The article has a few factual errors:
Red are now on the top of the table with 50 points (not 51), Blues are on 49 (48)
Before the game the points were Reds 45 (not 46).
http://www.superrugby.com/GameDay/SuperRugbyTable.aspx

Radike – how dare he disrespect a former team-mate! Just like when Weeks pretended to land a couple of playful taps on Slipper at the end of a ruck? Smiles all round. What happened when Gerard lightly slapped former Brumbies cohort Samo? Another duo of cheeky grins.

Speaking of Latham, remember how he would pick his spot under the posts the back heal the ball as it dropped behind his back after every penalty shot? He did it several times a game – it served no purpose, but boy was it great to watch! A show of skill and the fans loved it. The kids, the future of rugby, would attempt the same feat at home.

Samo, Ioane, Cooper and the like are confidence players – entertainers. They will make mistakes, fluff tries and maybe even lose a game every now and then. But rugby needs the entertainers, you won’t see fans streaming in to Super Rugby games to watching pick and drives or scrum resets.

I doubt they’d even open it.
Here’s a question to the Tahs faithful, if not Wauh or Mumm then who should be the captain?

Jameswm I think you might be on the right track. By all accounts, on the training ground and at the selection table Ewen calls the shots for the Reds. No late night calls from a board member ordering a player dropped or retained. He makes the tough calls and doesn’t appear to receive any external interference.

Andy Friend wasn’t afforded the luxury of full control at the Brumbies, few coaches have in the capital. I suspect neither is Hickey at the Tahs.

The title of article (which was chosen by the Roar editors) may have slightly misrepresented my position on the matter. I’ve witnessed an increase in the amount of negative comments toward Tahs management, even with relatively good form over the last seasons. The point of the article was to highlight that the current situation in NSW mirrors the atmosphere in QLD in the early 00’s. The team was ok however cracks were starting to appear. It took 9 years for the Reds to reach the bottom, NSW aren’t anywhere near that yet.

Personally I feel the things aren’t too bad in NSW especially if they can sneak into the top 6 this year. However, if they deteriorate as an organisation, then the Tahs fans might find some solace in the Reds’ regeneration. I think some of the more disheartened fans wish the trigger would occur sooner rather than later.

Thanks LAS you’re correct. Historically state based unions ran the Super franchises, this is now no longer the norm.

Settle kpm – I haven’t written off his career. Based on his form during the test season he hasn’t shown the consistency to be a run on player. Do you think he deserves a starting role yet?

The scrum stood up well with the front row starting to, dare I say, dominate on several contests. Still lacking decent second row. Rocky finally produced the kind of on field leadership we’ve been missing.

Cooper is far and away the best of our backline but AAC provided some highlights. Gits needs to be relieved of kicking duties until his form resumes. Beale showed flashes of brilliance followed by poor decision making – why he kicked to the corner with a 2 on 1 I’ll never know. KB has now confirmed himself as an impact bench player at best. Mitchell’s form seems on the wane – might be time for Hynes to inject some speed – back 3 of JOC AAC and Hynes would be full of running. Burgess had an OK game save for some errant passes and box kicks – looked good when running to the line.

Irish had only themselves to blame with 5 excellent scoring chances fumbled away. Excellent defence at the breakdown but their backline just didn’t have much spark. Unfortunately O’Driscoll had a poor match.

The refereeing was disgraceful. Inconsistent, pedantic and officious. Ruined the first half and spoiled the second. Lawrence didn’t seem to favour either team – just left both sides confused and frustrated.

Worlds Biggest agrees 😛 Who would be in your line up?

Really? I felt Barrett’s effort was the same as any of the anonymous 5/8 performances that NSW have produced past 5 years. As a QLD supported I’m shocked that NSW fails to pick the talented ball players. Where were the creative 5/8s like Soward, Sutton and Presto? Stuck on the sidelines while they pick Barrett, Lyons, Anasta, Gasnier, Campese and Bird – sure they’ve got a passing game but creative or dangerous? Hardly

The NSW backline should be something like: Pearce, Soward, Morris, Idiris, Jennings, Morris and Hayne with Carney or Sutton on the bench. Pick them for 4 or 5 games straight win or lose. Build some combinations and some set plays.

