CAS Rugby 2023

[megarugbyman]

Takeaways from the Cranbrook Game:

Standouts were Noah Jackson (8), Cam McKenzie (6), Jack Rose (5) and the 2, not too sure what his name is. Jackson is an excellent player, I think he has CAS 1 locked in, same as McKenzie.

There were too many errors and loose passes, but the forward back look dominant and so does the defence. I think there may need to be a few changes in the backline as it doesnt look fluid. The centre combo is great. I think maybe a change at full back is needed, as the kid playing 15 made a few too many mistakes and miss tackles leading to tries, but he does have an excellent kicking game. I thought the 14 was good, but 11 shoudlnt be a winger, I think he should be put to 10 or 15 as he looks to be an excellent playmaker. Does anyone know why they stuck him on the wing?

The kid who came on in the last few minutes at wing is a big boy, surprised he’s not in the 1s, as the backline could use the size. The kid at 7 is undersized but his work rate makes up for that; he’s got good ball handling, is a work horse and make every tackle. Apparently, Rose (5) is filling in for injury; unless the kid who’s injured is an amazing player, I don’t see how he can be dropped. Excellent tackler and excellent over the ball.

That pretty much sums everything up. Good side, with enough size in the forward pack. The backs are shaky though. See them coming 3rd or 4th (most likely 3rd over Waverly) but if the backs sort it out, they could push Barker for 2nd

Names are:

(2)Jed Smith, (11) Dylan Melvey, (15) Oliver Crowther, (14) Oscar Wilson, (7) Daniel O'Reagan, The player who came on in the last minutes is Dylan Roach (20, I believe), who previously played for the ones in the 2022 and 2021 season but just recently got dropped from the 1st team.

 

[WLF3]

Takeaways from the Cranbrook Game:

Standouts were Noah Jackson (8), Cam McKenzie (6), Jack Rose (5) and the 2, not too sure what his name is. Jackson is an excellent player, I think he has CAS 1 locked in, same as McKenzie.

There were too many errors and loose passes, but the forward back look dominant and so does the defence. I think there may need to be a few changes in the backline as it doesnt look fluid. The centre combo is great. I think maybe a change at full back is needed, as the kid playing 15 made a few too many mistakes and miss tackles leading to tries, but he does have an excellent kicking game. I thought the 14 was good, but 11 shoudlnt be a winger, I think he should be put to 10 or 15 as he looks to be an excellent playmaker. Does anyone know why they stuck him on the wing?

The kid who came on in the last few minutes at wing is a big boy, surprised he’s not in the 1s, as the backline could use the size. The kid at 7 is undersized but his work rate makes up for that; he’s got good ball handling, is a work horse and make every tackle. Apparently, Rose (5) is filling in for injury; unless the kid who’s injured is an amazing player, I don’t see how he can be dropped. Excellent tackler and excellent over the ball.

That pretty much sums everything up. Good side, with enough size in the forward pack. The backs are shaky though. See them coming 3rd or 4th (most likely 3rd over Waverly) but if the backs sort it out, they could push Barker for 2nd

RR, Certainly looks like Cranbrook will push hard to win this years CAS.

Their strong performances so far, and quality players named by megarugbyman makes it clear that Brook should be in with a real chance of lots of CAS reps, and therefore a massive chance to win this year CAS comp.

With only 2 weekends left of Trials, Cranbrook will take on the Waves at Death Valley in Round 1, and after that win, Cranbrook will be well placed to take on all comers for the end of season CAS comp.

Whilst it hurts to say so, could well be true!

P.S. As an astute analyst Snort I know you understand this balanced viewpoint!

 

[bring back rucking]

26-13 Knox over St Augustine’s at a very wet and muddy Rat Park. Knox always looked in control but it was an average game of rugby influenced heavily by conditions. Augustine’s played hard rugby and competed well for the full game. Knox couldn’t really get going with poor handling stifling momentum

 

[FoleyBealeFolau]

FT. Cranbrook wins 47-12 against Kinross.

My MOTM definitely went to MacKenzie (6) who scored 5 tries for his team. Key take from this game is that Cranbrook need themselves a goalkicker! Allen (10), Crowther (15), and MacKenzie (6) were the teams alternating goal kickers for the game, and together, they missed 8 total conversions which is a bit embarrassing if you want to compete for the CAS title. Though, this was a much better Cranbrook side compared to the one that ran out against St Pats, I think the team is starting to gel together. The CAS 2023 competition should be a very entertaining season with the likes of Barker, Knox, Waverly and Cranbrook (no disrespect to Trinity or St Aloysius).

