Sky Sports' Tony Johnson joins Mark Stafford to talk through the NPC Quarter-FInals & All Blacks XV squad omissions.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Afternoons with Staffy
Tony Johnson: A look ahead to the NPC Quarter-Finals & All Blacks & All Blacks XV squads reaction
With Amex Platinum, you can enjoy access to dedicated card member entrances that select events, because skipping the line makes you the star of game day. That's the powerful backing of American Express. Terms apply. Learn more at americanexpress.com/withamex. Card member entrance access not limited to Amex Platinum Card. This episode is brought to you by Allstate. Some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking Allstate first. Like, you know to check you have the tickets in you while at first, before you drive two hours to the big game. Seriously, you had one job. Now the closest you'll get to the 50 yard line is parking lot D. Yeah, checking first is smart. So check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate. Savings vary. Terms apply. Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Northbrook, Illinois. Our weekly appointment has arrived to talk to Tony Johnson out of Skysport. TJ, lots to talk about this week, my good friend. Yeah, Stephanie, it's you know, these two team announcements. Certainly got everyone talking, plus this rather delicious line-up we've got for the quarterfinals of the NPC, yeah, for sure. Let's do the Oblax and the Oblax 15 first. And I'll tell you where all the talking points from our listeners has come from. The Oblax, first of all, a bit of a head scratch, sort of one change. And that's Cam Roygard. And you'd think if he wasn't available from injury, it could potentially have been no changes. I guess no changes was the biggest surprise to me. Yeah, me, I have to say when I saw the team, I didn't see any new faces at all. I was a bit surprised, but you know, again, it's a conservative selection. I suppose what they're saying is that these are the guys we've been working with. We're trying to grow something here. I think for two or three players, it'll be either you form on this tour or it's lights out for next year. Plus, I guess, as you well know, there's been a lot of discussion about TJ Pettinara and Sam came to veterans and whether it was time to move on from those guys. But I do think they have some reasons for it for taking those guys on the tour. What roles do you think they'll play? Look, I have no doubt that they offer a lot of experience and wisdom off the field. People would say that's what the coaching staffs for. How many leaders do you need? How many voices do you need? So what do you think is their best utilisation on this Northern tour? And how do you think they'll be used? Well, first and foremost, they are there for their experience and their leadership. You know, to me, Kane is still a very good player. You know, he still hits very hard in the tackle, still carries very hard. And he's at a calm experience presence on the field. You know, after a season in which I just felt there was perhaps, you know, that the leadership group is still developing and the times you thought, you know, maybe all the leaders in the team, not necessarily on the same page. I think that's a very important factor. Oh, they're going to be as important to that team on and off the field. You know, from what I can understand came, for example, probably won't play, if you're going to call it that, the major test in the middle that he'll probably be, you know, more likely to be seen in the games against Japan and Italy. But he will have an important function in that team. Because as I say, he's still a very hard-nosed player and tough. That's the word people keep using. You know, people who've coached and people who've played with him say how tough he is. And I think that toughness, they'll be hoping that rubs off. Peded out, likewise, I know he has his critics. And he was, you know, I guess I was quite surprised to see him there, given that he's going to be leaving. Also, you know, this will be his last hurrah. But I think again, it's just what he brings off the field at a time where they're really trying to grow the culture of this team, etc. So, I mean, you think about it that way. That is the reason for taking them. I know some people will think differently. But when you sit back and you remove yourself from the white hot heat of debate, you can sort of understand what they're going for. I think there are other players in the team who, frankly, are probably just as lucky as those two, you know, to be in the side. And it's up to them now to prove that, you know, they're worthy of continued selection. And some of it's just a case of form. I mean, Mark Chelier, he was brilliant last year, unbelievable, phenomenal, you know, 2023. This year hasn't been able to reproduce that form. They've gone for him in faith. I think it's every Reese's. Another one has been given a lot of chances this year. And with this tendency to bounce back in field and, you know, perhaps just go off script a little bit, it's kind of, you know, he's been given a, you know, fair bit of rope, and a head of a guy like Amoni Nadawa, who has just been quite outstanding in the NPC, Sammy Penny Fennell, probably the other one who hasn't produced at chest level yet. The form that, you know, we've seen from him in super rugby. And so what they're saying is you guys, you want to be part of the future, you've got to start performing on this tour. In the All Blacks 15 TJ, three names, one that made it and two that didn't. The one that made it, he's been, gosh, I feel like I've been