Lolesio relishing in Lealiifano's old role

Forgot to shade in tupou at 3. also

yeah not a bad team is it

Good team. I thought Lonergan played well but not sure he was better overall than Powell. I couldn't believe AAA made it through 78 minutes(?)......mighty impressive for a tighthead in 40 degree heat. I think the Reds locks edged the Brumbies too.

Lolesio has played a lot of 12. He played 12 outside Harrison last year in the u20s.

Last couple of years they were always one or two good players away from what would have been a good team. Thorn should have managed the exit of the big names he dumped better over a longer time period (probably about 2 years anyway). Now after a few years of that you’ve got O’Connor and petaia and Speightq as top level players Tupou and rodfda better than they were and Lucas McDermott Wilson and Wright all looking like potentially very good players.

He has some nice tenacity and grit. Comes across as a real competitor. I like seeing a player be filthy with their mistakes.

My concern for Harrison is to stand out if his forward pack doesn't turn up. I believe that he is the best natural 10 of the young lads coming through. He's got a bigger boot than Lucas and is just a little more consistent than Lolesio to date. Like all positions, it's just good to have some competition.

My 1st xv from last nights game. 50-50 calls bracketed 15. Thomas Banks, 14. Henry speight (switch of wing for convenience- or go kata), 13. Tevita Kuridrani, 12. James O’Connor (Irae Simone), 11. Tom Wright, 10. Noah Lolesio, 9. Ryan Lonergan, 8. Harry Wilson. 7 Pete Samu (switch for convenience, 6. Rob Valetini, 5. Murray Douglas, 4. Darcy Swain, (not sure about the locks) 3. Allan Alaalatoa, 2. Folau Fainga’a, 1. Jean-Pierre Smith.

Good comment Sinclair. I think the Reds looked to have more purpose excluding the first ten minutes. They are close to having something special but time will tell as to how close. I'm optimistic for the first time in years.

From the few games I've seen of Harrison, I have a lot of faith in him.

Harrison from the little I've seen looks like an uncomplicated flyhalf. A debut game against the Crusaders away would be both dream and nightmare for a young player.

Noah was ok. Nothing special but it was his debut after all. Ponies impressive die first 10 then went to custard. Second half benchie turned the game and lifted intensity.

I think the issue is not that Lucas didn’t have a perfect game or made errors. It’s that, and he didn’t really look like a 10. Over time I believe his performances will improve through less errors, but will he magically look like a 10?

Finding grass with the kick is important and knowing what type of kick to put through based on where and how many of the back three are back. If a team is always threatening through the middle it's likely the defence will have more than 12 in the defensive line or at least one of the back three up and tracking the ball carriers. This is one of the main reasons the All Blacks dominated the Wallabies in recent times, they could always cover the back with three players because the Wallabies attack never put enough pressure on to suck the cover up and in.

14 kicks per team is not really enough considering the sweltering conditions. I really favour the sorts of low flat kicks to touch that we see from fly halves like Barrett and Toomua. It is a low risk way to make a territorial gain when nothing is happening, which allows a team like the Reds with a tall lineout to pressure the opposition in their own half.

Yeah if he just does the basics and doesn’t do anything silly that’ll be enough for me. Same for all the rookie 10s atm. Flyhalf 101: learn the value of the KISS principle

A few thoughts on the game. Brumbies maintained shape from recent seasons, despite loss of key players. A solid debut from their 10 that gives him something to build on. Good performance from Brumbies' locks but they do look a step or so below the players they replaced. That's not surprising and like the 10, they have shown a good base to build on. They will need to, as the scrum issues were a new and unpleasant thing for ACT in recent seasons. The League winger looked very handy and the other backs all did good things. I thought Wright had his most assured game for Brumbies. Qld looked much as they did last year - gutsy but lacking leadership and composure in the backs and unable to play field position. Lucas has some very strong suits (explosive speed, footwork, courage and reasonable passing) but also some significant apparent deficits - is he big enough to survive at this level? Does he have the kicking game to play either 10 or 15, without placing pressure on his team? I am struck by similarities to Foley, who was also a fine, courageous player but the weaknesses are similar. He should be given time at 10, however, as it may take 5-6 games to really assess him in that position and young players should be given some time in the position. The Qld pack looked good and it was a pleasing start from their new 8. Huge credit to both sides for quality of performance in disgraceful conditions.

I thought they both played well. The Reds just need to figure out how to play field position. With the power in the forwards they've got that's the key.

Ponies halves outplayed Reds halves. Joe Powell had a good game and gave Lolesio good ball.

Thought the kid did really well for his super rugby debut. Looking forward to him battling with Harrison and Lucas in the coming years. Wouldn’t it be good to have some depth at flyhalf?