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AFL has plenty of issues with it's rules, but I do like their rule that makes players quickly hand/kick the ball back to the player who is awarded a free kick, otherwise be marched 50m. I think when the whistle blows the ball should be put down. Would be very easy to enforce.

Our team has always been solid but slightly lacking in X-factor. Toole could be the man to provide that - his try vs Kenya was great, came out of nowhere. All in all a very solid start. A few nerves out there (big Mo was surprisingly flat I thought) but we executed really well, especially in...

Yeah, sure. I don't disagree. I'm not saying it was the main thing I took from the Jones era, but I think it was one of them. He's class and I think one of the few who can actually claim that moniker. I'm building my team around him.

I thought one of the lessons of the miserable Jones era was that Skelton is one of the few genuinely world class players we possess. I understand why you'd put him on the bench, but if it were up to me I'd be starting him every game.

The NFL may have a fancy bunker but the referee still has to jog over to the sideline and watch on a little monitor before making the call. Takes just as long as the TMO in rugby, maybe longer. Their issue isn't so much the stoppage (because they have heaps of them anyway and they can just sell...

Adam I don't disagree the TMO is a farce in rugby, but I do think you're being very generous to other codes. The use of video technology is problematic in almost every sport. It sucks in the NBA, because it takes way too long and generally looks at very 50/50 calls. NFL have constantly had to...

I don't hate a few changes for this one. We shouldn't take them lightly, but at the same time we should expect to beat them. Christ if Eddie could coach the Wallabies to victory against them then Joe sure as hell can.

I applaud the Brumbies for their ongoing commitment to fielding a fullback who is maybe just good enough for the Wallaby 15 jersey, but maybe not. Tom Wright is merely a custodian of those who came before him - Tom Banks, Jesse Mogg, Mark Gerrard, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Andrew Walker, Stephen...

I think that opinion is held by pretty much the entire fanbase. Nobody thinks we are that good, but you take the win when you can. And I didn't think we box kicked too much, but the fact is when done well it's still the best strategy when you're between your own 22 and halfway.

He did. And just because they are well coached, it doesn't mean they will be a successful team. There's still a pretty clear deficit in talent.

Hard to be disappointed with that game. They look well coached - set piece functional, structure good, they seem to understand their roles. I don't think Wales are much good, but we've lost to far worse teams in the recent past. Even the feeling of being up by 7+ with a minute left is rare, so...

And it dovetails into the coverage done by the SMH, which is consistently excellent. I'd be really gutted if they moved away from Stan/9 for the next deal.

I think saying the NRL US tilt has 'nothing to do with promoting the game' is off the mark. I do think the NRL has a genuine desire to grow the game in the US. Now that's based on a fair bit of delusion (hello PVL), but it's as much about TV money and ongoing PR as it is gambling. What's more...

I won't hear a bad word about Morgan Turinui. On a forum where a lot of shit is spoken, he's one person who is continually stepping up to grow the game. The unpaid work he does with the Classic Wallabies is fantastic, taking the game to places where it has been absent for decades. Running...

Not Suncorp. The SCG.

Has he won anything in those roles? Doesn't scream 'international coach in waiting' to me.

What's Jake White been doing since leaving the Brumbies? Bit surprised he's being mentioned here. Feels like yesterday's man. Not to mention a noted Eddie Jones type personality, and I think there's probably enough evidence now that this squad doesn't respond to the that type of coach.

McLennan's predilection for making big calls leaves me concerned. Can't you just see him in a press conference standing next to Michael Cheika with a shit eating grin telling us 'we got him' like he did with Eddie. I'm not sure he's got it in him to make an unsexy pick and roll with a McKeller.

The game plan changes are the most interesting to me. Would love a whole article on that. Looked like we had no discernable plan, and sure enough it seems we didn't. It's an odd contradiction to deliberately pick an inexperienced squad and then give them no structure in which to play. Surely...

Can someone tell me what the Brumbies style is? And how it differs from what we've generally been trying to do?