Robbie gets his mojo back [Nelson Mail]
Robbie Malneek was wearing the No 15 jersey when the Tasman Makos made their national provincial championship rugby debut against North Harbour eight years ago.
The 31-year-old fullback is remarkably still on deck and now looking to play a significant role in Saturday's ITM Cup premiership semifinal against Canterbury at Trafalgar Park.
After 90 games for the Makos, Malneek's experienced all the contrasting emotions associated with provincial rugby.
That's included fighting his way back into top team contention this year after he was dropped for the Makos' first two games. It certainly meant some honest self-appraisal.
"I just didn't make the side. I was probably a bit out of shape and wasn't up to scratch, so they [coaches] sort of put the hard word on me really, which was good," Malneek said.
It's a measure of Malneek's professionalism that he took the advice on board and eventually seized his opportunity in place of injured left winger Mitchell Scott against Auckland in round three.
He's been a regular selection since, eventually reverting back to his preferred position at fullback, with two of his three tries this season, against Waikato and Counties-Manukau, spectacular long-range solo efforts that showcased his exceptional pace and attacking ability.
"I credit that to our trainer Glenn Stewart. I've been a bit of a pain in the arse for him but he's put a lot of work in to me, so I've sort of had to repay him really," he said.
"It's hard training all the time and watching, so I definitely wanted to get back out there."
There was no question of him contemplating his possible swansong season.
"It fired me up again. I'm pretty competitive with myself, so it made me want to work harder and with the young guys coming through, they sort of keep you on your toes.
"I have to keep on working and working and, I suppose, do all those little extra things that you have to when you get to my age."
As for Saturday, Malneek's not anticipating anything like the 38-10 romp the Makos enjoyed against Canterbury two weeks ago in Christchurch.
"From that last game, they've obviously got a few players back, so it's going to be tough and if we play our game, keep to our structures and everything, we'll be okay. That's how we have to think of it really.
"If we play well, we can't afford to let them off the hook, or not play our game, and that was the disappointing thing about last week [losing to Counties], we didn't play. I think we had 34 per cent of the ball which was shocking."
"With our structures that we have in place, we can play that sort of game. It's not a risk, it's part of our game really. And if we don't express ourselves, we'll end up with a result like we did [against Counties]."Malneek's an integral part of the Makos' attacking blueprint and rejects any suggestion that it's high risk.
The Makos' attacking mindset involves a great deal of trust between the players.
"Everybody has to be on the same wave-length and we all have to be thinking about the same thing at the same time, otherwise one little cog out and it doesn't work."
Malneek's clearly the most experienced player in the squad and appreciates the significance of what a win on Saturday could mean.
He's also savvy enough to recognise the dangers of thinking too far ahead.
"We have come a long way, but we just have to take one game at a time and this weekend against Canterbury, all our focus is on them."
- The Nelson Mail
