Brumby Runner
Jason Little (69)
Thanks BJ. So a couple of promising outside backs in George and Andrew Muirhead. Keep them coming.
Brumbies 2017
- Thread starter RoffsChoice
- Start date
- Status
Brumby Jack
Steve Williams (59)
A Qld contact says he's the elder brother of Reds scrum half Moses Sorovi
They are both Torres Strait Islanders.
Here's an article about Morseu.
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/u...ssion-in-john-i-dent-cup-20170601-gwil8o.html
Brumby Jack
Steve Williams (59)
Looking forward to seeing who plays in the game in Singapore tomorrow night
dru
David Wilson (68)
Just caught up with this: http://www.theroar.com.au/2017/06/23/christian-lealiifano-makes-rugby-comeback-for-brumbies/
Fabulous story, just fabulous. Let's hope to see Lea continue.
Fabulous story, just fabulous. Let's hope to see Lea continue.
Brumby Runner
Jason Little (69)
Opportunity for a farewell match for Staniforth?
Edit : Alcock will be missed, but better this week than the next. On their form against the Reds, the Brumbies will be strengthened if either or both of Toua and Godwin miss the last two matches. They are the two nominated kickers in the side, but their kicking games are so atrocious the Brumbies will go better if they just stop kicking at all.
Slim 293
Stirling Mortlock (74)
I still can't believe Toua botched that try on Friday night..............
It's wet weather conditions........ you dive on the fucking ball and the momentum will take you across the line!!!
This is really basic stuff........... and the attempted chip that went out on the full.
I would have more faith in some of the guys that played in Singapore.
It's wet weather conditions........ you dive on the fucking ball and the momentum will take you across the line!!!
This is really basic stuff........... and the attempted chip that went out on the full.
I would have more faith in some of the guys that played in Singapore.
MarkJ
Bob Loudon (25)
Well Toua's gone for the rest of the season now. Godwin too
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/rug...ut-of-super-rugby-finals-20170709-gx7xfk.html
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/rug...ut-of-super-rugby-finals-20170709-gx7xfk.html
Brumby Runner
Jason Little (69)
Better news, Alcock looks ok to go in the quarter final, and Rory Arnold should be fit for this coming weekend.
Likely replacements for Toua and Godwin?
Obviously, Christian L for the N0 12 spot if he's fit to play. Otherwise Dargaville (is he injured?), JJH or Smith?
James also a chance to replace Toua on the wing. Other possibilities, Ah Wong, Smith, Muirhead? Other than Christian, none of the potential replacements is a noted kicker, but that just might be best news yet for the Brumbies' attack.
Likely replacements for Toua and Godwin?
Obviously, Christian L for the N0 12 spot if he's fit to play. Otherwise Dargaville (is he injured?), JJH or Smith?
James also a chance to replace Toua on the wing. Other possibilities, Ah Wong, Smith, Muirhead? Other than Christian, none of the potential replacements is a noted kicker, but that just might be best news yet for the Brumbies' attack.
Tomikin
David Codey (61)
I hope we dont just throw CL cos we need him.. id be happy for him to have an off season and come back in 2018
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
Brumby Jack
Steve Williams (59)
Lealiifano on the bench this week
RoffsChoice
Jim Lenehan (48)
So that's the season.
First up, gotta say how proud of the team I am. A good many season predictions said that we'd be finishing 3rd in the conference at best, with a lot saying 4th; Brett McKay, Aaron Goile, Robert van Royen, Tristan Renaud. But with three rounds to go, we'd won the conference. It may have been a terrible conference, but we were undisputed winners.
A massive highlight (and also a sign of what needs improving) was the bonus points. There were only two games this season where we didn't take any points away (Hurricanes and Chiefs away). However, that also means that there were many games we probably would have won if we had taken our chances: Sharks at home, Rebels away, Blues at home, Lions at home, Highlanders at home, Reds away. Don't screw up in those games, and we finish with an 80% win ratio and have over 50 competition points. I don't know if this was down to a lack of mental strength on the field, poor coaching, or incorrect tactics. Probably some mix of the three.
