The Wallabies five-eighth position in 2022 has been a game of musical chairs. Noah Lolesio, James O’Connor, Quade Cooper, Reece Hodge and Bernard Foley have all donned the 10 jersey.
Lolesio finished the season with two wins, two losses and a non-complete. O’Connor underperformed in his cameos off the bench against England and started in the 48–17 loss to Argentina. Cooper played well in his 43-minute stint before getting injured.
Foley is zero for two. Hodge was solid and played limited minutes off the bench in his non-preferred position.
At a glance Lolesio has a decent claim to the jersey and must be the front runner for the European tour. He is also the youngest of the group and has the fewest Test caps to his name, but he has shown dedication to learning and growing his game.
Rennie left Lolesio behind for the 2021 Northern Hemisphere tour because he wanted Lolesio to work on his game and get physically bigger. He’s done so, looking more filled out. Lolesio was then dropped after the England series, Rennie wanted him to work on playing flatter on attack. He came out in Adelaide and delivered.
If we look back at Lolesio’s performances against the All Blacks last year as well as England this year, it shows he implements the same vision as Foley and Cooper. As an aside, Lolesio has excelled at goal-kicking this year, kicking at 92 per cent.
In Bledisloe 1 in 2021, Lolesio contributes to both of Tom Banks’ tries. In clip 1 Lolesio holds up Jordie Barrett by delaying his pass so Barrett can’t drift. From there To’omua does the simple draw and pass to put Banks away.
This is very similar to Cooper’s assist to Jordan Petaia’s try in Argentina this year in Clip 2.
Clip 3 again shows Lolesio delaying a pass to suck in the defence to then throw a cut-out to put Samu Kerevi in for a score.
Clip 4 shows Lolesio grubbering through for Banks to toe through and score. It was a similar tactic implemented by Cooper against South Africa in 2021 to slow their rush defence. This shows vision and variation in Lolesio’s game.
Clip 5 is Bledisloe 2 of this year’s series. Lolesio plays deep for Andrew Kellaway’s second try, feeding Banks from second receiver who delays his pass to draw in the defender, putting Kellaway away in the corner.
This is a mirror image of Foley’s try assist in Melbourne this year in clip 6 except Kellaway does it all himself.
A similar move is run by Lolesio in the first game against England this year in Clip 7.
It is abundantly clear that whether you have fewer than 20 caps or 70-plus, the playmaker is not the be-all-or-end all to this team’s success. The Wallabies have had four playmakers at the helm with only two of them coming away with wins, Lolesio against England and South Africa, and Hodge against Argentina.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Although Cooper played well he did not last 80, nor did the Wallabies win the first half. Foley although playing well did not secure a win and Lolesio could and would have thrown any one of those balls except perhaps Kellaway’s first try (as evidence above) and his goal-kicking is safe as houses.
Between now and November, Rennie will want to see Lolesio take command and to boss this team around. He will also expect the 22-year-old to play flatter at the line, especially when the team has momentum.
But Lolesio’s biggest work-on is decision making. He sometimes commits to rucks when he doesn’t need to, kicks when he should pass – particularly when there are mismatches outside him. He has the fortitude and time to make these changes before November.
These examples are not meant to illustrate that he is the full package, but then who is at 22? They are there to demonstrate that he has done and can do anything his more experienced and older teammates have done since their comebacks.
It is meant to show he is developing as a player and as a voice within the team. He is young and has a lot to add to his game. That will only happen with time on the paddock at international level and at Super Rugby level.
AussieBob
Roar Rookie
And???
AussieBob
Roar Rookie
Ok let's take a poll, who believes the statement 'Quade has always been a solid defender'. Im not responsible for your inability to understand that Reds have flaws in their game just like players in any team. Further I don't only fire negativity I just don't tolerate one-eyed nomense.
Cec
Roar Rookie
Harrison is out with injury(for how long?); and TE and BD are still not realistic options with 10 tests to go and have achieved nothing to deserve selections even after last night’s game. NL & QC are the options for RWC23 whether anyone likes it or not, it is what it is. Good point about Smith but look at how many club matches and tests that have been invested in him & the same with Ntamack and this type of development is missing in SR. Yes, NL did win the SRAU 2020 title and was named Man of the Match outplaying JOC. You know no one wins a match by themselves but NL definitely led the Brums in that final.
