2016 hasn’t been the easiest year for the Wallabies.
It’s not been much easier for the supporters, though; we’ve sat through like the astute armchair selectors we occasionally are, watching loss after loss. The redemption has begun with two wins, which illustrated moments of promise, but to say that we’re in a state where we can sit back, relax and feel comfortable facing the fellow Rugby Championship competitors is foolhardy.
It won’t take much scrolling through articles of the last few months to notice some common trends among fans’ questions.
Why do we have so many players out of position? Should Michael Hooper and David Pocock play at the same time? Can Quade Cooper and Bernard Foley play at the same time? Did we need to bring back every European-based player? Why is our captain complaining so much? Most infamously, what does Cheika see in Dean Mumm?
However, the query that has been piquing my interest is of all the debutants the Wallabies have employed this season, who has been the most influential?
After a World Cup year, the exodus of players generally means most teams go through a rebuilding phase. In the wake of the South African Test in Pretoria, the Wallabies have a very real possibility of fielding their tenth debutant of the year, should Sefa Naivalu keep his spot on the currently extended bench and then take the field.
So far this year Nick Frisby, Allan Alaalatoa, Rory Arnold, Lopeti Timani, Tom Robertson, Reece Hodge, Samu Kerevi, Dane Haylett-Petty and Adam Coleman have all donned the green and gold for the first time.
Frisby got his opportunity, though limited, while Will Genia was preoccupied overseas. Since returning home, Genia and Phipps have claimed the two halfback positions in the team, which is a fair call given their experience and ability.
Alaalatoa and Robertson have done well off the bench, jumping in to bolster the scrum. Injury has halted any further caps for Alaalatoa for the time being, who was terrorising opponents at will. Any man game enough to square off with Eben Etzebeth has won my respect.
Robertson, fresh off making his debut, is a new spark to the team and has held his own in his limited exposure. Similar to Timani, he hasn’t really been given enough minutes to be judged alongside some of the others on this list, but you could see the intensity he gave when he got his chance and one of my biggest hopes is that his opportunities to play for the Wallabies keep coming.
Arnold has been handy, getting through a lot of work and really putting his height to use in the lineouts when given the chance. He’s not a polished player yet, but is really developing into a quality lock both at set pieces and around the field.
Kerevi had a rough initiation, being played somewhat out of his more recently-honed position, lining up at inside as opposed to outside centre for his first two Tests. Though a bit lost in his debut, he’s been solid at 13 since replacing Tevita Kuridrani, incorporating a handy running and offloading game and creating a real threat for opponents to try to contain.
Haylett-Petty has been one of the most consistent performers for the Wallabies in the recent few games. As the only debutant to have appeared in every fixture for the men in gold this year, it speaks volumes about the kind of qualities he brings to the team.
He’s not the fastest bloke out there, but has a great turn of speed, is a decent playmaker with a handy kick from the back three and a more than reliable jumper under the high ball. His work in defusing bombs has saved our skin a few times, but his defence on the wing, which is admittedly a position he was fairly new to, still needs a lot of working on as he’s been exposed on the outside a few times too many.
Despite the aforementioned players’ earnest efforts, the two standouts for me have been Hodge and Coleman. Following countless injuries, Hodge got his chance coming off the bench early in the 29-9 loss to New Zealand where he scored three points on debut courtesy of an impressive long-range penalty goal. Since then, his desire to sneak into an inside-runner role has been a great way of denting the defence and putting the Wallabies on the front foot.
On top of that, his duties have been extended to kicking for touch after penalties. Currently, he exists as a jack-of-all-trades type player, capable of playing across nearly every backline position. His ability under the high ball, kicking game and his finishing ability has held him in good stead since his debut and every time he touches the ball I wait with bated breath to see what he will produce.
Coleman, though not as flashy, has been arguably even more influential. At a time when the locks weren’t superstars demanding selection, Coleman came into the squad and has taken each opportunity with more vigour and enthusiasm than any recent debutant.
Forced to have meals through a straw for entire weeks between games, his determination to tackle every player with maximum effort and hitting up the ball as if he knows it’s his last run often leaves him with a bruised body. Coleman’s ability in the lineout hasn’t gone unnoticed either and all of his efforts were rewarded with a momentum-changing try in the Wallabies last Test against the Springboks courtesy of a lofty ball thrown from Genia that only he or Arnold would have reached.
Who has been your favourite debutant of the year and which of the players who have debuted this year do you think have earned a spot in our best available 23?
Peter Hughes
Roar Rookie
Simple and obvious answer to this article on best rookies - Hodge, Coleman and Dane H-P. Kerevi continues to do nothing much and the others are just finishers
Peter Hughes
Roar Rookie
OMG Shirley - we can only be grateful you're not a selector :)
eagleJack
Roar Guru
Relatively interchangeable does not mean that the core roles of the position are the same. Just saying that players who are skilled at fullback, also have the attributes to be a successful winger. The sheer volume of players who have played both positions at Test and Super level backs this up.
eagleJack
Roar Guru
Not relevant to the point. I'm simply saying that players who may be fullbacks, also spend time on the wing with success. I used Dagg and Smith as examples. There are plenty of others. Putting DHP on the wing, where he has played before, was not dealing him a difficult hand. Also Folau was very good when he was on the wing for the Wallabies.
piru
Roar Rookie
Fullback and wing are not interchangeable - you've never played either if you think this.
