‘Throw everything at it’: Counties Manukau look to continue fairytale run

Coach Reon Graham insists Counties Manukau are “going to throw everything” at Canterbury in their NPC quarter-final on Sunday, as the eighth-seed looks to shock the minor premiers at Christchurch’s Apollo Projects Stadium.

Counties punched their ticket to the playoffs with a final-round 49-41 upset win over Tasman at Nelson’s Trafalgar Park. That was the Steelers’ fifth win on the bounce, marking an incredible streak of results that kept their season alive.

After five matches, Counties were still searching for a drought-breaking win. They had lost by 40 to Hawke’s Bay, 39-22 at home to Bay of Plenty, beaten in a thriller 27-26 by Waikato, and suffered one-sided defeats to Otago and Taranaki.

Counties snapped their losing run against North Harbour, before beating Southland, Auckland, Manawatu and the Mako. The Steelers’ turning point, as Graham explained, was their 64-10 triumph over Southland in Invercargill on September 14.

At the top end of the ladder, Canterbury boasted an unbeaten record from five matches, going on to extend that streak to seven before losing to Otago 36-38. The Cantabrians drew away to Northland eight days later before rounding out the round-robin with a win over Taranaki.

“They’re a smart team and it’s going to take a fair bit to break them down… if we just let the boys play with confidence and self-belief and have a real crack,” Graham said on Sport Nation Mornings.

“We haven’t played each other this year so they haven’t had a chance to look at us up close, just as we haven’t [with Canterbury].

“We’re just going to throw everything at it. It’s been a long time since we’ve beaten Canterbury in Christchurch so the boys are pretty keen to switch that around.”

Canterbury have selected Brodie McAlister on their bench, as one of the seven All Blacks who have been released for provincial quarter-finals. Capped All Blacks George Bell, Dallas McLeod and Braydon Ennor have been named in the run-on side.

As for Counties, Graham has selected a 23 that includes NSW Waratahs-bound hooker Ioane Moananu up front, and Chiefs outside back Etene Nanai-Seturo at fullback. Another big-name inclusion for Counties is Dalton Papali’i, who has been reliable all season.

After missing out on All Blacks selection, Papali’i has started four NPC matches at blindside flanker and another two at No. 8. Papali’i has been retained at the back of the scrum for this weekend’s quarter-final.

“He’s just one of the lads and he contributes in lots of different ways,” Graham explained. “In huddles, in the leadership group and defensive strat group,” Graham explained when asked about Papali’i.

“He’s a leader but he’s also one of the boys. He’s been awesome, he’s been awesome. He hasn’t tried to change anything, he’s just fit into what we’re doing.”