Galloping Greens

[Gibbo]

Thanks for the feedback Coach - it was a fun day. I lost count of all thr tries scored. I was proud of the way 4s played in the 2nd half - 3 tries to 2 (we might need to work on Kick-offs and Shots at goal too)

 

[MACCA]

Chatswood oval was the scene of some spectacular play this saturday.
Wicks won a scrappy fourth grade 38 - 15 .
Gordon out enthused in a scrappy Third grade win 36-17. A note to the wicks coach would include 'anyone making a break should look to pass straight after'.
So far Gordon had conned Wicks into scrappy play and if this was to continue through the upper grades then results would not be good.
Thankfully, second grade stayed on their training manual and led 38-7 at halftime. The 7 for Gordon came from an intercept which if not taken was a try in the other direction.
After the half, another intercept had Gordon at - 14. I think the end result was 67 - 33 as Gordon fought all the way but were never really in the hunt.
The seven and two for Wicks were good and the colts 8 went on near the end for a taste of second grade and certainly looked at home.
First Grade
Having watched the Easts -Gordon game where the Gordon 7 had a blinder and the pack hasseled all day, it was pleasing to see Wicks spread the ball early for a try to 13 (i think )after a good pass by 10. Shortly after Wicks went in again off the back of a scrum in a soft try.
The Wicks backs were very up tempo and playing at pace which seemed to get to Gordon . Gordon fought back hard but as they applied pressure they lost the ball and Wicks capitalised on the turnover for a length of the field try.
Wicks were very good in defence, hitting hard and frustrating Gordon.
A great interchange between winger and prop almost gave Wicks another before the hooker tiptoed ,dogded,stopped,proped and scored to have the score at 28-0 at half time. The Wicks halfback was doing a great job in cover defence and stopped many a Gordon breakout.
The second half saw both teams spend 10 minutes softening each other up and there were bodies lying down everywhere, with Gordon hard on attack. Two phases and they scored 28-7 . Gordon had their tails up but kept letting the Wicks off the hook with spilt ball. After some prolonged pressure the Wicks 10 showed very good footwork to score under the posts.
Gordon replied with a try near the posts after a great take and run from their 2. Sore 35-14.
The final score was 49- 21 to the Wicks .
IMO the 6,7 and 8 were outstanding for wicks, 10 and 13 were also very good. For Gordon the 4 and 5 were always in the thick of it and the 10 marshalled as well as he could as he was hounded by the Wicks back three.
I would hope that the Coach is well pleased.

It was good to see a respectable crowd at the oval and Gordon are certainly looking like they are on the ' up' and playing with passion.

Thanks Sid - great information.
Looking forward to next saturdays game - it should be a cracker.
That will test the lads.
Any thoughts about the side?
Any changes required?
We should get our prop back from the Waratahs. Not sure about the 5/8.
How will the teams match up - anyone game to stab at the result

 

[Hugh Jarse]

How is my mate the LongFellow (from ANZAC day v Easts) going?

 

[sidelinesid]

The long fellow is going well and seems a regular in twos. Its hard to tell if he is fast when he runs as the steps are huge but he keeps up with the breakouts and adds bulk at the breakdown. Could do with a bit of sprint training imo.
Enjoy watching him play.
This week, Manly , I am told, have a very big pack in ones so it will be interesting to see how the small fiesty Wicks pack goes. Have not seen Manly play so no idea what we are up against. Coach ?

 

[the coach]

The long fellow is going well and seems a regular in twos. Its hard to tell if he is fast when he runs as the steps are huge but he keeps up with the breakouts and adds bulk at the breakdown. Could do with a bit of sprint training imo.
Enjoy watching him play.
This week, Manly , I am told, have a very big pack in ones so it will be interesting to see how the small fiesty Wicks pack goes. Have not seen Manly play so no idea what we are up against. Coach ?

I haven't seen much of them either. We'll need to wait and see whether any of their S15 players are released to play. Should be a very big test for the Wicks across all grades and colts if table positions are anything to go by.

 

[MACCA]

I haven't seen much of them either. We'll need to wait and see whether any of their S15 players are released to play. Should be a very big test for the Wicks across all grades and colts if table positions are anything to go by.

Big Will 2 Fathers (AKA The Longfellow) has been going well. He got good game time in the Uni match and did well. He is hard to beat in the line out, does a good crash ball close to the line, is OK in the mauls and rucks. Does struggle to get around the paddock however adds plenty of value to the Grade squad IMO.