Despite our showing against the Crusaders in round one being one of our best performances of the season, I think it's clear the players grew throughout the season. Watch that game again and look at how fantastic Mayhew, Ala'alatoa, Carter, Fardy, Alcock, and Smiler were, and then look at how they grew throughout the season. Look at the glaring weaknesses in how Powell and Hawera played versus how they performed against the Hurricanes in that first half on Friday. Like most of the people I talked to going into this season, I was prepared to be happy with a season of rebuilding and developing some young talent. We did that brilliantly this year. But we did more than that. Nobody in their right mind would have pegged us as favourites against the Hurricanes. But, like a little microcosm of our season, really were the better team against the defending champions for forty minutes, before they identified our weaknesses and killed us with them.
There really were some bad times this season, though. We set the record for the longest time without scoring a try in Brumbies history. We threw several leads with poor defence in the closing ten minutes. We had one of the worst offences in the competition, only better than the Rebels and the Force. For a team with the Wallabies attack coach, we were inept.
With the coaching, Larkham is leaving and I think it's fair to consider his tenure a success. After eight years in the wilderness, the Brumbies are constant finalists again. Though our attacking prowess has fallen severely since its peak in 2015, this run of Brumbies success has been based on our ability to dominate in defence and dictate where the game is played; think of that Brumbies-Waratahs game in Canberra in 2014, and how the Brumbies backline defensively dominated one of the best Super teams in a decade. The much derided "Jakeball" is not a bad thing; however, there is a problem when teams don't find their way to attack in that system. Unfortunately, that problem has happened since the loss of on-field tacticians like Mowen, White, and Lealiifano. But Larkham has managed the transition away from those players quite well, with Carter clearly showing promise as a captain, and the developing Powell-Hawera partnership coming along nicely in terms of game management. Larkham also deserves credit for giving his successor a relatively stable team; the only shame is that Fardy and Smiler are heading overseas, leaving some large gaps in the backrow for McKellar to fill.
Thinking it over, I'd like to give these awards to the team:
Best Game: Jaguares away. At a time when we had struggled to score tries with the exception of the Kings game on the previous weekend, we turned it on. A real statement game that was probably the moment we truly won the conference.
Honourable mention to Reds at home.
Worst Game: Rebels away. Utterly inept, with poor discipline, finishing, kicking, and defending totally letting us down against one of the worst sides in Super Rugby history, being the only team to lose to them this year.
Dishonourable mention to Reds away.
Best Player and Best Forward: Chris Alcock. You'd expect any team to miss a player of Pocock's calibre, but that was never the case when we had Alcock on the field. Though unable to poach the ball as well as Pocock (Alcock made 19 pilfers this season, Pocock made 26 in 2016 and 27 in 2015), he is perhaps more capable at disrupting the breakdown and slowing down opposition ball. He is also an incredibly capable tackler, making more this season (178) than any Australian since Hooper (189) in 2015. And his running game is vastly superior to Pocock's, with Alcock often making an extra five metres after first contact with a defending player. Pocock would not have scored that try against the Highlanders, or broken the line to make space for Hawera against the Rebels, or made the interception immediately before Toua's try against the Kings, or put the little kick behind for Banks to score against the Jaguares. But it's a disservice to Alcock to only talk about him in comparison to another player. Every game he played for us this season was good. To summarise, Alcock gave us the all-round backrow performance of our dreams this season, and I hope he extends his contract with the Brumbies.
Honourable mentions to Scott Fardy, Allan Ala'alatoa, and Jordan Smiler.
Best Back: Henry Speight. Speight barely pips Kuridrani, and I'll talk about both of them. After losing Lealiifano, Cubelli, To'omua, and Tomane, the backline needed Kuridrani and Speight to stand up as the calm heads, and they did. In the first half of the season, it seemed we were playmaking by committee, with Godwin and Toua touching the ball as often as Hawera. In this period, Speight and Kuridrani were the players to stop the overthinking and make something happen. Defensively, they were everywhere, constantly covering for their inside men. But as the season went on and the Powell-Hawera pairing started to work, Speight and Kuridrani visibly took over as the organisers who gave them something to work with, and often times simply became a safe pair of hands in some build up play. In a season where we really relied on superior play from the forwards, Speight and Kuridrani ensured the backs were not a liability.
Honourable mentions to Tom Banks and Joe Powell.
