April Wallaby 30 Man Squad

[Slim 293]

So, Harris speculates that the following 27 players will be in this camp:

Fotu Auelua
Stephen Moore
Ben Alexander
Pat McCabe
Christian Lealiifano
Joe Tomane
Dan Palmer
Nic White
Ben Mowen
Jesse Mogg

Adam Ashley-Cooper
Dave Dennis
Kane Douglas
Israel Folau
Rob Horne
Sekope Kepu
Wycliff Palu
Tatafu Polata-Nau
Benn Robinson
Paddy Ryan
Stialeki Timani

Will Genia
James Horwill
Digby Ioane
Rob Simmons
James Slipper
Liam Gill

As you can see, he's a bit lazy to speculate about players outside of the three big teams.........

 

[kiap]

As you can see, he's a bit lazy to speculate about players outside of the three big teams...

Yep.

Since speculating is what we do, how about JOC (James O'Connor) (easy), H'bum, and er, Honey Badger to make up the 30??

 

[Slim 293]

I'm just waiting for Brumbieman to come in and notice A Finger's omission.........

Popcorn at the ready.........

 

[kiap]

Bman getting up a head of steam! He'll pop that corn.

 

[qwerty51]

I would've thought if Folau was included they'd be something about it in the media? Especially since we heard how he was left out of the other one.

 

[Slim 293]

They have, but since nothing has been officially confirmed its been low key:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...r-wallabies-camp/story-e6frg7o6-1226617705644

But I must say I'm surprised there hasn't been anything more sensational, considering the Waratahs' media unit put out the incredible headline "Folau puts hand up for Lions tour" after the Tahs' trial win agains the Rebels..........

 

[qwerty51]

Nothing from News or Fairfax

 

[Bairdy]

You'd have to add Shipperly to that list as well because he has an ARU top up

 

[Slim 293]

Nothing from News or Fairfax

Except for the above article I just posted.........

And I'm certain it's been mentioned in Fairfax, buried in articles about Quade's omission which is obviously the bigger story right now..........

 

[Slim 293]

You'd have to add Shipperly to that list as well because he has an ARU top up

So does Quade.........

 

[qwerty51]

I mean RugbyGold and RugbyHeaven

 

[Slim 293]

Rugby Gold is on the pulse.........

One of their top news stories right now (on the mobile site) is that Quade Cooper will join SBW in Japanese rugby...... 4 months ago.........

 

[Brumbieman]

Yeah you're right Palu is terrible and Auleau is fucking awesome. I give up.

Fuck me. I like Auleau a lot but you are a bit crazy if you think he should start at 8 for the Wallabies against the Lions. A wrecking ball off the bench, maybe, but FFS the bloke doesn't even start for the Brumbies most of the time.
.

He's started almost every single game this year mate, and why not start him?

The point being, that for all of Palu's supposed benefits, we have another player who plays almost exactly the same role. Here is the difference: Auelua actually breaks tackles. I know this is a hard point for Palu fans to accept, but he just doesn't break them. He runs into contact like a big teddy bear and looks for an offload before he's even been wrapped up. The one or two times a game he actually remembers he's a very big man, he makes some metres. For the most part, he plays far below his size and with very little aggression.

Auelua is playing the games that Palu is apparently known for, and he's playing them now. He's not broken. He doesn't do the whole " play 2-3 games of Super rugby and a couple of tests each year because of injury".

Palu is the great white (black?) hope that never materialised for us because of injury. Its sad, but that is life. What we do need to do is stop dicking around hoping he'll be fit, and actually just assume he'll be broken and then look at what else there is.

If we want a big wrecking ball to make metres, break tackles, draw 3-4 men every time he gets the ball, and actually smash people in the tackle, then we need to select Auelua, its as simple as that.

He, and Mowen, should form the 6/8 combination for us in June. and if Dingo actually wants to win, he should do everything possible to get Smith out there too. 110 caps of international experience, a Lions series, Bledisloe cup, Tri-nations and two Super rugby titles is something no one else provides, and I want his cool head a game changing ability out there for us at crucial moments in this series.

 

[Brumbieman]

Please explain?

By my calculations Palu is better in some, and Auleau is better than others. But if you see total Auleau dominance then I think it says a bit more about you than it does the stats.
.

Well not all, obviously, but the one's that matter. The number of runs is just dependent on how many times someone gives you the ball.

I rate tackles busts, lack of errors and lineout wins above the number of runs.

 

[vidiot]

I may have missed something here, but if this 'logistics' camp is about photos and promotional work, Cooper is the last guy you would invite even if he is number 1 in the reckoning to start at 10 against the lions.

At this point the ARU and Cooper both would be hoping for him to have a low profile apart from for 80 mins at a time on the field.

Beyond that, he seems to be drifting back into form. It's bad luck for Deans and perhaps a bizarre conspiracy that none of lealiifano, o'Connor, Beale or Barnes are running regularly at 10. All he needs is one of them going well.

 

[USARugger]

You'd have to add Shipperly to that list as well because he has an ARU top up

QC (Quade Cooper) has the highest value contract in Australia (allegedly, if not he's top 3-5) so I don't think top-ups have much to do with selection.

 

[cyclopath]

I think this thread is potentially the most retarded of the year.
People going apeshit about who's in, and who's out of a speculative group of 30, which none of us has seen, and which is as much about getting promotional work and media stuff done as anything related to who runs out against the Lions, I would guess.
Apparently it is impossible to mention Quade Cooper without being in a "camp" as a pitchfork-wielding, witch-burning loon or carrying him in a golden litter fanning him with ostrich feathers.
Anyway, keep it civil, citizens.

 

[eddo]

Off to create a separate thread around the consistent failure of the Comms/PR team at the ARU.

Hopefully someone will actually have a real list of 30 at some point?!

 

[Richo]

I think this thread is potentially the most retarded of the year.
People going apeshit about who's in, and who's out of a speculative group of 30, which none of us has seen, and which is as much about getting promotional work and media stuff done as anything related to who runs out against the Lions, I would guess.
Apparently it is impossible to mention Quade Cooper without being in a "camp" as a pitchfork-wielding, witch-burning loon or carrying him in a golden litter fanning him with ostrich feathers.
Anyway, keep it civil, citizens.

That's roughly what I was trying to say a page ago, but said about 1,000 times better.

 

[wamberal]

Palu is recognised as being a player who does far more than his share of the "invisible" work; that is why he has won so many players' awards for best performance. He is not just a big ball runner, there is a lot more to his game than that.