Ross Filipo: Crusaders back on playoff path after stumble

Daniel Carter of the Crusaders. Photo / Getty Images

Opinion

Having spent much of my career with the Crusaders, I know they are a really smart team and, with all their players back on deck, could be ready to surge towards the playoffs.

In my time there, the view was that the score at the beginning of the season wasn't considered all that important. Those early fixtures were about getting the overall game right. Once that was achieved, there was always a feeling that we could build towards the playoffs.

It looks to me like the current situation there is not too dissimilar. They had plenty of teething problems at the start of the campaign, but they dispatched the Cheetahs last week with some authority and conviction in the end.

What I like about the Crusaders is the way they manipulate the opposition defence. I'd imagine if you tracked the stats, their running metres would be a little lower than many other teams, but that's because they let the ball do the work.

They don't do any unnecessary running and it is all about passing and passing to find the space.

What I'm sure hasn't changed within the environment either is the belief that you have to be ready to play for 90 minutes. That was always the Crusaders' way - be ready to go for longer than the opposition and never forget that anything can happen in those final minutes.

They still look to build sustained pressure and, in that respect, Daniel Carter has the potential to be key.

He remains a world-class player and you don't lose the qualities he has. He makes good decisions and the support lines he runs are second to none. His goalkicking is still top-drawer and he is getting back to his best running now his injury issues appear to be behind him.

He gives the Crusaders options about how they can play as he's so strong defensively that he can slot in at No12 and they don't lose anything by doing that.

He'll tackle the biggest guy on the field and is one of the best defensive five-eighths there has been.

With Carter at 12 and Colin Slade at No10, it gives the Crusaders a left-foot and right-foot kicking combination which is hard to shut down.

I would think, though, that the All Black selectors are going to want to see Carter play more at No10 and the Crusaders will have the same thinking about that.

If they use Tom Taylor at No12 when Carter is at No10 - as they are this weekend - it gives them that left-foot/right-foot kicking combination.

That leaves the question of what to do with Slade if Carter is used more at No10. He's been playing so well that coach Todd Blackadder will want him involved.

That could be from the bench or at fullback and I also suspect it could be from the wing. He's got the pace, footwork, defensive capabilities, kicking game and experience to be comfortable in any position in the back three.