Brisbane City vs. Sydney Stars - NRC Round 1, 21/08 @ Ballymore

[Jets]

I enjoyed the game. I think Foxtel did a pretty good job. I would have liked a bit more of an intro with some background on some of the lesser known players.

I watched it with my son and he loved it. Spent all morning asking me questions about the team and the game. He enjoyed it more than Super rugby which I found interesting.

 

[en_force_er]

I enjoyed the game. I think Foxtel did a pretty good job. I would have liked a bit more of an intro with some background on some of the lesser known players.

I watched it with my son and he loved it. Spent all morning asking me questions about the team and the game. He enjoyed it more than Super rugby which I found interesting.

Sexier, shinier jerseys and branding in a major part. To us we raise an eyebrow, to them it's just awesome. It's part of the reason the NRL appeals to them I think.

The poorer D helps too, but you see that at the start of the ITM Cup too while players get used to it all.

 

[Woopsie]

I am personally glad that the ARU has brought in something to bridge the gap between Club and Super Rugby as it was long overdue.

I believe some of the rule changes are "no-brainers" such as, unless you compete at the lineout, you don't get to whinge whether it went in straight.

As for the other variations, especially the conversion/penalty; I am concerned that....

1. could lead to more cynical play in the red zone, unless the yellow card is used more willingly
2. absolutely rewards the try, which leads to quick taps, using the width of the field, end to end rugby, fitter athletes, better spectacle to engage the peripheral rugby supporters, and ultimately suits the natural Australian style of play, on dry, hard, fast tracks. But at what cost to the Tight 5? and as you progress to Test Matches, will you be up to the physical confrontation that is normally associated with the northern hemisphere, New Zealand, Argentina and South Africa?

Couple of other points

• game reminded me of a Colts game where defence seemed almost to be optional
• Kuridrani looked slower and bulkier than what I would have imagined
• Frisby controlled the game to the point of overplaying his hand
• Kerevi is suited to the game with the new variations

Overall, it was a good first step in the second attempt at 3rd tier. A vastly different game to watch than that of the North Harbour/Southland game on immediately prior.

 

[I like to watch]

On another note, how good was Kerevi? A few more games like that and you'd take him on the Spring tour.

The Kiwis and Saffas pick the best couple of ITM Cup players at the end of every season, I don't see why we can't follow suit.

He was flattered by his opposition.
The third pick 12 that opposed him most of last night,played predominantly 3rd & 4th grade most of the year in SS.
Not saying he can't play,just putting it in perspective.

 

[en_force_er]

He was flattered by his opposition.
The third pick 12 that opposed him most of last night,played predominantly 3rd & 4th grade most of the year in SS.
Not saying he can't play,just putting it in perspective.

Makes you wonder wtf Uni are doing with this mess, selecting 80% of their squad from the 3rd place Shute Shield club. They don't need to change their NRC model of course, but maybe they do need to invite more external players in (which they easily can within the model). It's early days though so we'll see how it pans out.
Do they get Tom Carter soon? He'd do well at this grade.

 

[fatprop]

So what happened to Hodge? And is Carter wounded?

Kerevi was quite good, but I would have liked him to be up against a pest/effectively defensive 12 to see how he would go.

 

[Brumby Runner]

For the last 12-18 months there seems to be concerted attempt by the referees to take the wheel out of scrummaging. Although the Stars scrum completely dominated, there was one, maybe two penalties against the Stars in the first half where I thought the wheel was perfectly legal.

But then, the City scrum got on top when both reserve front rows were on and blow me down, City wheeled a scrum and got the penalty (not a scrum turnover).

Some consistency in refereeing would be nice.

The wheeling scrum has long been a pet hate of mine, simply because there seems to be no real way of determining whether the stronger scrum is dominating or the weaker one is not taking the hit and pushing on one side. It becomes a subjective decision by the ref and invariably leads to dispute amongst the fans as to whether it was a correct decision or not. Imo scrums should push in a forward direction only and any wheel should be penalised if fault can be found.

 

[Wilson]

So what happened to Hodge? And is Carter wounded?

Kerevi was quite good, but I would have liked him to be up against a pest/effectively defensive 12 to see how he would go.

Pretty sure Hodge knocked himself out trying to tackle Kerevi early on.

 

[Braveheart81]

He was flattered by his opposition.
The third pick 12 that opposed him most of last night,played predominantly 3rd & 4th grade most of the year in SS.
Not saying he can't play,just putting it in perspective.

Would have been interesting if Tom Carter was against him. Carter is an excellent defender so it would be good to see how Kerevi goes against someone who can tackle (and particularly not afraid to tackle a big man).

So what happened to Hodge? And is Carter wounded?

