GAGR Wallaby Player of the Year 2021

[RugbyReg]

Howdy folks, the votes are in and we have our GAGR Wallaby Player of the Year, as determined via 3-2-1s nominated after each test.

I'll break it up via stage of the season, to build up the suspense.

1st test v France:
3 - Harry Wilson
2 - Marika Koroibete
1 - Taniela Tupou

2nd test v France:
3 - Marika Koroibete
2 - Michael Hooper
1 - Taniela Tupou

3rd test v France:
3 - Michael Hooper
2 - Brandon Paenga-Amosa
1 - Darcy Swain

France Series Summary:

1st (tied) = Hooper & Koroibete - 5
3rd = Wilson - 3
4th (tied) = Tupou & Paenga-Amosa - 2
6th = Swain - 1

1st test v New Zealand:
3 - Andrew Kellaway
2 - Hunter Paisami
1 - Michael Hooper

2nd test v New Zealand:
3 - Tate McDermott
2 - Michael Hooper
1 - Andrew Kellaway

3rd test v New Zealand:
3 - Tate McDermott
2- Samu Kerevi
1 - Michael Hooper

1st test v South Africa:
3 - Quade Cooper
2 - Samu Kerevi
1 - Michael Hooper

2nd test v South Africa:
3 - Taniela Tupou
2 - Michael Hooper
1 - Samu Kerevi

1st test v Argentina:
3 - Samu Kerevi
2 - Andrew Kellaway
1 - Taniela Tupou

2nd test v Argentina:
3 - Andrew Kellaway
2 - Rob Valetini
1 - Quade Cooper

Rugby Champs-ish Summary:

1st = Kellaway - 9
2nd = Kerevi - 8
3rd = Hooper - 7
4th = McDermott - 6
5th (tied) = Tupou & Cooper - 4
7th (tied) = Paisami & Valetini - 2

1st test v Japan:
3 - Rob Valetini
2 - Izack Rodda
1 - Jordan Petaia

1st test v Scotland:
3 - Michael Hooper
2 - Izack Rodda
1 - Nic White

1st test v England:
3 - Hunter Paisami
2 - Rob Valetini
1 - Nic White

1st test v Wales:
3 - Hunter Paisami
2 - James Slipper
1 - Nick White

NH Tour Summary:

1st = Paisami- 6
2nd = Valetini - 5
3rd = Rodda - 4
4th (tied) = Hooper & White - 3
6th = Slipper- 2
7th = Petaia - 1

Final Standings:

1st = Hooper - 15
2nd = Kellaway - 9
3rd (tied) = Kerevi & Paisami - 8
5th = Valetini - 7
6th (tied) = Tupou & McDermott - 6
8th = Koroibete - 5
9th (tied) = Cooper & Rodda - 4
11th (tied) = Wilson & White - 3
13th (tied) = Slipper and Paenga-Amosa - 2
15th (tied) = Swain & Petaia - 1

Arguable Team of the Year:

15 no candidate
14 Kellaway
13 Paisami
12 Kerevi
11 Koroibete
10 Cooper
9 McDermott
8 Valetini
7 Hooper
6 Wilson
5 Rodda
4 Swain
3 Tupou
2 Paenga-Amosa
1 Slipper

Previous GAGR POTY winners:

2009 - George Smith
2010 - David Pocock
2011 - Will Genia
2012 - Michael Hooper
2013 - Scott Fardy
2014 - James Slipper
2015 - David Pocock
2016 - Will Genia
2017 - Sean McMahon / Adam Coleman (tied)
2018 - David Pocock
2019 - Marika Koroibete
2020 - Matt Philip
2021 - MICHAEL HOOPER

 

[TSR]

Great work Reg, thanks. A good read.

 

[Wilson]

No surprise to see Hooper race away with it there, he had a truly phenomenal year. I am a bit surprised that Ikitau didn't manage a point, but I guess his best tests tended to coincide with good performances across the park.

 

[Hardtackle]

Thanks for the summary.

 

[Tex]

Well done Reg. I reckon we've picked a pretty good team, although it definitely needs more BRUMBIES!

 

[Sword of Justice]

Kerevi and Paisami in the centres with a flyhalf who picks his moments would certainly be formidable.

 

[wamberal]

If only......

 

[Tomikin]

Well done Reg. I reckon we've picked a pretty good team, although it definitely needs more BRUMBIES!

Its a pretty sick team, and none I would really argue against, and probably like we all think, no fullback has done the job ...

 

[Hogie]

Great work! Agree with all of this.

 

[Derpus]

Im a little surprised its only Hoopers second gong.

Thanks Reg.

 

[barbarian]

I was going to say the same thing. But you can't suggest there's been undeserving winners in the past.

 

[Derpus]

We love a flanker. 8/14 winners.

 

[RugbyReg]

Im a little surprised its only Hoopers second gong.

Thanks Reg.

fair call, further breakdown for you:

2013 - 3rd (behind QC (Quade Cooper)!)
2014 - equal first (lost in a count back)
2015 - equal 2nd
2016 - 2nd
2017 - 3rd (behind the shared winners)
2018 - well down the list. Only got two x 1 pnters all year.
2019 - 2nd
2020 - 2nd

 

[TSR]

Pretty good for a guy playing out of position.

 

[Derpus]

Interesting, also, how important Philip was last year and how that has seemingly fallen away a little.

 

[Wilson]

Interesting, also, how important Philip was last year and how that has seemingly fallen away a little.

I think that speaks to the fact that we had 3 of our first choice locks move on at once and he came from left field to do a really solid, consistent job there, during a year that was anything but. I don't know that he's necessarily fallen away that much this year, just the team around him and expectations on him have lifted significantly.

 

[Adam84]

We love a flanker. 8/14 winners.

A flanker(openside specifically) can look good even in a losing/thrashed team, whereas plenty of other positions will only ever get accolades in the game they’ve won.

 

[TSR]

True Adam - but it also highlights again that, whatever the issues in Australian rugby, producing quality opensides isn’t one of them. Smith, Pocock & Hooper winning 6 out of the 12 wouldn’t surprise anyone, I wouldn’t think.

 

[Derpus]

I think it is also interesting how highly we value them, while they are generally amongst the lowest in terms of dollar valuation in Europe:

 

[Braveheart81]

I think it is also interesting how highly we value them, while they are generally amongst the lowest in terms of dollar valuation in Europe:

View attachment 12802

A large amount of what Rugby Australia has paid for over the last decade with Pocock and Hooper in particular has been their image, not just their on the field play.

Probably the area where we've lost the most talent over the last decade is at lock and part of the reason there is that we haven't had obvious starters over the long term that have demanded big contracts. Players have tended to leave just when they were likely to get that payday (e.g. Rory Arnold).

We would have struggled for 10s over that period regardless of what we paid for them. We really didn't have the talent.