CAS Rugby 2014

[rtd32]

Waverley have always been down played as a poor team at the beginning of every season and time and time again have proven themselves to be a strong team, last year Waverley was tipped to come no higher than 3rd and ended up being the best team in the competition (in my opinion), I'm just saying do not count the boys in the double V out for CAS gold.

Also, nobody makes early season bets on who's going to take out the CAS championship and genuinely believe 100% that they're right. If you went off 'favourites to win' from this forum in the pre season over the last 5 years I can guarantee that not many have come out with the goods. Last year Waverley were predicted 3rd and they came 2nd... That's a pretty accurate prediction then compared to my track record

 

[TheHitman]

Also, nobody makes early season bets on who's going to take out the CAS championship and genuinely believe 100% that they're right. If you went off 'favourites to win' from this forum in the pre season over the last 5 years I can guarantee that not many have come out with the goods. Last year Waverley were predicted 3rd and they came 2nd. That's a pretty accurate prediction then compared to my track record

But then again you do have a 1/6 chance of predicting the right position, and a 50% chance of predicting within 1 place of the actual position.

 

[Carl Mathews]

Just thought id bring to light an emerging star in Knox Grammar School; weighing in at 125kgs, playing no.8 for the 1st VX is Dimitrios Franze. His all round athletic ability (NSW athletics and National squash team) gives him a competitive edge over players such as Jake Pierce (no.7) and Brett Van Zyl (no. 8). He presents a strong threat to competing schools in the CAS comp, and thus I thought it necessary to shed light on the emerging rugby star.

 

[Footy101]

Although there is a lot of talk about the lack of depth of some schools in the CAS, the seconds comp is heating up to be a tight comp. As I was at the Knox vs St Pats game, i found that the 2nd XV had a surprisingly good amount of depth and had some dominate runners. if i can recall as watching the firsts game for the last 15 minutes the whole of the seconds team were playing bar one or two. Number 9 in the 2nds game had an amazing pass, and controlled the game very well.

 

[Carl Mathews]

Although there is a lot of talk about the lack of depth of some schools in the CAS, the seconds comp is heating up to be a tight comp. As I was at the Knox vs St Pats game, i found that the 2nd XV had a surprisingly good amount of depth and had some dominate runners. if i can recall as watching the firsts game for the last 15 minutes the whole of the seconds team were playing bar one or two. Number 9 in the 2nds game had an amazing pass, and controlled the game very well.

Brt...........

 

[J. Philips]

Just thought id bring to light an emerging star in Knox Grammar School; weighing in at 125kgs, playing no.8 for the 1st VX is Dimitrios Franze. His all round athletic ability (NSW athletics and National squash team) gives him a competitive edge over players such as Jake Pierce (no.7) and Brett Van Zyl (no. 8). He presents a strong threat to competing schools in the CAS comp, and thus I thought it necessary to shed light on the emerging rugby star.

Your comments about Dimitrios Franze seem very exaggerated, sure he provides as a reasonable replacement and is, as you say "emerging" in the CAS rugby comp, yet he is no where near the calibre and skill level of Knox's no.7 and no.8, also I believe his NSW shot put commitments will also take a toll on his performance this season? furthermore where did you get your information of 125kg?? After seeing him play I would agree he is a large and athletic specimen but 125kg is an utter joke.

 

[Carl Mathews]

Your comments about Dimitrios Franze seem very exaggerated, sure he provides as a reasonable replacement and is, as you say "emerging" in the CAS rugby comp, yet he is no where near the calibre and skill level of Knox's no.7 and no.8, also I believe his NSW shot put commitments will also take a toll on his performance this season? furthermore where did you get your information of 125kg?? After seeing him play I would agree he is a large and athletic specimen but 125kg is an utter joke.

Put a sock in it pretty boy, Dimitrios Franze is by far the most deadly weapon in the CAS competition......

 

[rtd32]

But then again you do have a 1/6 chance of predicting the right position, and a 50% chance of predicting within 1 place of the actual position.

If you really wanted to get technical it's only a 40% chance of guessing within 1 place of the actual position if they come 2nd-5th and 20% if the side comes 1st or 6th. Or 33.333333% overall. You would have been correct to say that there is a 50% chance to predict the correct position or within one place of it. Regardless, I feel these odds (of simply guessing with no knowledge of preseason form or player credentials etc) are actually better than that of a man making an 'educated guess' by going off the information of this forum. That isn't to say any of it is inaccurate or misleading, rather that preseason form, new coaching staff, and big player names are rarely a reference point that gives an accurate prediction of the season ahead.

I have observed over the years that usually depth triumphs. Obviously there are exceptions to this, but generally speaking the 1st XV that wins had a competitive 2nd XV and 3rd XV also. Thats the indicator I choose to use and that is why I'm going with Knox to win at these early stages - but as i've already acknowledged, it's merely a guess

 

[Blackdog]

Knox students on the site tonight obviously - Dim Franze had a good game in the 2nds on Saturday but he is going to have to find a fair bit to start in the 1st's this week - and at least three of the Knox 2's pack are bigger than him so he is not quite that big.

 

[Lee Grant]

Just quoting myself from a few weeks ago.

Guys the CAS comp starts in a few weeks time.

Please let me know in this thread if you are going to a game and are interested in doing a match report when the time comes.

It doesn't have to be War and Peace, we can get a normal sized one and add a couple of small ones to it to make one blog; so you can do a small one.

Just the vibe of the game and who played well in your opinion especially from the 'other' team. Try to get the score right but there will probably be enough info in this thread to get it right.

Let me know in this thread and I can start a "Conversation" with you later.