 

[the coach]

Big Will 2 Fathers (AKA The Longfellow) has been going well. He got good game time in the Uni match and did well. He is hard to beat in the line out, does a good crash ball close to the line, is OK in the mauls and rucks. Does struggle to get around the paddock however adds plenty of value to the Grade squad IMO.

I don't believe he has the mobility and work rate of Ingram and Munro at this stage. I'd suggest he doesn't quite fit the all out attacking game plan but the size of the opposition pack may see him get a call up to 1sts.

 

[the coach]

Interesting team change for the Wicks this weekend:
Tom Connor selected at 12 instead of 7 !!!
Anyone know if he has a history in the centres?

 

[MACCA]

Interesting team change for the Wicks this weekend:
Tom Connor selected at 12 instead of 7 !!!
Anyone know if he has a history in the centres?

Am shocked by that one. On the other hand, with the current system the forwards play wide so that may not make any difference. Not sure how that would work in attack though. Am please to see Fryer in 1s , he is a talent. I prefer Lautolo on the wing however will be happy if he proves me wrong. No Toby Browne? It will be a tough game Saturday.

 

[the coach]

Am shocked by that one. On the other hand, with the current system the forwards play wide so that may not make any difference. Not sure how that would work in attack though. Am please to see Fryer in 1s , he is a talent. I prefer Lautolo on the wing however will be happy if he proves me wrong. No Toby Browne? It will be a tough game Saturday.

Wonder who the goal kicker will be with no Browne and no Matehaere?

 

[MACCA]

Wonder who the goal kicker will be with no Browne and no Matehaere?

yeah - wonder where Brown is - is he injured?

 

[Pete King]

Wonder who the goal kicker will be with no Browne and no Matehaere?

Id say it might by Nio, He seems to be back to career best form from 2003 - 2006. Was very suprised to see Connor at 12, He has no experience there from my knowledge but he was a key figure in the sevens program. Think having a extra back rower out there in defence may pay dividends at the breakdown without disrupting the attack to much.

Nervous about Reni at fullback but he has played out of his skin so far on the wing so brave to doubt him.

 

[the coach]

I just realised 18 year old David Horwitz is also a goal kicker so it might be him. He should be able to handle a bit more responsibility !!

 

[Hugh Jarse]

The Wicks should go the Full Monty and make him Captain, as well as Goal Kicker, AND the First Grade #10, all before his 19th brithday .

 

[the coach]

The Wicks should go the Full Monty and make him Captain, as well as Goal Kicker, AND the First Grade #10, all before his 19th brithday .

He could probably do a bit of coaching and handle the after game speeches and run the boat race also!

 

[sidelinesid]

In the words of Sir Humphrey " A brave decision" having Connor in the centres.
I like it. He is very good on the turnover and he is quite fast and is always on hand on a break. Easier to defend at 12 than 13 and he has always been a good tackler.
Means we have a strong back row and if the wicks pack keep up their high tempo fiesty work rate we will go well. If Wicks get into a structured game I think the bigger pack will dominate.
Saturday five pm will determine if its a stroke of brilliance for this game .

 

[Pete King]

Well and truly out played in the wet, good learning experience for a young side. hard to fault the effort Manly just took the game away with smart kicking and a quality line out. Like to see rennie back on the wing, terrence at 12 , t wright at 13 and Browne at the back. Be interesting to see the starting back row next week but say Connor back to 7 , lam 6 and Paila 8.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Horwitz was not disgraced today in very trying conditions, playing with a maturity well beyond his age.

Any chance of changing the thread title to "Pretty in Pink"

 

[sidelinesid]

Well we got wet weather and wicks played their uptempo game. When they held the ball they went well and I think a dry track would have produced a very different result. Manly played the better and took the middle ground more often than not and their defence was well organised .However , they are not a team to be feared by Wicks IMO.
I thought seconds showed the way with short passes in front and lots of backing up. Admittedly the conditions deteriorated and could some one organise council to get some lights on this iconic pitch.
Conner did well in the turnover department. The fifteen went ok but is not a 15 and plays better on the wing. The second row worked hard and held their own for much of the time. The back three outplayed their rivals IMO.
As was pointed out earlier , manly played the wet weather better but the wicks ten looked very good in the conditions. I expected more from the manly 12 and their second row.
Wins to the other grades for wicks but have not seen the colts results .

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Colts results are on the NSW RU Web site,

Colts I
Manly 55v Randwick 31
55-31 scoreline in todays weather conditions would have made for a very interesting match to watch.