And here’s tip for the defence coach – the QLDs keep using the same plays, every game, every series, every year. I’ll list some:
Lockyer cross field bomb to the wingers \ centres
Chip or Bomb to the posts for Slater
Lockyer \ Thurston \ Smith run cross field on 3rd \ 4th tackle and slip and inside ball to Slater
The double pass behind the line (Lockyer to Thurston \ Slater) with 4 options to finish. Grubber for winger, cut out pass for winger, short ball for centre or dummy.

Must be a typo in the title – shouldn’t that be “typical Aussie bloke from the 50s”?
Joey’s comments were not just “blokey men doing blokey things” they were racist and it cannot and should not be tolerated. And for those questioning why it hasn’t been raised before now – I think anytime is an appropriate time to take a stand against bigots.

Thanks for calling me a hero Springs – appreciate the support. Maybe you’re the hero, as you sarcastically suggested “And what did you want Gidley to do? Counsel everyone not to make racist comments?” If not him then who? Sounds like you won’t take a stand.

for point 1, They weren’t comments – they were self serving lies.
for point 2, Joey was a closet racist but has been exposed.
for point 3, Tahu obviously spoke to someone and they didn’t take it seriously so he was left to make a stand.

My guess Tahu received the following response. “Harden up and just shake hands – that will fix it. Joey didn’t mean it he’s not a racist I know that for a fact.”

Your comment of “the circumstances surrounding his departure from the squad did not need to become public” is one of the problems surrounding racism not only in sport but in the wider community. You are focussing on how the racism was exposed rather than the racism itself. I admire Tahu for his stand, I admire the “rat” for the leak and I’m appalled that the NSWRL and Johns tried to cover this up. Tahu should not have had to leave the team, he raised it with team management and they didn’t address the situation effectively – Johns should have been sacked.
A few years back a member of my wife’s family attended party at our place. Towards the end of the night he was stewing about a conversation friends were having about another culture, then he let fly with a racial diatribe, spewing ill-conceived theories and untruths. Our friends were shocked, my wife horrified. There was uncomfortable silence for a moment before the some of the attendees and I started to challenge him. Some used well constructed arguments, others used ridicule and comedy to expose his ignorance. I’m proud of our little show of defiance – it may not have changed his mind but by the look on his face it was the first time someone had actually stood up against his racism.
Racism is not ok – don’t ignore it, address it.

Probably not the best timed article Nathan. As inkosi suggested Beale is on the bench, so it’s safe to say Dingo Deans Disagrees.

15. James O’Connor (Western Force)
14. Digby Ioane (Queensland Reds)
13. Rob Horne (NSW Waratahs)
12. Matt Giteau (Brumbies)
11. Drew Mitchell (NSW Waratahs)
10. Quade Cooper (Queensland Reds)
9. Luke Burgess (NSW Waratahs)
8. Richard Brown (Western Force)
7. David Pocock (Western Force)
6. Rocky Elsom (Brumbies, captain)
5. Nathan Sharpe (Western Force)
4. Dean Mumm (NSW Waratahs)
3. Salesi Ma’afu (Brumbies)
2. Saia Faingaa (Queensland Reds)
1. Ben Daley (Queensland Reds)

Reserves:
16. Huia Edmonds (Brumbies)
17. James Slipper (Queensland Reds)
18. Mark Chisholm (Brumbies)
19. Matt Hodgson (Western Force)
20. Will Genia (Queensland Reds)
21. Berrick Barnes (NSW Waratahs)
22. Kurtley Beale (NSW Waratahs)

The only disgrace is the selection panel for NSW. I’m a Queensland supporter but I’d like some competition and development. Their thought patern is a joke. Barrett in – great way to plan for the future. Idris out – see previous point. Cooper retained – no heart, overrated. Gidley – captain off the bench, really? Gallen, O’Donnell and Hindmarsh – should have been in for Game 1. Lewis and Watmough are a massive loss for the team.

Sorry mushi – we really need a sarcastic font or something 🙂
Sticky – won’t shed a tear when he’s gone.

