Roar Guru
Joined February 2009
22.1k
Views
10
Published
7.4k
Comments
Published
Comments
Cricket is a topical subject these days, so I will keep this pretty short. Many of you might think I am way off anyway,…
With the Rugby World Cup just under two months away the beginnings of a Wallabies team is coming together. But who will steer the…
Those that run the Reds, the team I have followed since I can remember, have made a fatal decision that has put them on…
Who the hell picks the Man of the Match? OK, I know it is the state selectors, but what do they see that we…
There was a very interesting article in the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday. Solomon Haumono has come clean after 13 years of everyone believing he went…
A thought occurred to me today:Â Whilst Cooper is good, perhaps Beale is the real reason for the resurgance of the Wallabies late last year.…
[caption id="attachment_2564" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Australia\'s Chris Latham - AP Photo/Mark Baker"][/caption] Coming to the end of this year, can only mean one thing to…
At the end of this article is a video of the Wallabies' change room after the Welsh win. I love how, during the Lions'…
This may be a conspiracy theory, but it could be a good one. Long have people outside of NSW felt that their clubs don't…
While it was a bit before my time, from watching The Rise and Rise of the Wallabies, I understand the Wallabies from 1982 were…
Watching that footage, Mitchell is not much of a leader at all. You can’t joke around like that on the field, and then think you can pull the team together to make changes required. It just doesn’t work. Once you are the jokester, and carry on like he did that game, it would be difficult to be the one in the huddle laying down the law over substandard efforts.
Why his latest ban could be best thing for Latrell’s career - or the beginning of the end
Maybe, but also remember Merritt in origin? Bloke was a try scoring wizard for Souths with 145 tries from 218 games! But he couldn’t get a run at Origin. The one game he got, in 2014, possibly past his peak, he was torn apart. Had he a second chance, perhaps it might have been better, but history is littered with 1 gamers, who never got the second crack.
A great deal of Origin is grit in defence. None of Blacklock, Mundine or Merritt are noted defenders… by any stretch of the imagination. Just a thought.
Why his latest ban could be best thing for Latrell’s career - or the beginning of the end
Noone should ever be racially abused. Racial abuse aside, players who like to play the villain invite hate from opposition fans. Once it comes, they have to be prepared for it.
Why his latest ban could be best thing for Latrell’s career - or the beginning of the end
“Got your nose…”
Rugby News: Beale 'laser focused' on Wallabies return, coach fury at ban for 'malicious' headbutt
Yeah, should have been more.
Rugby News: Beale 'laser focused' on Wallabies return, coach fury at ban for 'malicious' headbutt
Yeah, nah… makes no sense.
Otherwise, you are rubbing it out based on the effect, not the action. It’s no deterrent to have it depend on the outcome. It effectively means the player gets away with the action because he got lucky, or because he was too uncoordinated to make it count.
To me, malicious actions should have standard high entry points regardless of the effect on the target. Stomping, headbutts, eye gouges, etc.
Rugby News: Beale 'laser focused' on Wallabies return, coach fury at ban for 'malicious' headbutt
Completely agree. That is wet lettuce stuff from the judiciary. To reduce his ban based on not actually making contact is UNBELIEVABLE. He gave it two goes to headbutt Mafi! I can’t fathom how they came to that decision.
Like you, I also noted Koroiduadua was on a mission the minute he got on. I don’t know if he was trying to fire his team up or what, but you could clearly see his actions were going to cause an escalation fairly quickly.
Rugby News: Beale 'laser focused' on Wallabies return, coach fury at ban for 'malicious' headbutt
Wasn’t useless, but certainly hyperbole by his mates…
Rugby News: Beale 'laser focused' on Wallabies return, coach fury at ban for 'malicious' headbutt
Annoying that it was called back for obstruction… clearly old mate had given up chasing so far across field, and was never filling that hole.
Motion sickness: How the NRL's best are crafting confusion and sending defences sideways
Yep, you are right.
Five things we learned: One area Gordon must fix to convince Wallabies boss, ABs bruiser should be on notice
It’s a beauty!