Most Improved: Joe Powell. Watching Powell develop over the season has been a delight. He started the season quite raw, and with some clear deficiencies in his game (notably kicking, and handling at the base of the breakdown), but the promise was there and it was exciting to watch him play each week. I don't think it's any coincidence that we saw some big improvements from him after Larkham started being more liberal about bringing on De Wet Roos, with competition really bringing out the best in him. He really hit his straps against the Hurricanes away and, despite some errors, was in great form against the Blues, Lions, Kings, Jaguares, and Rebels. Though it is a real shame to not have seen more of Cubelli this season, it would take a heartless fan to not enjoy the season (and story) of Powell.
Honourable mention to Allan Ala'alatoa.
Try of the Season: Powell at the Hurricanes. For seven glorious minutes against the Hurricanes, we had them on the ropes and were virtually unstoppable. One of the two defences this season to outperform us and they simply couldn't stop us from keeping the ball alive and going from our own 5m line to scoring in one phase. Powell the deserved finisher for keeping himself involved in the play the entire way, but glorious to see Rory Arnold run like a frightened giraffe for the first 20m.
Honourable mentions to Dargaville (vHurricanes), Butler (vReds), Alcock (vHighlanders), Speight (@Waratahs), and Toua (vReds).
Team of the Season:
First up, gotta say how proud of the team I am. A good many season predictions said that we'd be finishing 3rd in the conference at best, with a lot saying 4th; Brett McKay, Aaron Goile, Robert van Royen, Tristan Renaud. But with three rounds to go, we'd won the conference. It may have been a terrible conference, but we were undisputed winners.
A massive highlight (and also a sign of what needs improving) was the bonus points. There were only two games this season where we didn't take any points away (Hurricanes and Chiefs away). However, that also means that there were many games we probably would have won if we had taken our chances: Sharks at home, Rebels away, Blues at home, Lions at home, Highlanders at home, Reds away. Don't screw up in those games, and we finish with an 80% win ratio and have over 50 competition points. I don't know if this was down to a lack of mental strength on the field, poor coaching, or incorrect tactics. Probably some mix of the three.
Despite our showing against the Crusaders in round one being one of our best performances of the season, I think it's clear the players grew throughout the season. Watch that game again and look at how fantastic Mayhew, Ala'alatoa, Carter, Fardy, Alcock, and Smiler were, and then look at how they grew throughout the season. Look at the glaring weaknesses in how Powell and Hawera played versus how they performed against the Hurricanes in that first half on Friday. Like most of the people I talked to going into this season, I was prepared to be happy with a season of rebuilding and developing some young talent. We did that brilliantly this year. But we did more than that. Nobody in their right mind would have pegged us as favourites against the Hurricanes. But, like a little microcosm of our season, really were the better team against the defending champions for forty minutes, before they identified our weaknesses and killed us with them.
There really were some bad times this season, though. We set the record for the longest time without scoring a try in Brumbies history. We threw several leads with poor defence in the closing ten minutes. We had one of the worst offences in the competition, only better than the Rebels and the Force. For a team with the Wallabies attack coach, we were inept.
With the coaching, Larkham is leaving and I think it's fair to consider his tenure a success. After eight years in the wilderness, the Brumbies are constant finalists again. Though our attacking prowess has fallen severely since its peak in 2015, this run of Brumbies success has been based on our ability to dominate in defence and dictate where the game is played; think of that Brumbies-Waratahs game in Canberra in 2014, and how the Brumbies backline defensively dominated one of the best Super teams in a decade. The much derided "Jakeball" is not a bad thing; however, there is a problem when teams don't find their way to attack in that system. Unfortunately, that problem has happened since the loss of on-field tacticians like Mowen, White, and Lealiifano. But Larkham has managed the transition away from those players quite well, with Carter clearly showing promise as a captain, and the developing Powell-Hawera partnership coming along nicely in terms of game management. Larkham also deserves credit for giving his successor a relatively stable team; the only shame is that Fardy and Smiler are heading overseas, leaving some large gaps in the backrow for McKellar to fill.
Thinking it over, I'd like to give these awards to the team:
Best Game: Jaguares away. At a time when we had struggled to score tries with the exception of the Kings game on the previous weekend, we turned it on. A real statement game that was probably the moment we truly won the conference.
Honourable mention to Reds at home.
Worst Game: Rebels away. Utterly inept, with poor discipline, finishing, kicking, and defending totally letting us down against one of the worst sides in Super Rugby history, being the only team to lose to them this year.