RobC
Roar Guru
Could be CUW. Id rather see a bigger bloke at 12.
RobC
Roar Guru
Akari, Ive followed Adam since before he moved to the Force. He's always been a mobile, tough man who never needed the biff to play his role. Its apparent he was under instruction to be belligerent. He's been his been his normal self since.
RobC
Roar Guru
Happy Monday, MrChook :) Looking forward to the results of NRC. Some scary dudes there could fit right into Green and Gold, with a bit of extra fitness.
Die hard
Roar Rookie
Dagg and Smith are in a different class to Folau might be the reason. They are acomplished in taking and making space and are not prone to just flinging it too late or running it too far.
CUW
Guest
will this go with ur JD ??? ( is it on the rocks or with water or NEAT? ) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqmF-B2-3NA PLÁCIDO DOMINGO - JOSÉ CARRERAS - LUCIANO PAVAROTTI. - O SOLE MIO.
What!
Guest
"Going nowhere fast". They just beat SA and Arg. They are ranked 3rd in the world. They won the last RC. They were in the WC final. But not being the best in the world is a complete disaster in Australian rugby. I guess thats why a hell of a lot of fans are so negative ALL THE TIME. Thats why when you come to a site of the 3rd best team in the world its just a wh1nge fest.
What!
Guest
Well if they want to drop players not performing they wouldnt just focus on one player like the masses seem to. Has Mumm been the worst player this year? No but the crowd is predictably small minded and scapegoat Mumm. If you want to drop players that havnt performed you drop Moore, Simmons, Kuridrani, DHP, Phipps, Foley, Kepu also. You dont just bang on about 1 player because hes the player people love to hate. Mumm has played really poorly in 1 game from about 6. Hes been OK and good in most other games. You come to a rugby site hoping for people to be enlightened about rugby but all you tend to get is base journalism that appeals to the base fans.
CUW
Guest
@ RobC Hodge is the back who will be a good 12 and maybe even the points kicker , but then.......
CUW
Guest
@ eagleJack " Throwing a novice straight into fullback for the Test series we have just had would have caused an equal uproar. " not sure of ur logic. yes DHP is a novice in a test - everyone who makes a debut is!! but is he a novice at 15? i dont think so. in fact , i think it is as a 15 he performed well and caught the eye of the selectors. so it is only logical that he plays in the position where he had performed in super rugger , to get selected to the test team. on the other hand , though u say he has played at wing and centers, wonder if it was becoz of ablity OR need due to circumstances. for example Tawera Kerr barlow played as a flank in one match , if i remember correct. that was not becoz he is good there - it was becoz there was noone else on the bench to fill a forward position. another example is when Manu Tuilagi played on wing , i think in 2015 tour of NZ. that was a disaster.
CUW
Guest
@ eagleJack : " Also I don’t understand the “Cheika has not accounted for his selections IMO”. " probably a reference to Cheika picking Mumm continuosly , despite him being able to perform nothing other than catch lineouts. even the allblacks drop players who are nt performing upto expectations...
tsuru
Roar Rookie
Sarcasm Mr Chook. What! has used that line before. Or maybe your reply was a pun on his screen name??!
Kirky
Roar Rookie
Gotcha cobber!!
Kirky
Roar Rookie
The simple fact that they are 'new' players being brought in, is a plus! ~ no doubt about that and these newer players may appear inconsequential at the moment but!!! ~ it's so important this happens as it beats the hell out of perpetually recycling old has beens as these relatively new guys can be given the opportunity to grow into any role they might be chosen for! It will take a while as the Wallabies are in a bit of a slump but it's imperative that they build for the future, ~ more or less like going backwards for a while in an effort to go forward.
Kirky
Roar Rookie
The way I see it too Highlander, the guys mentioned are all new in a sense and will no doubt grow into any position they play in! In saying that tho' if they're chosen to play Test rugby they should be "ready to play", full stop, ~ like your mention of Anton Liernart-Brown being a good example!
Kirky
Roar Rookie
There is a massive difference between Dagg and Ben Smith in comparison to the guys you're talking about here, ~ agree with 'Shirley', that Cheika needs a hand in the selection of his players as they're going nowhere fast with his sole selections so far! And I'm not sure that anyone can pick the ''best'' rookie so far either, as the whole lot mentioned are pretty ordinary really so if you were to pick one or another, you'd have to be brutally honest by saying that whoever it may be you choose, the player would be no less than "the best of an ordinary lot". Bit of a loaded question really, ~ to ''pick the best Rookie". I dunno' as by picking one player you'd probably offend the rest! No thanks.