Motion sickness: How the NRL's best are crafting confusion and sending defences sideways
I think it really depends on how success is measured isnt it? Is success profitability? Or improved rugby? Perhaps the two can’t see eye to eye, though without profitability, the other becomes very difficult.
I guess using QANTAS or Coles/Woolies/whoever (Large companies) as examples, they should have cottoned on long ago that there were issues with their brand, however they were focused on profit, perhaps thinking the brand name was protected regardless of the complaints and issues that public had.
COMMENT: Australian rugby is a depressing picture - the RA board must be axed and the constitution changed
I still can’t see how he could have done anything differently there, nor how he deserves 4 weeks. His body is set low, and closer to horizontal than upright, and old mate running in is also closer to horizontal. What can Sef do?
Lomani gets huge discount on ban for shocking elbow after guilty plea, teammate has penalty halved
Yeah, though the money really came through after the Lions and World Cup in 2003… however it was poorly spent, from memory, mostly on administration costs, and offices, rather than implementation of programs that actually benefit the game nationally in any way.
COMMENT: Australian rugby is a depressing picture - the RA board must be axed and the constitution changed
How is a headbutt so much less? He had two cracks at it, and it wasn’t like it could be interpreted as anything BUT deliberate both times.
Lomani gets huge discount on ban for shocking elbow after guilty plea, teammate has penalty halved
Your last point is very relevant… hard to blame RA when there is no centralisation… I have always asked how you can have a national body run the game in the country when they don’t have the outright power to do so. RA is not responsible for QLD, NSW, ACT, WA or VIC teams… but decisions they make in regard to the national game, through youth comps being implemented etc… at the moment, many of those are the remit of the state organisations aren’t they?
COMMENT: Australian rugby is a depressing picture - the RA board must be axed and the constitution changed
Yeah, hard to support change when you don’t know what the change will be. We have seen a lot of that offered up at a political level lately.
We all know the issues that are the problem. We don’t need them spelled out individually. But what would your alternative do SOARR? What have you got planned?
COMMENT: Australian rugby is a depressing picture - the RA board must be axed and the constitution changed
Well, nice to hear from someone from this group. Well done you.
The Wallabies’ lowest ever world ranking of 10th (currently ninth). — Been on the slide for close to 15 years now. How many boards is that? To me, that comes down to other countries gaining ground, our poor skills through lack of rugby nous and ability, through poor coaching, through bad decisions made. Easy fix, but long plan required.
Folau sacking and $4m payout. — Aside from the rumoured size of his payout, the bloke supposedly broke his agreement not to publicly upset groups of society. What would you have them do? Let him stay and keep posting un-savoury things?
Raelene Castle fiasco and payout. — She was maligned by old boys… old captains who continue to either spruik change, or spruik the status quo, depending on which day it is. But she did some good things that hadn’t been done before… She was responsible for signing quite a few of the good players we have in Super rugby today, out of school.
Loss of QANTAS sponsorship — Ebbs and flows with sponsorship… Lack of a sizeable back up option is a bigger issue.
Dave Rennie’s sacking and payout plus support staff payouts. — Yep, short sited that one… I can see the panic to sign Eddie so quickly after he left England. His results speak for themselves, however they needed to look past the results… It was a VERY costly disaster.
Lowest-ever participation numbers and declining number of clubs. — Which each board has copped each year… the game is on a downward slide.
GPS schools converting to soccer and AFL. — They still play rugby, but if you think about it from rugby game perspective, what good does GPS schools do rugby in Aus? They warehouse players, not letting them play club rugby. They only play what? 10 games a year, tops? That is not enough experience to learn how to play really. PLUS, my biggest gripe, mostly they are full of already signed league juniors, with no intention of playing rugby out of school. THEY ARE ALREADY SIGNED TO LEAGUE CLUBS, and given scholarships to these great “rugby nurseries”… make no mistake. The GPS schools care little for rugby. They care about winning.
Yes, get rugby into public schools. Increase school competitions for sure. It takes development officers a long time to work through these things.