I don’t think we can rely just on Grand Finals – I think how the team performs should depend on the cattle they have. I think Matt Elliot has done a great job with the Panthers but it took some time. They don’t have a team of stars but the last two years they’ve played some great footy. I think Cartwright should pick up a cup in the next 2-3 years. Henjak will struggle if he doesn’t pick up a GF before Lockyer retires.

mushi that might be a St George problem rather than a Bennett issue. Since 1985 the Dragons have been in final series 6 times and made the Grand final 5 times . They have won none.

The Broncos never loss a Grand Final with Bennett in charge, so I don’t think that sounds like an absolute muppet.

A mate and I ridicule Brian Smith’s approach, often stating that he will never win an NRL premiership. I can’t deny he has the ability to turn teams around, however his methods cause friction with the fans and team management along the way. The lack of premierships I think stems from his attitude and leadership. After a win, it’s all praise and acclaim for the team. After a defeat, blame is sprayed in every direction – most often at referees and officialdom. As an example look up his attack on the two referee system after the Rooster’s loss to the Knights – talk about a rant out of nowhere.

This deflection of blame seems to give his players a sense of “It wasn’t our fault – everyone is against us”. Note this is not the same as a “siege mentality” carefully manufactured by other more successful coaches.

Brian will continue to win more than half the games he coaches and drag his teams into the final series every other year but will he take out the big prize? Not whilst the world is “plotting” against him and his players believe it.

Don’t go looking for a conspiracy when incompetence is the most likely explanation.

As a QLDer I don’t fear Gidley in away. He has skills but not enough to make up for his lapses !st grade but not rep level. If it was a QLD team Gidley wouldn’t be picked but someone like Alan Tounge or Hindmarsh would be in – workhorse, not flashy, gets the job done, passion and spirit.

As for captain material I just don’t understand it but I never understood Buderus either.

Hopefully not. Word is his better half is keen to settle in QLD. If the big guy isn’t happy at the Brumbies then it could be a boost for our pack experience.

It was a stunning pass but in fact it was required. When Cooper took it to the defensive line was his chest was flat to the try line which attracted the outside defender. Had Cooper taken it to the line leading with his left shoulder the outside defender would not have come in as he would have been expecting the pass.

Back on topic – who would have thought that final minute in the first Reds match would determine the final standings. Had the Reds hung on, they would have swapped places with the Tah’s. Well done Tah’s the last few games have been excellent. For the Reds, if only they had that belief from game one. Amazing year considering the cattle.

In terms of attracting players, word around the camp fire is Elsom might be heading “home”. But I haven’t heard of anyone else jumping on the bandwagon

I remember watching Michael Bevan dig Australia out of trouble in one day internationals with almost comicregularity. Often Hussey is rated as the second best Australian finisher behind Bevan but is it time for that to change?

Hussey’s exploits have been executed in all three forms of the game, Bevan only had limited chances in the test arena – all too early he was type cast as a one-day player and excluded from test selection. Obviously Bevan didn’t get a crack at T20 internationals – would have loved to see hime play in this format.

I feel Hussey has over taken Bevan with his clean hitting, management of tail enders and tactical leadership. Before the T20 world cup, people questioned Mike Hussey’s place in the side, those questions have been answered.

Well Daniel I for one believe Rikki-Lee is correct. Hayne is replaceable and so are many others of his ilk. Remember when the game was going to implode when the NRL stars left for rugby in droves? Salior, Rogers, Tuquri, Gasiner, Sonny-Bill, how on earth did league survive?

Seeing as you question Rikki-Lee’s ability to “develop and nurture players over the years” – can you list the players that you have developed and nurtured into legends of league?

I think the answer is in your title – respect. Lockyer and Civonceva have earned the respect of the supporters and media from their actions on and off the field. They are legends in the game. Hayne has had one great year (which happened to earn him a nice contract renewal through “I’m going to rugby” negotiations) but he words don’t have the same clout and sound petulant from someone lacking experience. He might be talented footballer but that doesn’t give his words any value. Todd Carney is having a stunning year but why should I listen to an argument from him. Cam Smith’s star has been tarnished and I think his words don’t carry the same weight as they did last year.

It is the true leaders in this game, not necessarily the excitement machines, that have earned the right to speak their mind, a perfect example would be Preston Campbell. Presto might be entertaining but he is also a leader on and off the field. I’d listen to what he has to say on the matter any day of the week.