Manawatū Jets reserved their best for rival Saints

Peter Lampp is an experienced sports commentator and former sports editor based in Manawatū.

OPINION: When the Manawatū Jets squeezed past the Saints on Sunday, the crowd erupted as if four Rolls-Royce jet engines had ignited at full noise in Fly Palmy Arena.

Despite the Jets sitting bottom of the table, 1439 devotees trooped along Pascal Street on Sunday afternoon to be entertained, despite the likelihood their favourites would almost certainly lose.

Many of the younger brigade would not have known this clash was historically Palmerston North’s derby game, when fans would hang from the rafters as Tyrone Brown took on Saints’ Kenny McFadden, both out of Washington State.

The Jets’ quartet of Americans this time showed it meant just as much to them. There was very American celebratory goose-stepping from Danny Pippen II when the final Saints’ three-pointer plunged wide.

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Saints, winners of 12 national titles, would have bussed up over Transmission Gully from Wellington with the expectation they’d squash the pesky greenies as usual.

Who could blame them? They hadn’t lost to the Jets for 10 years and when that happened, it was apparently by the same score, 111-108.

Manawatū sports teams only seldom vanquish big-city outfits, whether in basketball, rugby, soccer, in the sadly distant Manawatū AFC days, and hockey.

Early on Sunday that fate seemed certain to continue as heads slumped when the Jets bounded down court firing blanks. Saints twice led by 17 and then by 19, and the only ones not perturbed were the hordes of tiny tots.

Sunday at the Jets at 4pm has become a family outing. One toddler behind me fell asleep and two other borats assaulted each other with noisy cardboard clackers until dad mercifully filled them with candyfloss.

Noise was a big factor in the Jets’ comeback, essentially their sixth man on court. They now have a professional DJ pumping non-stop music which apparently gees up the players.

It wouldn’t go down well at Turbos games, but it’s so constant after a while you don’t notice it.

It seemed incredible that the Jets could snatch the lead, and when they did they seemed to get stage fright and returned to firing blanks. For us, the old Manawatū pessimism crept in; they would lose with merit.

But Natu Taufale, who had coached Saints in 2000, had a strategy to negate Aussie professional point guard Kyle Adnam and for once the Jets attacked inside with Javion Blake slotting amazing fingertip layups at speed.

While the Jets don’t have beefy Tall Blacks among their Kiwis as Saints have, Josh Leger was in the thick of the rebounding and alley-oops and Liam Judd dropped timely bombs. Marcel Jones had his family from the United States at the game. At 37, hopefully he can go another season in green.

The Jets have a programme in place to keep their young guys in Palmerston North. That should be the same in all Manawatū sports.

The Jets must still topple big-spending outfits to reach the top-six playoffs. There is a salary cap but other teams keep spending.

Meanwhile, three referees on court is one too many after 47 fouls were called on Sunday. That means the game was interrupted 47 times, often for the merest touch.

Razor’s fresh air

Scott Robertson will be a first, an All Blacks’ coach with a humorous, genial personality.

The stress of the big job next year with the nation on his back might affect that, but if he wins, keep on dancing.

We have to trawl back many years to find an ABs coach who wasn’t dour and serious. Think Ian Foster, Steve Hansen, Graham Henry, John Hart, Alex Wyllie, Laurie Mains…..

It is heartening for the nation that Robertson moves into All Blackdom having coached the Crusaders to victory minus more than half of his team because next year half of the current All Blacks will have bolted overseas.

The indisciplined Chiefs were numb and sour afterwards. Coach Clayton McMillan almost encouraged the online haters when afterwards he mentioned how he didn’t want to bag referee Ben O’Keeffe, but added: ”The crowd did that at the end; maybe that says something.”

My advice to O’Keeffe, turn off your social media until your whistling days are over and avoid the rabid rugby ragers. Be happy to trundle through your backyard onto the 11th hole at Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club and swing away.

Social media unearths the latent maniacs in our population. They drove Jacinda Ardern out of the prime minister’s suite with their vicious trolling.

Is it worth watching?

Formula 1 motor-racing now that Max Verstappen wins almost every race.

Supercars motor racing now Shane Van Gisbergen no longer wins every race.

Premier League football now Manchester City wins every title.

State of Origin because Queensland keep blanking their mates from New South Wales.

The Warriors. Are they too good to be true?