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I think the coach wants to trial Cottrell as a south african style open side; ie. a big tough bruiser who can be fast to the tackle and counter-ruck rather than trying for the steal. Given the current reffing means jackals are penalty magnets, that's not necessarily a bad strategy.

The original diagnosis looked very dodgy.

You'd have to say Parma Fou has been treated very badly. Left sevens for the Rebels, hasn't really had a shot at all and now he's got nothing. Just wrong on every level.

I only saw the second game but I thought the combination between Gordon and Mason was electric. Phipps may regret missing out through injury. If Foley gets injured I think Mason might well have matured enough now to be able to spark the rest of the backline. Early days, but good signs!

Has anyone started a 2018 fantasy league (non-draft) yet?

Which is exactly what happened. Another reason for the selection is that Coleman is a certain starter, whereas Faainga may not always be first choice.

Some things that didn't get written about from the trial that are evident from the highlights: (sorry about the numbers, player id from my screen isn't easy) Lousy maul defence continues to be a feature. 10 (Mason?) got away a lovely pass from the ground. There was good use of grubbers...

Coming back to the Rebels thread, (the above posts should really reside elsewhere) it seems to me that most coaches are using the first trial and the 10's to look at individual players on the fringe of the squads. In doing so there is no real team cohesion and making judgments about teams'...

How the hell did pool D get none of the top teams, which were all loaded up in pools A, B and C?

Just in case you missed it in the explosion over developing schoolboys.

The forums of this site are where there can be detailed discussion on a wide range of topics, where widely divergent views can be aired and discussed. The front page blogs are where visitors first come to get match previews and reports and keep up to date. More people read the blog than come to...

Dempsey is due back mid-April. There's no point selecting him in a so-called ideal team when the comp will be half over when he comes back. Kepu is the THP and is selected at 3, Robertson is the LHP and is selected at 1. Note: Kepu is available only after his suspension is complete. Has the...

Oh goody! I'd be much happier if I knew that their power output went up by 25% than whether their aerobic fitness is better this year. Last year we got knocked backwards into Tuesday every time we went into a collision. Our aerobic fitness was a second order issue. As evidence, rewatch the...

At the SFS, the cameras are usually in the western stand pointing east to the ground. I know they have multiple angles and multiple cameras - I'm generalising. But in the afternoon particularly, with the sun setting in the west, if you are sitting in the eastern stand you've got the sun in your...

That doesn't include the Force players who have no gig anywhere. There are 5 or 6 of them. Apart from TPN they are journeymen, I know, but they shouldn't be forgotten. They put their heart and soul in last year only to get shafted.

Even partial observers like me (Waratah) are asking that question.

The Waratahs have 34 on their website with possibly McCalman to add if he's not crocked. Given how many of that 34 are unknowns (Johnson-Holmes, Jones, Palmer, Mason, McCauley, Meafua, Sandell, Swinton, Wilkin) who must be on the minimum it is clear that not every team is like the...

If the Tahs had no money then how on earth did the Brumbies and Rebels have the money? Now we've got 4 or 5 second rowers locked in to Melbourne and none in Sydney and all the power backrowers locked in to Canberra. Unless there are lots of injuries there are going to be some very frustrated...

We should have Dempsey back mid-April, but I would assume he'll need at least two weeks off the bench before starting, so the earliest he would be playing 80 is round nine - half way through. McCalman may or may not be totally busted, no one is saying anything. The longer we wait for news the...

What's there to say? No info on McCalman to discuss and we are all just waiting around for the season to begin and our woes to start with it. I'm just trying to find five wins: I've pencilled in two at the Reds and two at the Sunwolves but for the life of me I can't find another one.