Nick, this is really off topic but Id be really interested to hear your thoughts on the All Blacks squad and it’s make up.

Forwards:

Hookers: Coles, Taylor, Harris
Props: Crockett, Faumuina, O Franks, Moody, Tu’ungafasi
Locks: S Barrett, Retallick, Romano, Whitelock
Loose Forwards: Cane, Kaino, Read (c), A Savea, Squire

Backs:

Halfbacks: Kerr-Barlow, Perenara, A Smith
First five-eighths: B Barrett, Cruden, Sopoaga
Midfielders: Crotty, Laumape, Lienert-Brown, Williams
Outside backs: J Barrett, Dagg, R Ioane, Naholo, J Savea, B Smith

I think Douglas has another year on his Reds contract. I think the Reds probably like having Douglas in the mix with Tui and Rodda as the three game day locks . I’m not sure what the go is with Cadeyrn Neville right now.

I’d be fairly happy with 2018 Rebels lock stocks of Parling, Simmons, Jeffries, Toolis and Cummins. Maybe Neville would consider moving back to Melbourne… he left to the Reds for opportunities but as soon as he arrived they signed Douglas and shortly after Tui and Rodda followed. Considering the current locks at the Rebels I dare say he would have started every game this year if he stayed.

CUW…I didn’t even consider Harris… I had him pegged as a good 3 years older than that. He’d definitely be in the mix and has been sorely missed by the Rebels in recent times. Geez wouldn’t we love to still have him on Australian shores right now considering the dearth of flyhalves… if Leali’ifano was fit too having all 5 clubs starting Foley, Cooper, Lance, Harris and Leali’ifano would surely make things feel much better. No disprespect to Garden-Bachop and Hawera but I know I’d love to have Harris steering the ship down in Melbourne and everyone in Canberra would be ecstatic to have Christian doing the same in the nation’s capital.

Samu is another Melbourne boy who ‘got away’. Mogg is a guyI didn’t really rate so much at international level but was a great SR player and would definitely be good to have back in Australia.

Kimlin, Horwill, AAC, Mowen etc are all on the wrong side of 30 so not really worth considering in my eyes (or for the ‘under 30s abroad’ team). Regardless I think there’s more than enough to put together a fairly high quality team that could do well in SR.

How’s this for an Aussies under 30 abroad in 2018 team/squad?

(1-8) Mike Ala’alatoa, Nathan Charles, Paul Alo-Emile, Hugh Pyle, Luke Jones, Pete Samu, Liam Gill, Sean McMahon

(9-15) Nic White, Matt Toomua, Joe Tomane, James O’Connor, Pete Betham, Luke Morahan, Jesse Mogg

(16-23) Dave Porecki, Salesi Manu, Ollie Hoskins, Will Skelton, Curtis Browning, Michael Dowsett, Mike Harris, Rod Davies

(24-37) Dylan Evans, Cameron Orr, David Faeo, Rory Walton, Rom Murday, Tala Gray, Zach Holmes, Sam Greene, Ben Tapuai, Junior Rasolea, Sam Johnson, Alfi Mafi, Jamie-Jerry Tualagi, Kimani Sitauti

Ignoring any swaps between starting, bench and squad positions (ie maybe you think Skelton, Pyle and Jones is a better 4-5-6 or Tapuai should be on the field/bench, etc) that’s not a bad squad! Probably an average age of around 26 so plenty of rugby left in them. A major chunk of the Aussies playing O/S are in the 30 and above category, particularly the tight forwards, who tend to be able to play on for longer as they mature later. Add some of them and the depth across 1-5 skyrockets.

I’m hoping the Rebels might be able to snag Simmons to pair up with Parling. Right now I’d take Douglas too if he’s available. Anyone to keep Culum Retallick off the park!

Nick, shouldn’t Rona and English still be ahead of Horne in that case, particularly considering other players have missed selection due to them being outward bound? Cough, cough… Scott Fardy…

I can’t remember Horne playing much 13 before this year anyway and his Wallabies time has always appeared to be as a stop-gap/mr fix role it for defensive/structural issues while English and Rona are both centres (who can also play on the wing and English has spent some time at 15 for the Rising).

