Season 34 General Discussion

robelix wrote:re: up and unders....always considered them to be random in regards to winning them. they can be useful when your attacking and the tactics in your opponents 22 is ineffective....sometimes a successful bomb can land you a try when your other tactics are falling flat

Which is precisely why I removed it.

donkeysaint wrote:

robelix wrote:re: up and unders....always considered them to be random in regards to winning them. they can be useful when your attacking and the tactics in your opponents 22 is ineffective....sometimes a successful bomb can land you a try when your other tactics are falling flat

Which is precisely why I removed it.

That is some statement! But no one can disagree with your results.

Thank you. But I doubt my usually effective attack will make it through, away with a 150K CSR deficit. I predict Robelix will win, with or without up and unders..

But it will also be very interesting to see how my team will do against such opposition.

We're pulling this week? I have obviously missed D1 but have todays

donkeysaint wrote:Thank you. But I doubt my usually effective attack will make it through, away with a 150K CSR deficit. I predict Robelix will win, with or without up and unders..

But it will also be very interesting to see how my team will do against such opposition.

I am also very interested. I haven't scouted you yet and this seems like a good game to do it. Rob has done a very good job of correcting his team's problems lately with getting some high tech/str backs, slowly phasing out reckless forwards, getting another quality lock, and even got himself an awesome captain - even if it was an accident. The scoreline won't reflect the 150k CSR gap between the teams but I do suspect Rob will record the win on his home track.

gimping wrote:We're pulling this week? I have obviously missed D1 but have todays

This is a scouting season so pull and invest in lots of stars for new recruits.

oh sparky....you have allowed a bot to get on the scoreboard...

robelix wrote:oh sparky....you have allowed a bot to get on the scoreboard...

Can't even blame a reckless forward for that one.

Paul Tazewell at the ripe old age of 50 with grand total CSR of 0 scored 5 tries in tonight's bot bash

I reduce the aggression to normal for bot games. Usually that's more than enough to win the rucks, and you risk near 0 penalties...

...but today a bot turned us over. Once, while we were camping in their 22

My bot bashing tactics are (in all zones) 100% creative, rush, btb, 0% kicking.

how on earth you gave a penalty away to a bot while playing BTB? was it a penalty, not a drop goal?

It was a pen I play btb so my players don't give away stupid pens which wastes time when I could spend it scoring trys. There doesn't seem to be an upside of playing normal or aggressive vs a bot.

i cant believe my players kicked the ball 8 times last night  (not from penalties)
yes, 0 % kicking....obviously I didn't have the right captain in place
everyone knows you can score from your own deadball line vs a bot, what was the point of kicking...that's 8 tries gone begging

Triple check your kicking levels in every zone. Kicking 8 times with 0% kicking should be impossible imo even with a bad captain.

ivelostmysparky wrote:Triple check your kicking levels in every zone. Kicking 8 times with 0% kicking should be impossible imo even with a bad captain.

i used basic tactics (not zoned) with 0% kicking level

That is your problem! Basic tactics mean you can kick a reasonable amount even with 0% kicking like in the bad old days.

really? wow, I had no idea...

also, hard luck on your last minute loss in the WCC...looks like the WCC will be quite a good competition this year...competition has evened out a bit more (Jolly Rogers are still tough, but no longer the indomitable beasts they used to be)

Yeah. Stupid reckless lock

I don't like BTB against bots. The bot might give away more penalties and you lose precious time during the lineout drill...

Against a bot, I prefer normal or aggressive.

ivelostmysparky wrote:Yeah. Stupid reckless lock

fire 'em....save you in the long run

tryasta wrote:I don't like BTB against bots. The bot might give away more penalties and you lose precious time during the lineout drill...

Against a bot, I prefer normal or aggressive.

Ok I will try normal this week.

robelix wrote:

ivelostmysparky wrote:Yeah. Stupid reckless lock

fire 'em....save you in the long run

I wonder how much $$$ he would get me

I didnt say sell him .... and after that ladt performance maybe you should be offering money for someone to take him off your hands....

...but what an amazing cool surname! (my surname)

Yes but he is an ex-U20 player so can't be fired instead he automatically goes onto the TM so I might as well sell him. Sorry for killing the joke He is usually good for one stupid penalty per game so would be right at home in your pack

Actually, Rob's pack is doing pretty well, at least that is the feeling one gets after their win against the A.K.

@donkeysaint defeating destroying Sparker and a galant loss at the Tough Battleground Terrier make you a serious candidate to the playoffs, in my eyes.

My thoughts after Hercufleas United 33 - 24 Auckland Katipos.

Before the game, I did some thinking over my possibilities to get away with any kind of point. Anticipating a CSR difference of around 130K, and being away from home, I thought that was very farfetched. I also decided to assume Robelix would play normal intensity (as I had decided I would). In that scenario, even the possibility of denying the Hercufleas a bonus point seemed unlikely. I expected to lose by a fair amount, even though I thought I would avoid a complete rout (which I have reserved for round 5 ).

With that in mind I decided to let my U20's stay on until minute 60, and didn't bother with any in-case-of sub rules (like I have said before, my U20's will start every league game. They will play between 40-60 minutes depending on how it goes, unless they are injured or have suffered from some devastating energy loss, and after I have finished my cup run they might get 80 minutes). BTW, that is not me making a sacrifice for the NZ U20's, or something like that. I do it because it is vital for my squads future to get the pair of U20's I hope to train every other season as good as possible, because their training ends as the new pair shifts in.


I wasn't able to see any pre-match report and tuned in to watch the replay of the game (without knowing the score) some hours after it had finished.

The first half was pretty one-sided. I was behind on pretty much every stat, committed too many penalties, and was down 26-9. I had only allowed two tries against me, though, in spite of the Hercufleas camping for 17 minutes (!) in my 22. At least my defence was doing ok. It was an interesting game, after all.

The second half started more even, and it wasn't until the 57th minute that Hercufleas got their bonus point try. By then the score was 33-12.

On the 60 minute mark, I subbed my U20's off along with two others, and brought on four subs. In the 63rd minute I was refused a try by the TMO. I had another sub come on in minute 65, and then two more by minute 72. During that whole period I had upped the tempo of the game, putting pressure and keeping much of the possession, and in the 78th minute I scored my first try, effectively taking away Hercufleas BP. The conversion was missed and the score was 33-17.

Then followed one of those weird sequences of play were neither team wanted to end the game, and after a total of two penalties, two turnovers and six minutes of overtime, I scored my second try. The conversion was on and the final score was 33-24.

After that I looked at the reports. I had been down 115K in CSR, and 4 points in energy. I also had a somewhat weaker bench, by 11K. But Robelix had played WNWIM.

I won the second half by 7-15, and the stats were in line. Turnovers won 1-7, lineouts against throw 0-3, missed tackles 25-15, metres gained 273-418, line breaks 1-7, rucks won 17-35, minutes in 22 5-11. And all of that happened mostly during the last 20 minutes.

If I had brought my U20's off at half time, or perhaps even at minute 50, could I have won a defensive BP? Perhaps even the game? Maybe (or rather, maybe-maybe). But then again, I didn't.


In the end, I must say I am pretty pleased with my team. They did well in what arguably was my third, or perhaps even second, most difficult league game this season. They got within 9 points of drawing, and had I planned slightly differently it could have been even closer.

Lastly, congratulations to @Robelix for winning on WNWIM! That was a show of strength, and a clear sign that a difference of 115K is worth a great deal. But my question must be, was it worth the missed bonus point?


Edit: @tryasta, thank you! I will certainly try.