Lowest-ever skilled player and coach base. — This was set in motion by boards 30 years ago. Can be turned around by implementing a national coaching curriculum.
Loss of Foxtel media deal including News Limited media. — Foxtel, who ran the game down whilst trying to negotiate their new deal for less? Yeah, I’m loving Stan (if they can sort some of their commentary).
Three Super teams on edge of insolvency and the entire Super model in Australia broken. — Huge issue granted. Fixing results could partially fix this.
An inadequate coach education program and a diminished pathway for coaches. — As above… National Coaching Curriculum.
Signing a $1.7 per annum deal with an untested rugby league winger — Huge money for a young bloke… Should never have been done.
A falling fan support base — Through all the above.
Total abandonment of experienced rugby support groups — Cart/Horse. Egg/Chicken… There are many things that could be done to engage.
Sorry, that was long, but a response to each of your points. To me, they are all tied together, and multifaceted really, however they all stem from similar issues… results begets sponsorship, begets dollars, begets (or should) increasing development budget, begets more players, begets bigger pool of skill, begets results etc.
COMMENT: Australian rugby is a depressing picture - the RA board must be axed and the constitution changed
I can’t say Cook is the issue though… Bloke has been trying his heart out, and getting very little support from others who should be helping him. Noone pushes up with him on the run.
NRL Round 6 Team Lists: Cleary suffers setback, Walsh return confirmed but Riki under cloud, Big Phin out
There’s late and LATE… his are all fairly borderline, but so far have been let go by officials. So officially, they are legal.
Five things we learned: One area Gordon must fix to convince Wallabies boss, ABs bruiser should be on notice
He was sent off. I think the fact he wasn’t there when you lost is the point.
But the reality is, without him the ABs still nearly won. So hardly cost them the game, really.
Five things we learned: One area Gordon must fix to convince Wallabies boss, ABs bruiser should be on notice
Finau is mounting up playmakers heads like a young Courtney Lawes used to… there was a fair bit of conjecture about his tackling as well…
His highlights reel was hitting 10s after they had passed, and when they weren’t looking.
It’s not to say they are all illegal shots, but definitely borderline, but that anyone rushing like that can hit a bloke when they aren’t looking, having offloaded the ball seconds earlier, and make it look fantastic.
I don’t like them. Andrew Johns hates those hits in League, and has often spoken about wanting them banned… One or two, and they are an understandable part of play… any more and it’s a pattern of shots that are simply a deliberate attempt to “get at” the playmakers in close, and make them think twice. Again, not that there is anything illegal about that, or wrong even, but if that is your highlight reel, there is a lot missing in your game.
Five things we learned: One area Gordon must fix to convince Wallabies boss, ABs bruiser should be on notice
I was not talking about his coaching… I was talking about comments he made about taking on opponents strengths head on. An observation. Again, Aus rugby has not been honest enough with ourselves to actually do the hard yards required to dismantle opponent’s strengths for many years.
To “Latch tight and take them to a dark place.”
The Wrap: 'Take them to a dark place' - A quiet round grabs eyeballs for all the wrong reasons
Thanks Muzzo… I thought his comments on taking on the strength of the opposition had great merit… it was about the Welsh scrum from memory. Something like take them on and they’ll shift a few steps initially… take them on again, shift them some more, and they will start talking amongst themselves… Then you have them. Whatever you think of him, it appears, he was bang on that day.
The Wrap: 'Take them to a dark place' - A quiet round grabs eyeballs for all the wrong reasons
I can’t see why anyone in Rugby in Aus would sign him. 28 is prime in League, having played it for so long, but to change over to union, history shows it is far too late.
Even his schoolboy highlights really show me little. Bloke has never had a great passing game, so those saying centres in union are kidding themselves. As far as I can see, his school highlights are highlights because he had a bigger body and could out-bustle his opponents. He hasn’t done that in League for a long time.
I just think it’s too late.
Rooster must remodel: Angus Crichton says he'd want to 'dominate' in rugby union - this is what he'd have to change