This was the banner hastily produced by Hori BOP and myself when the BoP Times called on us for a photo session to illustrate the anger felt amongst Steamers fans when the Chiefs squad was announced. Being the media sluts we are, we hurried down to Tauranga Domain with our banner - it wasn't the most elegant slogan, given we only had an hour to come up with it, but it summed up the situation pretty well. There is even photographic evidence of the event along with good-looking Mafia members and assorted angry children (or did I get the "angry" and "good-looking" mixed up)?

Since that time, the banner has lived in the boot of my car - a constant reminder of how wrong we were and how I never clean out my car. Well not everything on the banner was wrong, the coach was indeed called Foster, the Chiefs did flop although not until they reached the semi-final and the original 4 expanded somewhat to reach 9. So firstly a tribute to the 9 Steamers who made the pitch for the Chiefs.

Jackson
Ormond
Davison
Castle
McQuoid
Senio
Upton
Lutui
Cashmore

Granted 1 or 2 of them were glimpsed only briefly but Jacko and Ormond had solid seasons and Foster stated that he would have liked both of them to feature somewhere i the AB trial game. Davison started a few times and let nobody down, Castle was generally the 4th prop although he did start one game (from memory). McQuoid was a utility bench player who was unlucky not to get a start given the problems in the Chiefs midfield. Senio and Upton covered injuries from the bench as did Lutui once the Waikato U13 rep hooker was injured. Lutui showed in the few minutes he played why he should have been the bench warmer ahead of Mini-me, notwithstanding Linklater's generally competent performances. Finally Cashmore wasn't even a Bay player at the start of S12 but came on in the final and was, as they say, "all class".

So what of the other Chiefs? Well the standouts were Willis, Robinson, Holah, Gibbes, Kelleher and Sivivatu with Manu, Collins, Bates, Lauaki and Fa'atau not far behind. The loss of Willis for the season was unfortunate as he looked destined to make the ABs while Robinson, Holah, Gibbes and Kelleher all made the first AB 26 man squad of the year. Making the semis was a top effort given the lack of quality in the backline, Lowen missed a lot of the season and looked underdone when he did play. Crichton was hot and cold and then was another to have his season ended by injury. But 12 and 13 were the main weak spots for the Chiefs, Ranby and Maisey together just aren't big enough or fast enough for those positions. 

So a big well done to Foster, Temata and all the Chiefs coaching staff. The crowds in Hamilton, while still not filling the ground often enough, should ensure a reasonable profit for the franchise. There were wins over the Blues (and the incredible "wandering try" from Lauaki), Hurricanes and Highlanders with the Crusaders the only NZ side to beat the Chiefs. Losses to the Reds and the Cats were unfortunate but made up for with victories over the other 3 South African sides as well as the Waratahs. The home games against the Stormers and Bulls to clinch the semi-final spot were tense affairs, especially giving the Bulls a huge start but still hauling them in. The Brumbies games are best forgotten, the Chiefs were made to look like good honest toilers - which is of course exactly what they are. But at least this season, they did themselves justice.

So next season, the Mafia expect many more Bay players in the squad, 2 home games in Rotorua and/or Tauranga, a home semi-final, a home final and overall victory. We don't ask for much ....................