I can tell you it’s frustrating as a Rebels supporter knowing that 6 of the 16 mentioned (Alo-Emile, Pyle, Jones, McMahon, O’Connor and Betham) have all played for the club and Tapuai is a Melbourne boy to boot!

Well I’m guessing it’s more likely to be Tom than Scott Staniforth

I don’t think I’m alone in saying I would have much rather have seen any of Meakes, Rona or English get the call up instead…

TWAS, I can’t comment on either his Bailey’s consumption or water painting ability.

I only named players under the age of 30 so Old Greg missed out

Jibba when you look at the size of the young front rowers in the system (and a couple we need to get back), for the most part, more so the props, they’re all pretty damn big.
LH:
Scott Sio (Brumbies)187 / 118
Fereti Sa’aga (Rebels) 186 / 126
Shambeckler Vui (Force) 180 /120
Tom Robertson (Tahs) 180 / 111

H:
Jordan Uelese (Rebels) 189 / 122
Tolu Latu (Tahs) 178 / 110
Andrew Ready (Reds) 180 / 107
Alex Mafi (Reds) 177 / 107
Harry Scoble (Force) 180 / 103

TH:
Allan Ala’alatoa (Brumbies) 182 / 125
Taniela Tupou (Reds) 178 / 135
Tyrell Lomax (Rebels) 192 / 127
Jermaine Ainsley (Force) 181 / 111

in the ‘get back’ category:
Paul Alo-Emile (Stade Francais) 180 / 129
Michael ala’alatoa (Crusaders) 189 / 135

I might have missed a couple but it really does feel like there’s some promising signs for the next generation of front rowers.

Hey mzilikaz, it runs deeper than those two… consider the the Ineligible And Under 30 Aussies Abroad XV…

1. Michael Ala’alatoa (25)
2. Nathan Charles (28)
3. Paul Alo-Emile (25)
4. Will Skelton (25)
5.Hugh Pyle (28)
6. Luke Jones (26)
7. Liam Gill (24)
8. Sean McMahon (22)
9. Nic White (26)
10. Matt Toomua (27)
11. Joe Tomane (27)
12. Zach Holmes (27)
13. Ben Tapuai (28)
14. Luke Morahan (27)
15. James O’Connor (26)

Maybe Holmes gets dropped and Peter Betham goes in somewhere with a reshuffle. A decent team none the less, and all with plenty of rugby ahead of them…

Actually, maybe they can sign Simmons seeing as the Reds just declined to renew his contract…

But they need more than that on the lock front. Much more…

I’m a strong five teams advocate. Sometimes when I hear dribble like that my opinion wavers slightly.

If it goes to court the Rebels have the upper hand anyway, they don’t need to make any cynical moves. Between the Clyne and Pulver ‘we always knew’ comments and that the ARU have no legal standpoint to cut a licence that they do not own, Melbourne isn’t going anywhere.

Employing someone in a vacant position… doesn’t sound very cynical to me… would you describe that as more or less cynical than suing your owner to stop them shutting you down?

That was probably a “hey! I saw Adam Coleman talking so someone who lives in Melbourne…. therefore he must be signing to play down there!” media assumptions…

And another cynical comment…

The Rebels desperately need quality locks. They’ve signed a guy who will help them improve in that area in the short term. There’s two young local kids on the extended list at the moment but they’re not ready for SR yet. There’s a reasonable number of decent locks (or 5/6s) in Australia right now… Coleman, the Arnold brothers, Carter, Tui, Simmons, RHP, Staniforth, Enever, Hanigan, Simmons, Douglas, Neville, Matijow, Phillip, Skelton etc, not to mention a couple of handy ones who left the Rebels to get paid overseas in Luke Jones and Hugh Pyle. After those guys you’re basically taking a punt on kids out of club rugby, which I’m not sure if you’ve noticed but the Rebels have been doing. They’ve played some 39 or 40 players this year, not including the guys who got injured before the season started (Dom Shipperley, Alex Toolis, Harley Fox, Sam Jeffries, Pama Fou, Rob Leota) meaning they’ve really gone outside of the 35 full time contracted players.