I believe Cranbrook’s goal kicker Stefan Ferster was out with a red card from last week but usually is very consistent

 

[FoleyBealeFolau]

I believe Cranbrook’s goal kicker Stefan Ferster was out with a red card from last week but usually is very consistent

Cameron McKenzie almost tying cranbrook’s highest try scorer record of 6 tries in a game. Sadly only scoring 5

 

[FoleyBealeFolau]

I believe the record is held by Will Suriano in 2021

 

[Snort]

Cranbrook clearly has a decent side this year. But if anyone wants to back them to win the Shield this year, I will cheerfully separate you from your money. I do agree that if Waverley remains depleted then Cranbrook can push hard for third.
The trouble with making predictions this year is that we don’t know what sort of side Waverley will be able to field.

 

[Halfbackenthusiast]

Cranbrook clearly has a decent side this year. But if anyone wants to back them to win the Shield this year, I will cheerfully separate you from your money. I do agree that if Waverley remains depleted then Cranbrook can push hard for third.
The trouble with making predictions this year is that we don’t know what sort of side Waverley will be able to field.

It’s hard to judge cranbrook since they didn’t play a gps school in any trial games.

 

[RedOrDead]

Cranbrook clearly has a decent side this year. But if anyone wants to back them to win the Shield this year, I will cheerfully separate you from your money. I do agree that if Waverley remains depleted then Cranbrook can push hard for third.
The trouble with making predictions this year is that we don’t know what sort of side Waverley will be able to field.

Absolutely agree. I tend to believe they will work it out, especially given some of these injuries are temporary. However, this is not a definite. For example, in 2019 we saw a very talented Waverley team not be able to work it out (injuries were a part of this, as well as severe attitude problems among many of there boys so I have been told). I don't remember how they went against Knox and Trinity, but I remember them losing to Barker, Cranbrook and even Aloys. Don't be surprised if Waverley slip to 4th this year. I wouldn't imagine them slipping any further though.

 

[Phil Miller]

This may be controversial but i see aloys coming top 3 for CAS this year, they have shown over the past 2 weeks that when they get things right they look amazing and they are hard to stop. Thoughts?

Mils Out

 

[Snort]

Thing is, we now have some comparable results that help us assess where the schools stand. Cranbrook lost to St Augustine's; Knox beat St Augustine's relatively comfortably: it's hard to see that this makes Cranbrook a better side than Knox. Cranbrook beat St Patrick's 17-5; Barker beat them 36-14. It's hard to see how this makes Cranbrook a better side than Barker. Knox and Barker have had very tough trials against GPS opponents, during which they had some significant wins: Cranbrook had a soft outing against Kinross.

Same goes for St Aloysius. A 26-25 win over St Pius is great, but Trinity beat St Pius 17-12 after leading 17-0 with a few minutes to go, so that result doesn't make St Aloysius an obviously better side than Trinity, let alone Waverley and Cranbrook.

It's nice to say, "my school can win" or "my school can come third" but back it up with some facts!

 

[Eyes and Ears]

I believe Barker are playing Nudgee this weekend. I think it is 1st XV only and that other games are against Pius inlcuding Barker 2nds v Pius 1st.

 

[Union on Top]

At this point of the season, here are my CAS predictions.

1. Knox (look to be a quality side. Beat a injury-ridden joeys team, but that is still no small feat)

2. Barker (comfortable beat Auggies with a few key players out)

3. Cranbrook (This is a tough call to make. I belive at full strength Waverly will be Brook in round 1, BUT it seems like boys will only just be coming back from injury and therefore not have many games under there belt against a brook side with no notable injuries)

4. Waverly (could easily see them finishing 3rd)

5. Trinity (should beat alloys, but can’t see them beating the rest)

6. Alloys (it’s hard for them to beat the other with no imports; you’ve got to feel for their head of rugby. It’s not a very appealing job)

 

[megarugbyman]

Thing is, we now have some comparable results that help us assess where the schools stand. Cranbrook lost to St Augustine's; Knox beat St Augustine's relatively comfortably: it's hard to see that this makes Cranbrook a better side than Knox. Cranbrook beat St Patrick's 17-5; Barker beat them 36-14. It's hard to see how this makes Cranbrook a better side than Barker. Knox and Barker have had very tough trials against GPS opponents, during which they had some significant wins: Cranbrook had a soft outing against Kinross.

Same goes for St Aloysius. A 26-25 win over St Pius is great, but Trinity beat St Pius 17-12 after leading 17-0 with a few minutes to go, so that result doesn't make St Aloysius an obviously better side than Trinity, let alone Waverley and Cranbrook.