Dishonourable mention to Reds away.
Best Player and Best Forward: Chris Alcock. You'd expect any team to miss a player of Pocock's calibre, but that was never the case when we had Alcock on the field. Though unable to poach the ball as well as Pocock (Alcock made 19 pilfers this season, Pocock made 26 in 2016 and 27 in 2015), he is perhaps more capable at disrupting the breakdown and slowing down opposition ball. He is also an incredibly capable tackler, making more this season (178) than any Australian since Hooper (189) in 2015. And his running game is vastly superior to Pocock's, with Alcock often making an extra five metres after first contact with a defending player. Pocock would not have scored that try against the Highlanders, or broken the line to make space for Hawera against the Rebels, or made the interception immediately before Toua's try against the Kings, or put the little kick behind for Banks to score against the Jaguares. But it's a disservice to Alcock to only talk about him in comparison to another player. Every game he played for us this season was good. To summarise, Alcock gave us the all-round backrow performance of our dreams this season, and I hope he extends his contract with the Brumbies.
Honourable mentions to Scott Fardy, Allan Ala'alatoa, and Jordan Smiler.
Best Back: Henry Speight. Speight barely pips Kuridrani, and I'll talk about both of them. After losing Lealiifano, Cubelli, To'omua, and Tomane, the backline needed Kuridrani and Speight to stand up as the calm heads, and they did. In the first half of the season, it seemed we were playmaking by committee, with Godwin and Toua touching the ball as often as Hawera. In this period, Speight and Kuridrani were the players to stop the overthinking and make something happen. Defensively, they were everywhere, constantly covering for their inside men. But as the season went on and the Powell-Hawera pairing started to work, Speight and Kuridrani visibly took over as the organisers who gave them something to work with, and often times simply became a safe pair of hands in some build up play. In a season where we really relied on superior play from the forwards, Speight and Kuridrani ensured the backs were not a liability.
Honourable mentions to Tom Banks and Joe Powell.
Most Improved: Joe Powell. Watching Powell develop over the season has been a delight. He started the season quite raw, and with some clear deficiencies in his game (notably kicking, and handling at the base of the breakdown), but the promise was there and it was exciting to watch him play each week. I don't think it's any coincidence that we saw some big improvements from him after Larkham started being more liberal about bringing on De Wet Roos, with competition really bringing out the best in him. He really hit his straps against the Hurricanes away and, despite some errors, was in great form against the Blues, Lions, Kings, Jaguares, and Rebels. Though it is a real shame to not have seen more of Cubelli this season, it would take a heartless fan to not enjoy the season (and story) of Powell.
Honourable mention to Allan Ala'alatoa.
Try of the Season: Powell at the Hurricanes. For seven glorious minutes against the Hurricanes, we had them on the ropes and were virtually unstoppable. One of the two defences this season to outperform us and they simply couldn't stop us from keeping the ball alive and going from our own 5m line to scoring in one phase. Powell the deserved finisher for keeping himself involved in the play the entire way, but glorious to see Rory Arnold run like a frightened giraffe for the first 20m.
Honourable mentions to Dargaville (vHurricanes), Butler (vReds), Alcock (vHighlanders), Speight (@Waratahs), and Toua (vReds).
Team of the Season:
- Nic Mayhew
- Josh Mann-Rea
- Allan Ala'alatoa
- Rory Arnold
- Sam Carter
- Scott Fardy
- Chris Alcock
- Jordan Smiler
- Joe Powell
- Wharenui Hawera
- James Dargaville
- Andrew Smith
- Tevita Kuridrani
- Henry Speight
- Tom Banks
Brumby Jack
Steve Williams (59)
Additional HM for tries: Banks vs Jaguares off the Alcock kick
Brumby Jack
Steve Williams (59)
I'll get around to a season review for the blog sometime soon before it's all forgotten
Brumby Runner
Jason Little (69)
Great write up RC. Agree with Smith in the TOTS at 12. Only had a couple of starts but really made an impact when he did start, especially in the Quarter Final.
RoffsChoice
Jim Lenehan (48)
Smith really showed the value of experience in that backline; I was gutted when we lost him a couple of years ago and love that we brought him back. If the backroom staff think he'll last, I'd be thrilled to extend him through to 2019.
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