talking about him since this time last year's Hoskins to two two finally gets to wear a black jersey again. Not the All Black one, but the All Blacks 15. What's behind that selection? What does he need to do? Well, I mean, it's Sankin that we still very much see you as, you know, part of the picture going forward. You know, they had some tough calls to make. The guy that I feel probably sorry for more than any, or two that I feel sorry for more than anyone else, one's Ricky, Ricky Kelly, who has been really rock solid all year and would be just as worthy of place on this part of their hook of group as any of the ones that they've selected. I find that one a little bit hard to get me hit around. And of course, I feel sorry for Braden. You'll say as well, who, you know, playing in a beaten team still managed to show his qualities. You know, both in terms of his performance, but also his leadership week in week out for the two of those. So, you know, probably, you know, he's a bit unlucky in terms of the two two. Well, I hope this is a message to him that, you know, you're still very much part of the frame, you know, that, you know, a long term prospect and a very good one as well. I think probably a player who's fairly dispirited when he got left out of the All Blacks, but he has a chance just to remind them of the incredible qualities that he possesses. Just on Ricky Riccatelli. Like he was the two I had written down was Braden Yossi and Ricky Riccatelli. So I'm pleased we're in the same sort of camp there, but I find it hard to believe, but I have to believe that he is not seen as one of the top six hookers in the country. And so then taking the emotion out of it, I think, why? And the only thing I can think is maybe he's not big enough, but Adi Savi is not big enough to be a number eight internationally. And I'm clutching at straws as to how or why Ricky Riccatelli doesn't get a hooking spot in either squad. Well, mate, I actually ran into him. I was in the quarterly on Chip Nelson Airport on Sunday when the Taranaki boys were making their way back with the Ram Fuhrli shield. In fact, they let our crew pose with the shield. It's very nice, but to see it being put to good use in the aftermath. But anyway, yeah, he's big enough. Don't worry about that. I feel for the guy because he is one of the best six hookers in the country, in my opinion. That's all the rest to it. So I don't know, I don't know. All right, MPC quarter finals. I mean, this is a drawmaker's dream TJ. We've got the battle of the base. We've got the chief's neighbouring MPC teams in Taranaki and Waikari. We've got the crusaders, feeder teams in Tasman, Canterbury and we've got a Wellington team hosting a counties team who put 60 odd points on them less than a month ago. What a set of matchups. Yeah, it's funny, isn't it? Because all along, there's been so much criticism of the MPC. I mean, it starts with the CEO saying it's not fit for purpose, which creates a bit of a negative five around it right from the get-go. But I think it's been outstanding this year. What we've seen and people who say, well, there are too many teams make it through, but which of these quarter final games wouldn't you want to see? I mean, the way it's worked out, you're right. It's a promoter's dream when you've got one V8, eight having cleaned one's clock just a few weeks ago, as you said. And I remember thinking at the time, boy, if I was coaching an MPC team, I don't think I'd want to be facing these breaks because they've got a real head of steam up the Steelers now. They're just playing absolutely, direct go ahead, plenty of flair, and Roygard coming back into it. I mean, we know what a match winner he is. And it's just fantastic the way you can see the amount of work that he has put in, just to make sure that he hit the ground running as soon as he came back in, which is an incredibly positive sign. Then you've got the Battle of the Bayes. I don't know who did the draw, but it's inconceivable to think that we were going to go through an MPC season and not have Hawkes Bay in Bay of Plenty, because it is one of the more talked about matchups in this competition. Fortunately, as things worked out, they get to play this weekend at the Todonga domain. Hawkes Bay, they can salvage their season here, because obviously they lost the shield, fell off the cliff a bit afterwards. They've still got plenty of quality, but I just really like what I'm seeing from Bay of Plenty. I know they would have loved to have had Sam Kane back, apparently wasn't cleared to play in this game, but even so, it's a really tight unit, really well led by Kurt Eklund. So that's a heck of a game. Tasman, I think, have probably got the toughest job, because they have to bounce back now from the disappointment of losing the shield. It's a bit of a mounting injury toll, and they take on a Canterbury team that has been very much bolstered by the return of a bunch of All Blacks, which gives them a bit more like the star quality look that we expect from a Canterbury team. Then, of course, Taranaki, who take on Waikato, I have to say the last time those teams played, Waikato were robbed of it. I'll go to all respect for Taranaki, but Waikato had conceded a match when he tried to a really blatant forward pass that wasn't picked up. So, I think there'll be plenty at stake in that game as well. And Taranaki, of course, now eyeing the chance of doing the double Rem Village Shield and NPC, and being the defending champion. So, boy, what more could you ask for? Is there a better matchup that there could have been when you look at the history between the unions involved