It's nice to say, "my school can win" or "my school can come third" but back it up with some facts!

Agreed. Knox and Barker continuously challenge their 1st teams by putting them against quality GPS sides, whilst Cranbrook are struggling against ISA teams and are put against Kinross. There isn't really a chance to show quality when a side verses Kinross so oftenly.

 

[Iloverucks1]

Agreed. Knox and Barker continuously challenge their 1st teams by putting them against quality GPS sides, whilst Cranbrook are struggling against ISA teams and are put against Kinross. There isn't really a chance to show quality when a side verses Kinross so oftenly.

Oftenly. That must be a new word haven't seen that one before.

 

[Snort]

At this point of the season, here are my CAS predictions.

1. Knox (look to be a quality side. Beat a injury-ridden joeys team, but that is still no small feat)

2. Barker (comfortable beat Auggies with a few key players out)

3. Cranbrook (This is a tough call to make. I belive at full strength Waverly will be Brook in round 1, BUT it seems like boys will only just be coming back from injury and therefore not have many games under there belt against a brook side with no notable injuries)

4. Waverly (could easily see them finishing 3rd)

5. Trinity (should beat alloys, but can’t see them beating the rest)

6. Alloys (it’s hard for them to beat the other with no imports; you’ve got to feel for their head of rugby. It’s not a very appealing job)

RR it's difficult to argue with your logic. I'd say that it looks as though the Knox-Barker game will decide the competition.

But... there are three buts.

The first is that we just don't know what Waverley will be like. At this stage, what you say looks reasonable, but if they get close to full strength, who knows?

The second is, how do you know Cranbrook will have no injury issues in Round 1? There are still two week to go. Stuff happens.

And the third is that the five-round competition has a bit of a sudden-death aspect to it. So it's not impossible that a highly-ranked team loses to a low-ranked team, causing (very entertaining) chaos and perhaps a shared title. There were an awful lot of shared titles in the five-round competition in the past.

 

[Snort]

You might want to brush up on your grammar skills then champ. Stay in school kids.

The one that upsets me is the use of "verse" as a verb. People: you cannot "verse" someone (except, I guess, by reading poetry to them). "Versus" is a Latin word. It means "and". In the context of "Waverley versus Barker" it implies "against". You cannot "against" someone. You do not say "Who are we againsting this week?" You should not say "who are we versing?" or that Cranbrook "verses Kinross". You should not say it ever, let alone oftenly.

Stop it. Now.

 

[Iloverucks1]

The one that upsets me is the use of "verse" as a verb. People: you cannot "verse" someone (except, I guess, by reading poetry to them). "Versus" is a Latin word. It means "and". In the context of "Waverley versus Barker" it implies "against". You cannot "against" someone. You do not say "Who are we againsting this week?" You should not say "who are we versing?" or that Cranbrook "verses Kinross". You should not say it ever, let alone oftenly.

Stop it. Now.

Touché Snort, touché

 

[Iloverucks1]

Any update on Cranbrook captain (3) after injury against Kinross?

 

[CAS Fanatic]

Thing is, we now have some comparable results that help us assess where the schools stand. Cranbrook lost to St Augustine's; Knox beat St Augustine's relatively comfortably: it's hard to see that this makes Cranbrook a better side than Knox. Cranbrook beat St Patrick's 17-5; Barker beat them 36-14. It's hard to see how this makes Cranbrook a better side than Barker. Knox and Barker have had very tough trials against GPS opponents, during which they had some significant wins: Cranbrook had a soft outing against Kinross.

Same goes for St Aloysius. A 26-25 win over St Pius is great, but Trinity beat St Pius 17-12 after leading 17-0 with a few minutes to go, so that result doesn't make St Aloysius an obviously better side than Trinity, let alone Waverley and Cranbrook.

It's nice to say, "my school can win" or "my school can come third" but back it up with some facts!

Hey Snort,

I think the issue is more within the depth, Cranbrooks top teams per age group could have trials against GPS schools and I’m sure compete for the vast majority of games, however when it comes to the lower grade teams GPS simply have more depth. The problem comes when the 13d’s get blown out by 40 which leads to parents complaining and all sorts of issues. It is a Genuine issue which is hard to play around because on one hand you have a 1st team who is looking for the best preparation for the season and on the other there’s a little kid who just wants to play his weekends worth of footy and go home. It’s hard to cater for both sides here when each trial round is usually only one school against another for all or most teams in the age group. This is why the upcoming term break Cranbrook look to play higher level teams just for the 1st and 2nds, with Shore last year and Oakhill this year.

Just some of my thoughts, I’d like to hear what you think.