HS Top 200 Team of the Week

Photo By: St Thomas of CC FB page – Felix Faatili

There were so many mean games that were on in the weekend and it just seems to get better and better with everyone step’n up their game. I have loved chillin at home throughout the week and watching all the games that have gone on LIVE stream and just being able to study it more and more and get to know the players. Polsen Banner obviously a good game, I liked watching the Silverstream game as well just to see the talent on show, the Rotorua BHS and New Plymouth BHS game was mean and also the Shirley BHS and Timaru BHS for their second game in the week.

I have looked at so many players and picked out players that I thought played really well and made a difference for their side. They may not be in the winning team but to me I saw them not give up and push to be the best that whole game.

HS Top 200 Team of the Week

1.    Haruto Takahashi (Rotorua BHS)
2.    Cambell Robb (St Paul’s Collegiate)
3.   Jonty Bird (Scots College)
4.   Curtis Palmer (Tauranga BC)
5.    Maea Tema-Schimt (Scots College)
6.   Dominic Ropeti (Scots College)
7.   Heath MacEwan (Hamilton BHS)
8.  Peter Lakai (St Patrick’s College, Silverstream)
9.   Noah Hotham (Hamilton BHS)
10.  Jack Parker (New Plymouth BHS)
11.  Montell Pepper (St Thomas CC)
12.  Lafo Takiari-Ah Ching (Palmerston North BHS)
13.  Felix Faatili (St Thomas CC)
14.  Ethyn Martin (Napier BHS)
15.  Oliver Foote (Hamilton BHS)
16.   Hanz Leota (Scots College)
17.  Siale Lauaki (St Patrick’s College, Town)
18.  Logan Mitchell (Francis Douglas MC)
19.  Tahlor Cahill (Shirley BHS)
20.  Cooper Flanders (Hastings BHS)
21.  Ben Strang (St Pauls Collegiate)
22.  Afa Moleli (Napier BHS)
23.  Travis Cashmore (St Paul’s Collegiate)  

A few guys in that Scots College vs St Pat’s Town game I thought were just stand outs. Dominic Ropeti who is a Young Year 13 has been so good all year and I think is getting better at Blind Side as his main position. Dominic brings a lot of skills to his team not just with his run game. He has the ability to create for others and makes the right decisions when on the run getting his team up the field. I think that having guys like Maea Tema-Schimt at Lock who has also been a big part of that running forward pack has found himself breaking more tackles as he’s hitting the gaps.  Jonty Bird in his 50th had a very good game and going head to head with Siale Lauaki who also stood up big time for his team was a good match up.

Haruto Takahashi for Rotorua BHS was solid all game even with a Yellow card. I thought he really put everything out there on the field and used his strength and bulk. Haruto to me has been very important this year for how well that forward pack fronts up in the scrums. Peter Lakai for Silverstream had some “Bull-ish” runs on the weekend and was hitting the line hard scoring some tries but was helping his team get through that defence and was putting that team on the hunt every time he touched the ball. Heath McKewan I thought was at his best throughout the game with his defence and putting pressure on the runners and in that same game Cooper Flanders showed his full skills even though they lost.

Lafo Takiari-Ah Ching was playing “Bumper Cars” while everyone was still playing rugby, that run is still amazing to watch. Ethyn Martin as well was showing how dangerous his foot work can be and Travis Cashmore with his two tries was a problem for Francis Douglas MC to handle. The winner on the day I think was Felix Faatili who was just a monster and they did not have an answer for how to stop him, the best they could do was hope to tackle him, and then wait for him to make a mistake. Felix was “The Truth” and a big part of why St Thomas CC won on Saturday and keen to see him again run a muck this Saturday.