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Joined April 2023
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The NSW admin is woeful at talent recognition and promotion of talent growth. Too busy looking after their school-tie buddies’ kids and don’t know how to drive west of Parramatta…
Tahs in turmoil: Hanigan and Harrison jump sinking ship, skipper forced to stay, CEO complains of 'tricky' task
Excellent post/response and 100% on the money. Too long now has the GPS/CAS school system been seen as the only nursery for rugby union. As for the size comment – again, on they money; the Waratahs, especially, look too bulky and have paid the price with less speed/efficiency around the field.
Tahs in turmoil: Hanigan and Harrison jump sinking ship, skipper forced to stay, CEO complains of 'tricky' task
Gordon or Lynagh would be my two picks.
Lolesio is too slow and his long pass does not compare to that of Gordon. But, he can sure kick a goal, there’s no denying that, which will keep him in the mix. I still think Gordon is a wild-card as a back-up for both 10 and 12, though; fast hands, very effective defence, runs straight and hard, and he cover defends well, too.
Anyway, we’ll see soon, I guess. The one thing we can say about all of them is they seem more invested/keen this year and I am sure each/all of them would not shirk duties if given a crack.
The five candidates for the Wallabies No.10 jersey - and the old heads who may sneak in to join them
Funny you should mention the Stan crash – it happens every second Friday on my TV. Frustrating, especially with some of the tight games we’ve had recently!
Brumbies breathe sigh of relief after holding on against physical Drua pack as super sub saves the day
Yep, I looked once, looked again to confirm, and then gave up even thinking about attending the Sydney Lions test. Plus, by then, there’s always the chance it’ll be a dead rubber.
Rugby Australia announce $9.2m deficit, board member fails to be re-elected but coup falls over
“…Melbourne was the favourite to host the final at the MCG.” A RWC final on an oval field in a non rugby state? RA would want to be getting a LOT of money to even contemplate that.
I’d love for the Rebels to continue, but when your crowds are pitiful and the club loses money every single day, it’s not looking promising. As for the move out west, it also sounds ‘promising’ (much like the claimed amount of money raised by the consortium, but not actually confirmed) but I can’t see the mainly eastern suburbs-based rugby fans in Melbourne heading out there. Love to be proved wrong, though.
Rebels' Super future hanging on creditors' Friday vote as Rugby Australia set to go against plan
Cale is definitely worth a call to the training squad (as others have noted already) and there’s nothing wrong with his size; the faster you are hitting the line, the more difficult you are to tackle/bring down, which means sucking in more defenders to stop the one player.
His speed also brings me to note that we seem to have more pace across multiple positions this season and I reckon we need to make the most of it. For too long, our backs have not been ‘quick’ (a general descriptive, I know) and it is that pace that often provides a half-break and, with support, a try is always on once that defensive line is fractured. For that reason, Toole – at the least – has to be included in there as well.
The five Aussie young guns who should be celebrated - and the one who is ready for the Wallabies
Gordon and Lynagh are ahead of Lolesio. His kicking is great but he goes missing and doesn’t force himself on a game. Having said that, as others have mentioned, Gordon has the size and line break capability, good defence – as well as the fast, direct pass – to make an impact at 12 playing inside Lynagh. Lonergan at halfback would work with all three of the 10 options too (most obviously with Noah, of course).
Anyway, will see what Schmidt does soon I guess. Either way it looks a more promising year than the last.
Why Schmidt isn't sweating about Wallabies star's cross-code temptation
The idea about the Anzac jerseys is great.
It’d be nice to see the Dragons make the eight, but I think they are still one or two down on real impact forwards – a position that is hard to fill but an essential for teams with finals aspirations. Having said that, with the new coach getting more out of players than we’ve seen previously, they may still be the smoky that makes the eight.
NRL Round 7 Talking Points: With big wins come big losses, and which coach is the game’s biggest sook?
A hiding, in the true sense of the word. I am a huge fan of Slipper’s but he looked slow around the park tonight. Hoping it was just a one-off as he did look like he copped a knock/pulled up lame not long before he got sent for 10 mins.
No use blaming the conditions, it was just poor physicality from the Brumbies. Will be interesting to see how they bounce back against the top-of-the-table Hurricanes next week. And be equally interesting to see if they get a decent crowd. The TV coverage of the poor crowds across this weekend to date has not been very encouraging and points at the longer-term problem of what to do with Super Rugby. Anyway, on to the Force and Crusaders!
Brumbies 'systematically taken apart by the Blues' in 'non-contest' as Larkham's men cop huge reality check
HP and Flook must be the front runners for the centres. I’d go for Gordon at 10 so they get quick, direct ball, too, with Lonergan at 9 for his all round play plus his boot.
The more the season progresses the more I think – or hope – Schmidt goes for a fast, mobile squad. There’s plenty of pace in key positions (Toole is a wildcard but I’d love to see Schmidt select him and Cale), which could make some difference.
All a bit of a wish-list I guess but you get plenty of line-break potential across the park, which we’ve sadly missed in the past.
'Like a Scud missile': World Cup reject leads rout, but Reds suffer fresh blow with Petaia's season in jeopardy
I am often slightly suspicious of “total metres” as it doesn’t (i am pretty sure?) differentiate between sideways, forward, backwards, etc.
And then there are the outliers; players who don’t “do as much” as others, but have a higher impact in games, i.e., try-scoing, big tackles/forcing turnovers, knock-ons.
That comes with a caveat that these outlier players do benefit from their fellow forwards putting in more tackle-time, etc.!
Having said all that, I enjoyed the read and admire the fact-finding/number crunching involved!