If you feel a bit intimidated by doing this just give a post like you are doing a match report and I will lift parts of it, or maybe the whole lot, with your permission.

Thanks guys, I think the CAS is a great comp and it deserves to be covered by Green and Gold.

Cheers

LG


PS please let me know if you can send in some photos to me, or a friend can, and I will send you the details of what is needed.

 

[Gary Owen III]

predictions for this week ??

Any team lists for the weekend yet?

 

[CASfan]

Trinity 1st XV

1. Harry McLennan
2. Anthony Ngyuen
3. Edward Cook
4. Liam Rasch
5. Pernell Filipo
6. George Corias
7. William Davies
8. James Wayland
9. Angus Humphreys
10. Robert Siteine
11. William Blake
12. Nathaniel Saofia
13. Justin Fish
14. Ryan Longeville
15. Rihann Barkley-Brown

 

[Snort]

Trinity 1st XV

1. Harry McLennan
2. Anthony Ngyuen
3. Edward Cook
4. Liam Rasch
5. Pernell Filipo
6. George Corias
7. William Davies
8. James Wayland
9. Angus Humphreys
10. Robert Siteine
11. William Blake
12. Nathaniel Saofia
13. Justin Fish
14. Ryan Longeville
15. Rihann Barkley-Brown

Last year Pernell Filipo was playing in the Hunter Valley and Liam Rasch in Illawarra. It will be interesting to see how they go. The backline is a little makeshift - Blake played most of last year at outside-centre, and Fish at 10, but I guess Trinity thinks this is the best use of its resources.

 

[Lee Grant]

Snort has written an insightful preview of the 2014 CAS season here:

http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/preview-cas-schools-2014/

If you have any comments on the blog please write them there and not here—and the same goes for any CAS or other schools blog at any time.

This will help to confirm that schools rugby is worthwhile to showcase in Green and Gold.

Thanks a lot.
.

 

[SonnyDillWilliams]

I think Cranbrook is a bit overhyped, as a contender in 2014. While I admit they seemed to have had a surprisingly good 2nd XV in 2013, and they have a couple of strong players (particularly Sam Renton) ... it is likely to be sadly the same-old same-old ... with injuries/depth the issue.

Tom Mahony, the captain, is by all accounts a great kid ... but his knee is chronically bad ... I remember someone telling me about it ... and he seldom sees out the full 80 minutes.

Plus if you look at how, say the 2nds and 3rds fared against Shore ... ie badly ... it is clear Cranbrook is paper thin ... I know Waverley are keen to make amends ... although whether they are successful, might hinge more on whether they come through the Knox game, in tact

either way I will have a peak at Brook on saturday, and report my independent view, post match

 

[CASfan]

Does potential wet weather for Saturday appear to favour any side in particular?

 

[casisbest]

Barker again have good depth, but their 1st XV will be heavily reliant on their three returning players (Burkett, Kirkby and Smerdon) from last year. Smerdon at 10 will be Barker's key player as they don't have the same firepower in the centres or back three that they have had in recent years. The top Knox teams look strong this year and I expect that they will win 1st to 3rd XV this weekend, with Barker's depth then kicking in and them winning 4th to 6th XV.

 

[rtd32]

Barker again have good depth, but their 1st XV will be heavily reliant on their three returning players (Burkett, Kirkby and Smerdon) from last year. Smerdon at 10 will be Barker's key player as they don't have the same firepower in the centres or back three that they have had in recent years. The top Knox teams look strong this year and I expect that they will win 1st to 3rd XV this weekend, with Barker's depth then kicking in and them winning 4th to 6th XV.

I agree to an extent here. While last year was an exception (to an extent), rugby matches/tournaments aren't won in the back 3. The forward pack is crucial to a winning side, and if I were to prioritise id say that 9, 10, 12, and 13 are most important in the backline as they set up the platform for the fancy work of the outside men. That isn't intended to take anything out of the back 3, I'm just saying a winning team relies on cohesion, structure that provides a good attacking/defensive platform and good support play and the people that are most involved in this are the men with 1-8 on their back. There's 3 things that you can be sure of about barker (especially over recent years).
1. They will have good set plays ie scrum and line out should be in good nick.
2. They will have good ball retention
3. They will have a solid defense

These are simple aspects of the game but, in combination, is a very difficult formula to beat (although it definitely can and has been beaten). In the last 2 years barker have lost twice in the CAS comp. Both times it was for the same reason - they were outplayed in the forwards. They were starved of possession and when they did get the ball they got impatient as they were kept out by solid defence - this impatience leading to mistakes:
Interestingly, in both these games that barker lost there was an intercept try scored against them.

This year Knox have some star forwards, and I think they'll be well drilled by their new star coach. That said, the barker pack isn't exactly down on star players or star coaches in the accredited mr Maloney. They have returning players from last year but my main concern comes from a rather inexperienced front row. It should be a good contest this saturday, but you'd have to back Knox

 

[Snort]

If I had to choose Saturday's winners, I'd pick Knox over Barker, Cranbrook over St Aloysius and Waverley over Trinity.

 

[Elfster]

If I had to choose Saturday's winners, I'd pick Knox over Barker, Cranbrook over St Aloysius and Waverley over Trinity.

They say tomorrow is likely to be cold and wet. That probably favours sides with the better forward packs and goal kickers. If the conditions are wet and greasy the scoring will kept down resulting in close games with a possible slight advantage to the home side.
That said the away sides are potentially the better bet. If I had to put the house on I would put it on Cranbrook. For a good odds outsider Trinity. With Knox and Barker the money would be around $1.80 to Knox and $2.40 to Barker.