Matt Toomua a priority signing for Rebels

Non existent tah defenders help. The lack of urgency from rookie fullback Mark Nagawatase and an invisible wing Maddocks helped immeasurably. Toomua is till a plodder.My comment stands.

They were clicking a couple of seasons ago up until Genia lost interest.

I agree they look like they are about to hit their straps and never do. There’s some genuine issues they need to resolve also. But I think everything with them is over egged. Right now to the talks of their roster. Guys like Hosea and Eloff are a couple of their best players. 12 months ago they had played a couple of games. They’ve also had a lot of injuries a couple of years in a row. But some of that comes back to Rebels S&C management too.

Maybe TWAS. I've been keen on their development right from the start, and the same with the Force, because its essential to have a national footprint if we're going to in any way compete domestically with the AFL, NRL, A-League etc and grow our depth with time. The Rebels often look like they're about to hit their straps, but somehow never seem to do it. I might be both impatient and unrealistic for their success/genuine competitiveness, but when you're close to that breakout moment for a few seasons in a row now, but not actually stepped over that thresh-hold, and despite having a decent roster, I'm wondering who, what or how will a circuit breaker appear to enable them to go to the next level.

That chip'n'chase try he scored wasn't too bad for an old plodder.

Freddie I think this is a bit off the mark. They came in with a very effective plan for the first 2 games. Against the Reds and Force they also came in with a plan. It was a decent plan, but the execution let them down. Both times there's been opportunity out wide. Against the Reds trying to shift it too quickly cost them intercepts. Against the Force it was poor quality passes that weren't able to exploit the space. The failure is not recognising that they couldn't execute and going back to what they could do in the first 2 rounds. Had they not taken one of the kicks for touch that resulted in nothing before half time, we may have still won last weekend.

Rhys, I have great respect for Toomua as a player, as a defender, and especially at 12. But I just don’t get the love for him as a 10. A few years ago it was our tight five that we desperately lacked. Now it’s at 10 and 15. Oz rugby selections are like wack a mole. We fill one vacancy and another appears. We need a serious ‘10 academy’ or something like it to develop some real competition for JOC.

???? A little ray of sunshine has come into our world, a little ray of sunshine in the shape of malo ????

why would we assume he hasnt a fair bit of say already? hes a senior player and the 10. he's also never been a try making machine

TBH I'd be giving Toomua a fair bit of say in the structures, because whatever is being planned each week, the Rebels playbook is not working; and it's unplayable. They are losing games that they should be winning. The Rebels remind me of the Cheika years - the structures he was imposing were oddball, beyond fathomable and clearly self-defeating. Everyone could see it wasn't working, couldn't work, and was never going to work. When this was put to Cheika, he bristled with aggro. On top of that, he could get away with it because he had previously bluffed his way into getting a coaching contract extension that gave him total say, so he was untouchable and not accountable. Having said that, I know nothing about the Rebels heirarchy, and I'm emphatically not attempting to slur Wessels with Cheika-innuendo. What I am saying is that the Rebels are continuing to not get themselves together. When you have someone of Toomua's experience and skills and not be scoring tries, it tells you that at the very least, the handcuffs are on him with team structures. That comes back to the coach.

I am a HUGE fan of Toomua and I do think it is the structures that are wrong. BUT, when they had Genia and Quade, scoring tries wasn't an issue.

Maybe an opportunity for the Rebels to shift To’omua to 12 and bring in Carter Gordon at 10. They have to try something different because their forwards are fine and they have two try-scoring weapons on the wings. They should be doing better.

A bench player in England , the failed past here. Shouldn’t be much competition for him.

He is very good as a 12. Not so much as a 10. He does the basics at 12 so well. I feel for the outside backs when he plays at 10.

I'm not sure that's actually the case. Perry signed with Melbourne after To'omua lined up the Rebels gig to start in 2020 (but was back for the last few games of 2019). You'd have to think the Tahs would have been pretty happy to sign To'omua with the money Foley freed up. That said from To'omua's comments it will come down to how he prepares himself for life after footy as to whether he stays in Melbourne or not.

They’ve got a handy team with some real talent and hard workers but just not able to bring it together. Unless there’s dramatic improvement, they will have to look at the coaches at the end of the season. Maybe Wessels isn’t the answer or doesn’t have the experience to get them to the next level.

I think the Rebels may struggle to keep him. When he came back from overseas, he wanted to sign with the Brumbies, but also wanted to be in the same city as his then wife, Ellyse Perry, so they picked Melbourne as a base. Now that they are no longer an item, there is less of a reason to stay there. I reckon a sabbatical or move to Japan is likely.

If the Rebels put all their money into toomua they have rocks in their heads and will be doomed to failure.He is a deadset joke, look at his form this year, it is terrible .He is nothing but a plodding shoveller at 10 who cannot run. The Rebels need a real playmaker

If only they had someone of incredible talent who could play 10 for them oh I see you only signed Carter Gordon so the Reds couldn't have well played Rebels well played.

Toomua is streaks ahead of either of those players at 12 and adds depth at 10 as well. He is a well rounded playmaker with heaps of international experience, the only other one of those we have is O’Connor, the rest talented pups.