The NRL stat that isn't one, but should be: Working out which forwards really pull their weight
Correct! I will straight away blame age on that memory. Thanks BB 👍
Scrap the Giteau Law: Rugby Australia should look to Rassie's 'Boks RWC recipe if it wants to re-join the big boys' table
Yep, agree re the Wallabies; some wins/positive performances would be great and (hopefully) bring some vibrancy/positivity back to us slightly weary and disillusioned long-term fans. Here’s hoping.
Scrap the Giteau Law: Rugby Australia should look to Rassie's 'Boks RWC recipe if it wants to re-join the big boys' table
You are spot-on, Harry, when you allude to Australian fans only following winners (note: that’s my generalisation of it). If the Waratahs, Reds and Brumbies were more consistently successful they’d have bigger crowds. I realise that’s the bleeding obvious….
The 2014 SR final crowd at the ‘old ‘ SFS is a prime example and it’d be brilliant to revisit those days again. It just might take a plan such as this a bit of time, but I can’t see why it isn’t worth a shot, at least.
Scrap the Giteau Law: Rugby Australia should look to Rassie's 'Boks RWC recipe if it wants to re-join the big boys' table
Agree. Even Skelton was found wanting until last year and Marika Koroibete’s performances have declined, especially in defence, although I dunno if the whole shemozzle that was 2023 may have impacted his performance; in years past he was an always-reliable performer.
Scrap the Giteau Law: Rugby Australia should look to Rassie's 'Boks RWC recipe if it wants to re-join the big boys' table
Yep, that’s the conundrum for sure; you can’t give players that legal time-wasting opportunity and then harass/pressure them to kick faster. I dunno if the shot clock being shortened would make any difference – I reckon the ‘spirit of the game’ approach is the better option.
The Wrap: Crusaders' shot clock fiasco and shhh, don’t put the moz on Darby
Agree. Both have an excellent fast and long pass, and Gordon is a defensive wall and big enough to run a bit of crash-ball if he has to. Goalkicking is his wonky weakness but Lonergan shores that up, plus he offers plenty more.
The Wrap: Crusaders' shot clock fiasco and shhh, don’t put the moz on Darby
Too late. His highlight reel showed a big youngster who would not be that big in Rugby these days.
You could maybe try him at inside-centre but why bother? There are others already playing well there (although Kerevi looks slow these days). His fitness would not be a problem – beside a few tweaks focused on the ball/play moving around the park a bit more– as RU has far more stoppages for scrums/lineouts/penalties. All in all, though, I doubt he’s serious, plus RA hasn’t got money (even a small amount) for an experiment like this.
This does, in a way, show up the problem of RA not nabbing these schoolboys (noted the comment on the halves from Roosters also having a RU background) when they’re young and putting them through a proper development system, something we sadly lack in Australia.
Rooster must remodel: Angus Crichton says he'd want to 'dominate' in rugby union - this is what he'd have to change
Nawaqanitawase has been poor this season, so this is not unexpected. He needs a few games back in club-land – or maybe just send him to the Chooks now. Be good to see Wison at 13 rather than ball-hog Perese, too, but maybe that’ll be next week’s selection…
Super Rugby teams round 8: Tahs drop Marky Mark, Kellaway returns for Rebels, HMP replaces Lynagh
Souths need to move him from fullback. Too many times – especially defensively – he’s not in the right position, even allowing for no fullback/or player being perfect in their required roles.
Throw him into centre and he’s more involved, can (hopefully) have a higher impact/influence on the game, and he’ll become more ‘match-fit’ (or simply just fitter overall).
His attitude needs a total rework; past (and present) players have copped booing and used it as a motivational moment. Ignore the try-hards booing from the stands, concentrate on utilising his true potential, and he’ll both shut them up, and most likely be happier within himself, rather than frustrated as he appears at the moment.
Why his latest ban could be best thing for Latrell’s career - or the beginning of the end
Lots of criticism – and some far-fetched claims, i.e., RA somehow responsible for what GPS schools select as sports options, and Wallabies lowest ranking (um, actual players not putting in on the field might be more the point/reason). Plus, where are the solutions?
COMMENT: Australian rugby is a depressing picture - the RA board must be axed and the constitution changed
Easy fix: Lonergan at halfback and Gordon at 10. Lolesio is very slow (for a 10; he’s still way quicker than this armchair expert) and suspect in defence. His kicking, though, is brilliant.
Gordon has a better pass and a far better defensive game, plus he’s quicker across the ground. Lonergan and Gordon would be a great (and tough) combo, with fast hands, high work ethics and both sharing a killer attitude. Speaking of which, Cale is a shoe-in if we want the Wallabies to play a dynamic game – as is Toole. I thought Cale was a bit light in weight initially, but his speed means he’s hitting the line faster, so the extra heft question is moot; the last thing you want to do is slow down a fast back-rower when we haven’t had anyone like him previously in the WBs.
Five things we learned: One area Gordon must fix to convince Wallabies boss, ABs bruiser should be on notice
They need a good, hard-working prop (or two), and an understudy half-back for the near future when Hunt hangs up his boots.
Big Nelson from Melbourne looks appealing but also looks lazy, which is a shame as when he’s on, he’s definitely on. If Bellamy cannot motivate him, I dunno if Flanagan has much hope.
Someone else here mentioned cultivating some Dragons juniors and that’s a great idea, even if it takes a couple of years. I mean, we’ve waited this long, already…
Dragons have dodged a bullet by letting Lomax go early – but only if they box clever to replace him
Canada has been ranked above Australia for a little while I think. But the USA; I am definitely hearing you!
A number of Wallaroos looked unfit, too.
Wallaroos suffer shock loss to USA in massive blow to World Cup plans as set-piece put on roller-skates