- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
The NSW Waratahs have one of the most unique opportunities in sports this year with so many players coming off contract.
Depending on how you look at it, Michael Cheika and Roger Davis are in the enviable or perilous position of being able to build a team almost from scratch at the end of the 2013 season.
The Daily Telegraph has reported that the Waratahs could face an exodus because there were 29 players from 35 in the squad off contract this year. I personally think this an exciting time to be a Waratahs fan.
We already know that some higher profile signings have been made including securing Adam Ashley-Cooper for another five years and snapping up Nick Phipps from the Rebels.
This has led to Brendan McKibbon entertaining thoughts of leaving for Scotland next year, whereas a passport holder he has a chance to gain national selection.
Signing Adam Ashley-Cooper is a good idea because every side needs experience and professionalism. He carries both of those qualities. Whether he is a Wallaby all of those five years isn’t as much of a concern to the Waratahs as securing a solid building block around which they can build.
Georgina Robinson of the Sydney Morning Herald reported a number of changes to the side as well. She intimated Berrick Barnes will be looking to move on next year, and Sekope Kepu has been locked into a new deal as well.
The most interesting player movements she reported are up front. Will Skelton has been signed by the Waratahs from the national academy, by all reports he is a legitimately large human even for a second-rower.
Props Mike and Alan Alaalatoa have signed on the dotted line also. The brothers were representatives for the academy side that took on Tonga A not long ago. Oh, and they’re both 130kgs.
Even with all that movement there are lots of spots to fill before the 2014 season starts.
With things not going quite so well at the Reds this year and premiership-winning coach Ewen McKenzie leaving, there is a chance that Michael Cheika could make substantial improvements to his playing squad without having to rely solely on youngsters.
A lot of money has been spent in Queensland to secure the likes of Will Genia, Digby Ioane, Quade Cooper and others. A lot of salary is locked up in stars, some of which was probably inflated due to bidding battles.
That idea worked in as much as the Reds won a championship with a number of the high profile signings, but going forward it might mean they struggle to pay some of the role players all they are worth.
If that turns out to be the case, Cheika and Davis might want to look north of the border and see if there are any players that suit the style and culture they are trying to implement at Moore Park.
Some players worth looking at are the likes of Jono Lance, Ed Quirk, Jake Schatz, Nick Frisby and maybe even Mike Harris.
Even Adam Wallace-Harrison is now competing with Rob Simmons, Ed O’Donoghue and the back at work James Horwill for game time.
Those are the kind of second level squad members a premiership side is made of and with the bigger money being earned by the big name Wallabies it might be possible to secure a few very solid players for a price the Reds cannot match.
Reds crowds haven’t been as large as expected this year, the team hasn’t been as stable as previously and losing a figurehead the likes of McKenzie may cause some heads to survey the landscape with a fresh eyes.
It’s a very interesting time to watch the Waratahs. It seems that the new heads in the organisation have decided the soil needs to be thoroughly turned in terms of the team culture, leadership and playing style in order to become perennially successful and beloved.
In some ways there have been square pegs forced into round holes and vice versa when it comes to rugby philosophy. There has been improvement in some areas since then but it isn’t going to work for everybody.
Cheika made statements to that effect during a Fox Sports News interview recently. He said that some players just have different strengths to the plan he is trying to implement currently and, while that doesn’t make them bad people or professionals, it just means they may not work out.
The fact that so many players are coming off contract should sort out the wheat from the chaff quickly. When money is so plainly on the table for everyone in a contract year is an extra level of effort and focus and that leads to improvement.
To start 2013 Cheika was saddled with almost the entire squad from the previous year being handed to him. I thought signing up the entire squad before the coach was a bit short-sighted at the time.
Now comes the shake-up.
The end of this season provides a truly unique opportunity to determine who does work and who doesn’t for the next season. Besides possibly the inaugural IPL cricket auction, Cheika and Davis have the closest thing to a real life fantasy team draft approaching.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.