The ARU didn’t really have a choice. If they didn’t lift the contract moratorium and the Rebels were unable to sign a full squad for next year they’d sue the ARU for (more) damages.

That’s a pretty cynical opinion… what are they meant to do, just lie down and wave the white flag? No chance.

Rebellion, Naivalu moved to Melbourne and started playing with the Box Hill Broncos where he was the leading try and point scorer in the DEWAR Shield comp in 2014. This was just before the inaugural NRC started and he was given an opportunity at the Rising in 2014. The Rebels signed him for 2015 after his games for the Rising and in 2016 he was a Wallaby. It’s a short path (one season of club, one seasons nrc, 2 seasons super rugby, then wallabies) but there’s nothing out of the ordinary with the progression.

The ‘stealing players’ issue is a tough one. Guys like Sefa do have the option of representing Fiji, however it often comes at a massive financial sacrifice. They can’t just play in Fiji, they need to go to a premier comp. If they’re good enough they’ll always be selected for their new home country once eligible, that’s just how it is. If they represent Fiji they remove the chance of the higher salaries in their country of residence. A player who can’t represent Australia isn’t worth anything to the ARU so their pay is coming purely out of the SR club. What do they get, maybe $150k – $200k instead of maybe double or triple that if they’re getting regular Wallaby games? Or they go to France where they often offer them larger contracts on the proviso that they retire from internationals (so the club doesn’t lose them during all the test windows). These guys are often channeling a lot of money back home to look after their extended families so that extra $100k a year is massive to them. Unless you can somehow manage to financially reward these players for representing their home country then more often then not they’ll choose the option that gives them the best opportunity to provide for themselves and their families.

Naisarani isn’t eligible for another 12 months, maybe 18…

What’s pedigree? Having an old man who played for the Wallabies?

Toby Smith was born in Kirwan in Queensland.

Moore and TPN are definitely in the twilight of their careers. But Quade is only 29, Kuridrani is only 26 and I’m not sure who else you’d pick at TH instead of Kepu…

I’ve been fairly impressed by Carter’s revival this year. Godwin is in on loyalty from the decent game he played against France and that he’s a great defender at 12 (something like 2 missed tackles for the year so far… 98% completion rate or thereabouts)

Higgers and Speight have been in decent form this year. Both deserving selections. What exactly is the ruthless intent you’re after? Who has it that didnt make the squad?

Late blooming doesn’t mean diddly. It often takes a while for the big boys to get their s__ sorted. Considering Arnold has only been playing rugby union for about 8 years you could possibly argue he’s a quick bloomer…

Gordon needs more time starting at SR level before we throw him in the deep end. Louwrens is injured. Frisby is terrible. Stirzaker, Meehan, Tuttle, Ruru, Prior?… No way… Or at least not at this point in time. At least Phipps has some runs on the board. I think he’s the 3rd/emergency 9 so hopefully Powell is coming off the bench for Genia.

Some competitions make nothing of the minor premiership (AFL) while others do (US sports, soccer, league seems to mention it a little). I think as a whole Australians are culturally ingrained to only care about the major trophy… if you’re not first, you’re last…

The way we’re going he could probably get a game off the bench at all five clubs…

You’re right about Carter and Fardy. I had a big strike through both their names for future Wallabies appearances however as it stands now I reckon Carter is a shot for the bench and with McMahon out you’d think Fardy either starts at 6 or is sitting on the pine next to big Sam

6 Fardy, 8 Timani, 19 Carter, 20 Higgers
6 Fardy, 8 Higgers, 19 Carter, 20 Timani
6 Timani, 8 Higgers, 19 Carter, 20 Fardy

Unless there’s an out of nowhere selection… or old mate Deano…

They’re talking 6-8 weeks. Needs a procedure of some description to have it back in place….

They’d won 2 from 5 against the Crusaders going into that match… not a bad record really. 2 from 6 still isn’t too bad, not sure how many of the other Australian clubs have a 33% win ratio against the ‘Saders.