Kerevi was quite good, but I would have liked him to be up against a pest/effectively defensive 12 to see how he would go.

Hodge got flattened by Kerevi in the 3rd minute. He went off concussed I believe and didn't come back.

Carter is injured. Not sure for how long.

 

[louie]

Thought it was a great start to the comp. Exciting and fast. Some great skills on show. i'm pumped. Anyone know what the crowd figures where?

Rugby on a Thursday night. loved it. i want more. pumped!

 

[Braveheart81]

Thought it was a great start to the comp. Exciting and fast. Some great skills on show. i'm pumped. Anyone know what the crowd figures where?

Rugby on a Thursday night. loved it. i want more. pumped!

They said around 3,400. Good start crowd wise. Particularly as the weather was terrible.

 

[kiap]

Thought it was a great start to the comp. Exciting and fast. Some great skills on show. i'm pumped. Anyone know what the crowd figures where?

Rugby on a Thursday night. loved it. i want more. pumped!

Crowd of 3,400, which wasn't too bad for a school night in the wet!

 

[Braveheart81]

Just need to make a GAGR banner and get Reg and a few others to hang it over The Australian ad on the grandstand.

 

[Ash]

For the last 12-18 months there seems to be concerted attempt by the referees to take the wheel out of scrummaging. Although the Stars scrum completely dominated, there was one, maybe two penalties against the Stars in the first half where I thought the wheel was perfectly legal.

But then, the City scrum got on top when both reserve front rows were on and blow me down, City wheeled a scrum and got the penalty (not a scrum turnover).

Some consistency in refereeing would be nice.

Agree there was a wheel that was incorrectly penalised in City's favour, but I have a different opinion of "completely dominanted". The Stars scrum did "completely dominate" a 10 - 15 minute period in the first half, and put in a few good shoves at other times and were the better scrum. However, the City scrum also drove back the starting Stars scrum a good few times, and at other times both scrums were rocks solid on both team's put ins. There was a large inconsistency in both starting scrums.

edit: Sorry, point I was going to make was that I was surprised that Paddy Ryan got driven back a few times by what is effectively a club Brisbane prop, but I guess that same club prop will probably be the Reds' third string LHP next year.

 

[Brumby Runner]

He was flattered by his opposition.
The third pick 12 that opposed him most of last night,played predominantly 3rd & 4th grade most of the year in SS.
Not saying he can't play,just putting it in perspective.

Think you're not giving Kerevi enough credit. It wasn't as though the opposite No 12 was the only one he beat. His runs mostly involved beating a number of defenders, including on at least one occasion iirc McCutchon.

 

[kiap]

Just need to make a GAGR banner and get Reg and a few others to hang it over The Australian ad on the grandstand.

Heh heh. Yeah, he mentioned that decades old sign would get a free plug.

A promo that coulda been diverted somewhere better—right Here!

 

[hawktrain]

For those asking about Tom Carter, according to Rugby News he announced his immediate retirement after Uni's loss to Souths in the preliminary final.

My two cents re: tight five development. The way I look at it is yes, the role of the scrum and lineout is diminished, but this comp gives these guys another 8+ games of high level rugby in which they'll have the chance to do real game situation scrums and lineouts against quality players. Much better for development IMO than two months of scrummaging against the machine at training.

 

[Wilson]

Agree there was a wheel that was incorrectly penalised in City's favour, but I have a different opinion of "completely dominanted". The Stars scrum did "completely dominate" a 10 - 15 minute period in the first half, and put in a few good shoves at other times and were the better scrum. However, the City scrum also drove back the starting Stars scrum a good few times, and at other times both scrums were rocks solid on both team's put ins. There was a large inconsistency in both starting scrums.

edit: Sorry, point I was going to make was that I was surprised that Paddy Ryan got driven back a few times by what is effectively a club Brisbane prop, but I guess that same club prop will probably be the Reds' third string LHP next year.

Worth noting how strong Stiles got the scrum for the reds this year, can only expect this city scrum to improve with more time with him.

 

[en_force_er]

For those asking about Tom Carter, according to Rugby News he announced his immediate retirement after Uni's loss to Souths in the preliminary final.

My two cents re: tight five development. The way I look at it is yes, the role of the scrum and lineout is diminished, but this comp gives these guys another 8+ games of high level rugby in which they'll have the chance to do real game situation scrums and lineouts against quality players. Much better for development IMO than two months of scrummaging against the machine at training.

I felt that the lineouts were pretty prevalent. 15 thrown a piece is about right.

Once teams get more diligent about getting back 10m and setting a great D line then people will quick tap less too.

 

[Sully]

Scoey has his first review up on the front page
http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/match-review-nrc-brisbane-city-v-sydney-stars/

Can someone with Facebook access post it there ?

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