recent and past? It's just an outstanding lineup and a weekend that we're really creating a big buzz of excitement, I'm sure. The home teams are all the favourites. They're all favoured by about the same amount, and I won't make you pick blind. I'm trying to think which one's the most likely for an away team to win. I've landed on Waikato to beat Taranaki. I just think, when they get it together, they could even push for a title. Yeah, I've got to admit, as much as you know what part of the world I come from, I think the Tasman, this is going to be another test of their metal here, because you see the walking wound at the weekend. And look, they never use that as an excuse. Hawaii McDonald spoke to him after the game, and he said, "Storm Week, no excuse. Injuries, no excuse." But maybe they've bitten them a bit. We're going to say a team like Bay of Fendi at the moment, relatively injury-free, which is a good sign. I know Taranaki, they had a few walking wound at the game as well, but I just think, again, a combination of falling... The post ran fairly shielding, but also, we're seeing a bit of a phenomenon called the post-Storm Week phenomenon. You think back to the beginning of the season, when Bay of Fendi went through their Storm Week exceptionally well, won all three games, and then the next week came out and gave a fairly lackluster performance in the wet against Tasman and lost the game. To me, I think that the team with the best chance of winning away from home, it probably is Canterbury, much as though it just creates a little knot in my stomach saying it. Tova Tova-Nawai, any medical update on him, because boy, I miss watching him play when he doesn't. Yeah, well, of course, that was the other thing. Levi Almore, having to be away for a family-related issue, Tova Tova-Nawai, who'd done such a great job moving into center. Mind you, if you're stuck a six or a seven on his back, he'd play that as well. He'd probably play Booker if you wanted him to, and it probably wouldn't change his game very much. But he turned up in his number once with a brace on his knee, which is not a great sign. Hopefully, he'll be right further down the track. But certainly, Tasman missed him. But they've got good depth and it's been well and truly tested. Sure has. All right, TJ, which games do you get to channel through to our TVs in the weekend? I think I've got one more trip down south. I've got ahead of the quarterfinals. I'm doing a game in Blenham. Obviously, this time of year, our very hard-working production staff are all looking at all the possibilities for what happens in semi-final weekend, and I can tell you nothing. Apart from, we know that the winner of the Counties Monoco Wellington game will play their semi-final on Friday night and the other one will be played on Saturday. But who and where? I can tell you, there's not a lot of ink at the moment on the paper. It's all pencil. That's probably the first season for a number, TJ. You can sort of say, "Oh, I like Wellington's going to host you," but you can't say it about any of them. And that's the beauty of MPC 2024. It's been a sparkling rendition, I feel. I don't think we've missed anything. No, no, we haven't. The only thing I'd say, and it was really interesting, a Neil Barnes, who's a guy who we all have a great regard for simply because, hey, he's a very good coach, but he tells it as he sees it, and he doesn't worry about roughly any feathers in high places. And he made the comment, "It's one of the first things he said after the game on Sunday about how tough it was for Tasman at the end of their storm week to defend the shield." But he's also, I think, joined the chorus. Why do we need a storm week? Why do we have to have it when it causes so much difficulty for the teams? They talk about windows and stuff, and it's all about the All Blacks and things like that. But why do we not start of the week early and avoid the situation where every team has to play this situation where fatigue, injuries, travel, all that sort of thing can impact on their ability to perform at their best. So that's one thing that's come out of it, all the rest of the discussion about the future of the MPC seems to have just appeared. I'm not quite sure where we're at with that, but I agree with it. I think it's been a really good competition, and the great thing is we've still got another three weeks of it. I'd just like a little bit more of a pre-season for the teams that don't have players that are stacked with Super Rugby because a lot of these lower down teams, and you can know which ones I'm talking about, they're having players coming out of Club Rugby two weeks pre-season, into playing team stack with Super Rugby, and they don't find their feet for a while, TJ. No, but the problem is too, there's also a need to show, you know, give Club Rugby its opportunity as well, to have the best club players that they can play for that. So look, it's a tricky one, but I agree with that. Some teams came into this competition, not much by way of a pre-season at all, others did. So yeah, look, it's a constant balancing act, isn't it, finding the right amount of time and space for all these teams. But yeah, there's just one talking point that's come out of it, and again, as I say, it was just quite refreshing to hear Neil Barnes offering up his views on it. Awesome. Well, and given all of that, though, we've got a fantastic quarters, we'll have great semis and a wonderful final, and then the All Blacks in and New Zealand 15 as well. We're a long way done for the rugby season, TJ. Travel safe, mate. Have a brilliant weekend. Okay, cheers, heavy. See you.