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Unfortunately mate this comp hasn’t really been an even playing field and it is very tough on your guys (and the Rebels) being away from home for the whole tournament. It’s great to have you back in the comp though and looking forward to the team re-establishing itself.

If you haven’t noticed Rodda steal a lineout I can only assume you never watched him play. He’s a very good lineout jumper. Not as good as Simmons but the rest of his game is much better. He’s been comfortably our best performed international lock the last 2 yrs (Arnold was suspended then mostly...

I agree it might take 1-2 yrs, but on a comparative basis I still expect relatively quick improvement even if it doesn’t reflect to the Win column straight away. With regards to experience I expect these guys to form the core of our side - Sio, Slipper, Fainga’a, Ala'alatoa, Tupou, Salakaia-Loto...

At the risk of seeming to bullish on our chances, I think it’s perfectly reasonable to expect the next 5 yrs to be significantly more competitive. Essentially because the last 15 we’ve had serious underlying issues which we haven’t been able to address. In no particular order we’ve had props...

Tom Robertson unlucky not to be there from what I’ve seen - but then he’s not long back from injury, so maybe depends exactly when the list was made.

I’m not sure it’s safe to assume your first sentence - but I understand your sentiment. Anyway, it’ll be interesting to see how it turns out. The fact Farrell was available and got overlooked seems to me to be a vote of confidence in itself. I know they haven’t exactly been keen to get Farrell...

I’d imagine there would be at least a few wingers who, when it comes to the defensive team review they have as much ammo to criticise the defence coach as vice-versa. A lot of defence patterns - even really good ones - don’t do the wingers many favours.

Thanks Mug Punter. That’s a good bit of insight. Do you know what his throwing is like?

No doubt they need to be able to carry the form on Barbs - we are at the business end of this comp now. My only concern is whether that defensive effort last week will have sapped them and they will be flat this week. Hopefully it’ll have the opposite effect and the defense will be the catalyst...

Wow.

On the plus side with Horton he seems to be clearly the best thrower. Why is it that we still struggle to get a player in each position that ticks ALL the key requirements of their position.

Wow - yeah, that’s pretty ordinary. Even at the end it looked like he could have put a few big ones in and at least tried to stop it and he just didn’t.

The plus side for Ramm is that, unless they go with a fullback on the wing (and I don’t see the need personally) than it is almost certainly going to be a debutant. So form will certainly be important - but I think they’ll also be a bit more prepared to go with potential then they would in a...

Understand the concern - but it is an option and it’s notable that guys like Simon Raiwalui & Morgan Turinui (and potentially Thorn) still see 6 as his best position. I can’t see it this year because of the dearth in locks, but there are plenty of areas in which he is a superior option than...

It’s good to hear such positivity about some of these young guys coming through. We’re never going to keep them all, especially with the level of competition for signatures but at least if we are producing them that is a great starting point. Looking forward to seeing some of these young guys...

Gee - I dunno Dan. One of the things I love about Nasirani is how hard he works all the time. I haven’t noticed him being lazy in defence. Maybe I just haven’t noticed, but I don’t think his stats show that up (not that stats tell the full story, but etc etc) For me Nasirani is more the...

Calling Campbell mediocre is a bit rough. He’s been excellent at fullback - although not so great on the wing. He was good enough to be included in the PONI squad. Grealy may well prove to be better but if we’re talking good squad management we shouldn’t be rushing to cast aside a bloke who is...

Do you know who he is managed by?

Kye Oates?

Are you suggesting that a kid 2 years out of school would/should walk if he isn’t promoted into the starting squad next year? I like confidence/hunger but that seems extraordinarily precious/arrogant to me if that is what you are suggesting he would do.