
One love, one side ❤️
Kinda personal for me this one - that Manawatu away game on 3 October is at my end of the country, so I'll be watching closer than most 😅 The Harbour scrap worries me less than Southland needing a scrap too, 34:21 at home doesn't read like a top side to me. So if they wobble again there, does that mean the Wellington thrashing was just a one-off good day?
Learning from the veterans, go easy 🙏
Chur's got a point tbh, 34:21 at home vs Southland had me sweating too 😅 but 4 from 4, you just know they'll grind Manawatu out. Coaching the juniors Saturday, missing the trip - gutted 💪
You don't abandon your own.
Rob watching the tape twice says a lot, because the eye beats the table. You can flip it around though: Waikato got 36 put on them away and Wellington were dismantled, so the ceiling is real, Harbour away was just one tight afternoon. Southland at home needing a grind is the fairer worry. If they scrape past Manawatu on 3 October the same way, then I'll start believing the run is built on sand.