Club Players with potential

[Jets]

A few Sunnybank boys might be worth a look. Rex Tapuai, Rota Setu and the 5/8, Seniuli I think? Also like the look of Con Foley from Uni.

Rota wont be looked at as he has been capped by Samoa. If he hadn't then I think he would have been picked up by someone.

Nathan Byrne is another who I think would have been a chance. A good prop who has learnt the dark arts at club level. Pity injury has brought an end to his career.

 

[en_force_er]

You dont want to be sending 18 years olds to a foreign country where they dont speak the language. All right for a holiday or a gap year but I cant see that working in the long haul. It would make doing a degree especially hard as well.

18 years olds shouldn't be playing professional rugger anyway. I'm speaking more of 21-24 year olds that could use a year in a professional set-up that isn't quite Super rugby but that their Super Rugby side still have some control over.

 

[GreenFrogg]

.....

....Incidentally GreenFrogg - how well did Marlon play?

In new colors

 

[leakytap]

How many Australian player's are currently plying their trade internationally?

Probably too many to list here, but I can name a few from Sunnybank that I know of:-
Dan Leo, Nic Berry, Ole Avei, Liam Bibo, Henari Veratau, Josh Afu, Leroy Houstaon and Dayna Edwards
And I am only talking about premier grade or higher here, due to the nature of the thread.
Apologies if I have missed anyone.

 

[tranquility]

There was a thread going a while ago, that had roughly 100 or more players who were all plying their skills overseas.

 

[tigerland12]

Wouldn't classify Leo and Avei as Australians as they played for Samoa at the WC, but I get ya point.

 

[Karl]

Karl, I think our code offers inadequate pathways for "good/great club players".

The principal official pathway to the professional level is via the National Talent Squad (NTS). Under this scheme "80+ players aged 15 - 18" from all around Australia are involved in intensive skill and strength & conditioning development programs. As they move out of this age range they are fed "into the Provincial Academies or Super 14 Squads, on the one hand, or into the HPU Contracted Players Squad on the other." (This information from the Reds Rugby website is slightly out of date but I could find nothing currently on the ARU website about the NTS)

So in each age cohort we have only about 20 players across Australia being fast tracked for development. It could be expected that early developers would be disproportionately represented among this group. And they flow seamlessly into the schoolboy rep teams. In 2005 "twenty-three of the 28 Australian Schoolboys squad to tour the UK and Ireland were involved in the NTS program."

What other "possible pathways" are provided for the very large number of non-NTS players with real rugby potential? As far as the ARU and the state unions are concerned virtually none.

In my opinion the only way to provide for these players is for clubs to implement their own development programs. I note from your profile, Karl, that you are a committee member of a very strong Brisbane club and that you have two boys playing junior football there. I suggest it is worth considering persuading your club to make internal development a major and ongoing priority.

Cheap shot exponents, please form an orderly queue.

Thanks for the info. My boys are very young, its just something I am trying to get my head around. It seems that "late bloomers" have a very hard road. The perceptions of the people who select the squads and teams is fixed early.

We need something like you see on those horrible American movies where all comers show up for a sort of selection Bootcamp over days with the various coaches and selectors from various teams and levels there working a process of elimination applying lots of hard data on key performance criteria and close observation in opposed play.

 

[leakytap]

Wouldn't classify Leo and Avei as Australians as they played for Samoa at the WC, but I get ya point.

Both played for the Reds before being capped for Samoa. At that stage they could only do so if they were available to play for Australia, hence they must have had Australian citizenship.

 

[jauzy19]

Centre Sione Piukala from Eastwood very close to sign for Perpignan. Is he any good ?

 

[qwerty51]

I rate him, he had a fantastic season for Eastwood (who didn't?), strong runner and puts in some big hits.

 

[p.Tah]

I think that bloke with the long hair and the beard playing for Balmain yesterday against Petersham would do OK if given a chance at a higher level.

 

[tranquility]

ha ha..


What was the name of the bloke who played for Norths in Brisbane, and used to be in the extended squad for the Reds. I think he was a center? Whatever happened to him?

Edit: His name is Michael Bond, and I can see that he played for Biarritz are some stage. Does anyone know what happened to him?

 

[GreenFrogg]

Gower is a tough nut 2nd rower that I suggested that some soft Super sides should pick up rather than young giraffes.

He's 25 195cms and 112 kgs and plays big. At one point late in the 2011 Sydney club season he had played every minute of every game and for all I know he played in every minute of the season. He's durable when he is not falling off a bike and easily good enough for Pro D2.

Incidentally GreenFrogg - how well did Marlon play?

Hi

Ed Gower still plays for the team since few matchs and is very good
It's a really good season for Marlon who is the 5th try scorer of the championship and the second of the Club
Whe have an other australian player in the team but i think you don't know him, Paul Dearlove. He is our player since 2004, he was sériously injured at an eye in juanary. He's now out of probleme but perhaps he'll can't play again. In any event, we absoluty want he stay with us, he's a really great person. My prefered player in our team (i only like my team, so he's my prefered player in the world)


Now we got an other player from Australian, Afusipa Taumoepeau. I think he played for the Rebels last year. Could you give more informations about this player, please.
Thanks a lot

 

[Bruce Ross]

Whe have an other australian player in the team but i think you don't know him, Paul Dearlove. He is our player since 2004, he was sériously injured at an eye in juanary. He's now out of probleme but perhaps he'll can't play again. In any event, we absoluty want he stay with us, he's a really great person. My prefered player in our team (i only like my team, so he's my prefered player in the world)

Greetings, GreenFrog. Paul played Colts and Grade at Sydney Uni and was a very young First Grade captain in the Tim Davidson mould. In 2003 he joined Glasgow Warriors where he stayed for three seasons. During that time he was in the Scottish national squad but I don't think he was capped. He then moved to Pau.

Paul has a Commerce degree from Sydney Uni, a Diploma in Financial Services from Kaplan, and an MBA from Curtin University of Technology. In the past couple of years he has been a consultant with Société Générale involved in project management in the Pau area; is the Exclusive French National Distributor for Gen3 Kinematics which distributes my company MyoQuip's machines throughout Europe; and is the French National Distributor for Rhino Rugby. Given the way his non-rugby career is developing he would very probably choose to continue living in France. A real rugby success story.
.

 

[GreenFrogg]

Thanks Bruce. If someone reads the french...
http://www.larepubliquedespyrenees.fr/2012/03/29/dearlove-le-sens-du-sacrifice,230760.php

 

[kronic]

Any TH props going around that the Rebels can pickup quicksmart?

 

[MrMouse]

Well I mostly play LH, but sure why not? Let me just grab my boots...

 

[Forcefield]

Any TH props going around that the Rebels can pickup quicksmart?

ARU pushing pretty hard for Ollie Hoskins from the Force Academy. I'd be great to see him get on the field, unless of course that means signing with the Rebels for the next few years.

 

[GreenFrogg]

Marlon Solofuti last saturday, he's now the 3th try scorer of the French ProD2

The resume : http://www.sectionpaloise.tv/

 

[up&under]

Good young players McDuling being the same year as Lachlan McCaffrey at school as well as another Al McFarland who for some reason has moved to Randwick(Now playing 4th grade) from Norths(played 2nd grade).

All schoolboy reps...

Al McFarland now playing for New York Athletic Club