Guess
Roar Rookie
Foley although playing well did not secure a win and Lolesio could and would have thrown any one of those balls Coulda woulda. That's exactly what he didn't do in most tests he played that's why Rennie is desperately seeking for replacement. Smith(marcus) is almost the same age as lolesio and he's a real weapon
Guess
Roar Rookie
Instead he chose lolesio based on nothing but brumbies winning. And look how it worked for rennie. He should’ve given Harrison a chance at least
Guess
Roar Rookie
He 'won' it all by himself right.. but I'm afraid Rennie selected him that first year exactly because brumbies were good and if that's the case then it's a bad reflection on him as a coach. Brumbies don't rely on their 10 much to score the tries
Cec
Roar Rookie
BD and TE are talented but have not achieved anything to warrant test selections. In contrast NL won a SRAU title at 20yrs by outplaying JOC that night despite missing weeks from injury leading into the GF. So that year NL and Simone debuted 10/12 against the 2020 version of the ABs in Wellington. It was far too soon for NL back then and he didn’t have much support with 12, 13 and 14 having only 6 tests between them but that’s another discussion. NL is deserving with runs on the board in SR and Test level. NL is his own player and people need to stop trying to get him to play like Larkham or Quade as no young fly half in AUS are like those two legends who themselves played different styles. Keep investing in NL and give him the last 10 tests to RWC23 so that he has 22 tests of experience for that tournament. QC is no guarantee of returning, BF is not the answer anymore, and TE & BD are not deserving yet and should look to RWC27. Tahs supporters just need to settle down and hope TE & BD win or do something of note first; and beating a Japan XV is not good enough to earn a test debut.
Adam (Though An Imposter)
Roar Rookie
I want Donaldson/Edmed to get a go. 1 or 2 tests to see how they go. Definitely not 12 in a row unless the results mandate it. That's what I mean by tests are no place for development. Everyone has to be a rookie at some stage.
OJ
Roar Rookie
But you said tests are no place for player development ? But you want Donaldson and Edmed who a far less experienced than Lolesio ?
The Ferret
Roar Rookie
Righto bob..... you talk a good game for someone who only fires negativity with no substance. Bring back any support to anything you say on this site and maybe even you will believe the words you type.
Adam (Though An Imposter)
Roar Rookie
Yeah it's unlucky. But it is what it is. It's a brutal results-based business.
Adam (Though An Imposter)
Roar Rookie
Like I said elsewhere, I'd like him to start the Scotland match with a different 9 (i.e. not White) to see how that goes. I'd also give either Donaldson or Edmed a run depending on who they end up taking.
AussieBob
Roar Rookie
'Quade has always been a solid defender'..time to go and comment on the badminton Ferret your rugby integrity is cooked with that statement.
AussieBob
Roar Rookie
PK you are hilarious.
James584
Roar Rookie
Get f… oh sorry. Have a lovely day!
Hunters
Roar Rookie
Are you sad, and want other people to be sad?
Hunters
Roar Rookie
My first reaction to your comment was that I wondered if the SR was a fair comparison. I saw Edmed and Donaldson do some good things with the Waratahs in SR, and that was with a team that had almost no success in the previous year. I didn't see enough of the brumbies to make an informed comment, so I simply ask, was NL that good for the Brumbies, or was he simply part of a team that did reasonably well?
Passit2me
Roar Rookie
Hi Adam, I understand your point, realistically, there was no one else. I should have worded it a little differently. It was un-realistic to expect Noah to adjust and perform at test level, when he didn’t even have a single SR season under his belt. Throwing such an inexperienced player to the All Black wolves in his very first test match, is far less than ideal. The potential problem is that the pressure to perform, coupled with not being able to reach those expectations, can really kill your confidence and set you back a few notches. It’s far better to build your confidence, become more self assured, then transition to test matches if your are good enough. I understand there are some players who have the innate aggression, self confidence and killer instinct to play tests at such a young age, such as those you have mentioned. (Marcus Smith is another such player I have talked about before as being a genuine test bolter). But these players are rare. Also, playing 10 at test level, is right up there with the toughest job in Rugby. Noah is not a Cooper or JC unfortunately. Don’t get me wrong, he can be, but for him, it should be via the more traditional route of time and experience.
Adam (Though An Imposter)
Roar Rookie
What other option was there? Cooper hadn't shown up yet, JOC was injured, so was Donaldson, Carter Gordon wasn't starting at Rebs, Pasitjoa was nothing special. That basically left Harrison who played in a woeful Tahs side. Don't get me wrong, I think he still managed to look good, but it's really hard to gauge a player in such a bad team since how do you know the opposition are taking them seriously? Plus there's the psychological angle of "bad team = few picks." Lolesio was the only sensible choice. Also many other players have managed to do well internationally at a young age: JOC, Cooper, Beale (inconsistently), Giteau (fell off later), Genia, Pocock, Larkham... It's possible. It happens. He's just unlucky that he's not expected to do much at SR level and therefore this is all new to him, plus the intensity of test level.
OJ
Roar Rookie
Who else is there tho ?