Delighted to see Matt Letoga get a run , everything i have heard about him is positive on and off the field ,hes been part of the HP squad this year and from what i have heard from many of the current squad members they rate him big time , very intelligent thinker with the skill, physicality and size to make a very real impact .
He was very impressive in the HP preseason game against Auckland , on that occassion he played lock but is very much a number 8 , has also backed that up with very good club form for Hikurangi
Had some time in the Crusaders Academy U20s a couple of seasons back so still young

@Steven-Harris as I mentioned after the dev game I thought his fitness may not be where it needs to be for this level, but I guess he will come on the final 20 or so, but def looking forward to seeing him.

Interesting to see them throwing some young guys in this year, hopefully this is part of Leslie looking at the development thing.

what an odd game....plenty to like about our play, but more to dislike.

Several players made hugely costly errors, none moreso than Goodhue, who had played pretty well until that pull on Gatlands jersey, potentially cost the game, but at least a BP.

Many players had patches of good, but also patches of less good...Milo-Harris, played well for most of his time, but made a couple of costly errors, but then his replacement made a poor decision to take a 2m blind that was picked off and NH almost went 80m...our defence in patches was not good enough, highlighted in the last quarter, I'd put alot onto fatigue, as it was a pretty fast game.

Trainor was handy, although he hobbled off, so hope it isnt anything bad, liked Letoga, made some good metres in contact and post contact, blip being penalised when he released his grip in the maul.

Matich probably pick of our loosies, good to see a stable scrum too, our ruck protection in the 1st half and handling throughout was very costly.

Must be said, that is a bloody good NH side, that pack is pretty big, lead from the front by Suafua.

edit - thought the ref was pretty good, well, consistent in what he let both sides away with.

dont forget to vote in poll

https://www.forum.thesilverfern.com/topic/6288/northland-motm-v-nh/2

Quite pleased that we a filtering some of these new younger guys in this year. Looking forward to seeing what Letoga has to offer, have heard good things about him all year. I think most of the younger players have stepped up and will be invaluable in the seasons ahead.

As for this game, I really hope we can finally get one on the road, but Harbour have looked solid the last few weeks, they will be a tough nut to crack. Would just like to see a bit of consistency back in our week to week performances on the run home, it's been a bit predictable this year in terms of the polarising performances.

@kev yeah it is good they are starting to look at young guys coming through, this year:
Remsy Lemisio, Kobie Scutt, Rory Woods, Tama Anderson and now Matt Letoga all debutants this year (obviously Cobb & Rebolo debuted recently, and Trainor will too, but they arent young fellas coming through)

I am assuming it's Leslies influence in pushing younger talent given several other assistants and backroom staff have been there for many years and have more often been reluctant to promote the younger guys, and while the age group sides arent having alot of success in the Northern Region tournaments, it makes a change we have sides in them, so can only be good exposing these kids to higher level of competition...plus many of them train with the NPC side too, while in and around the HP environment, just need to realise this talent and guide it.

As I have stated previously, there are a handful of other players in club and age group that I think are good enough to be given the opportunity at the next level.

That’s as cheesy as the NH try before halftime

Anyone calling for SS to be included in the All Blacks might want to watch him in this fixture. The glaring gaps in his game are obvious at NPC level.

@kev he's been disappointing last 2 seasons, has all the tools, but not sure his attitude is right, and i think he is back at the brumbies so be surprised if he would come back.

Northland team named.

Debut for Jordan Trainor and likely one for Matt Letoga...pretty powerful midfield, although not the quickest so could get exposed for pace.

IMO that is our strongest scrummaging front row, although unsure long Corey will last out there.

Nock out injured again.

@J77 said in North Harbour v Northland:

We have a solid foundation, but we need a shit tonne of maintenance required to get this unit up to speed on a consistent basis.

This is the bit for me. What we have seen with Andrew Webster for the Warriors is a smart coach build a game plan, get in the heads of his players, succeed. I think we some great players, some emerging talent, so with some quality systems, and a great coach we can go to the next level.

@taniwharugby said in North Harbour v Northland:

@J77 although, tbf to Jurlina, who isn't really a tall loosie, wasn't the game v Manawatu his first start, and at lock?

Although defer to you on him as you seen more of him atnclub to know ossible ceiling

Def think Letoga is worth persevering with though, we haven't had a ball carrier like him for years.

Yep that's right he was at lock. My bad. Still I think with a higher standard of club footy under his belt I think he may come on really well. He certainly stood out up here, but that's not hard to do.

Letoga is definitely one I'd like to see more of, just needs conditioning. He's a real metre maker that guy, if he's fit next year he'd be putting heat on guys like McNamara I'd say.

@Duluth good touch from him and goodhue moved that well there

That’s a penalty?

Bugger

Banks, and Inisi in the 2nd half, have been really good for Harbour.