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Hooper stats looking good

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B

brumsfan

Sydney Middleton (9)
There is no doubt that pocock is an excellent player and very strong defensively and at the breakdown, I will be supporting him at the brumbies next year. But I believe hooper is equally as good in these areas and has already proven this at test level. If I'm not mistaken he has been our best player in 4 of his 5 test match starts and would have been top 3 in the other game.
I suggest Seb you watch the games again as hooper got a pilfer and a forced penalty against the All Blacks and also a pilfer and forced penalty against the boks as well as several very impressive counter rucks all of which were well identified during the game by the commentators. I think this was achieved by his immense strength.
I do agree about players being targeted, this was clear during super rugby as both hooper and gill got multiple pilfers in early games but less towards the end of the season once they were identified. They will all have to work harder next year to be as successful again.
 
Antony

Antony

Alex Ross (28)
I think so'oialo was only ever really considered small because the alternative was sione lauaki.

But having said that, and I'm a back so don't really know what I'm talking about, 8 can be defined by roles, rather than body-types. If you can manage a ball at the back of the scrum, make good meters through traffic and hit hard, why shouldn't you play number 8?

Hooper may never be a Read clone, but he can bring a different set of skills.
 
T

Train Without a Station

Guest
Seb V said:
I thought he was jagging a few almost every game. Some games obviously more then others, and on his off-day he gets none, but lets face it pilfering is a bloody hard skill and Pocock is frequently targeted at the breakdown, but even on his off-day his work-rate and tackling ability always remains high. I definitely think he is a better pilferer. Hooper is better ball-runner, both have exceptional work-rates.
Click to expand...
as does Hooper's work rate and tackling ability. He just makes more pilfers in comparison (Super rugby level, only comparible stats we have. I assume solely due to being quicker, therefore quicker to the breakdown), he just has a great attacking game too. I'm not saying that a couple of good performances makes Hooper the superior player, I'm just saying Pocock isn't purely by virtue of reputation. Things need to be put into context. Pocock didn't single handedly win us the world cup quarter final, he put in a great scavenging openside game in addition to a great defensive effort by McCabe in a game when South Africa's fetching openside went off injured early in the first half and was not replaced with a similar type of player. The ref refereed a good game for opensides, we had one, they didn't. Pocock had a great game, but this was a factor.
 
Brumbieman

Brumbieman

Dick Tooth (41)
Just saw that clip of his run.


Fantastic: however Tapuai should be fucking hung for his efforts on the other side of the field! That was WORSE than both of Rob Horne's butcher moments against he Welsh!


How is there not a 25 page thread on this?!!
 
waratahjesus

waratahjesus

Greg Davis (50)
The main thing for hopper is he has the chance to prove himself at the Tahs, something Pocock looks like he may go his whole career failing to do. (possibly not sure he is good enough) but as the old saying goes, if you can't make it in NSW you ain't good enough for Australia.

Either way, he is the most important signing in Tahs history ad can lift them from underdogs to championship glory.
 
Brumbieman

Brumbieman

Dick Tooth (41)
waratahjesus said:
The main thing for hopper is he has the chance to prove himself at the Tahs, something Pocock looks like he may go his whole career failing to do. (possibly not sure he is good enough) but as the old saying goes, if you can't make it in NSW you ain't good enough for Australia.

Either way, he is the most important signing in Tahs history ad can lift them from underdogs to championship glory.
Click to expand...



ARE you taking the piss?
 
W

What2040

Guest
WJ - there were plenty of blokes that played for the Tahs (and fairly poorly) who shouldn't have been selected for OZ
 
Viking

Viking

Mark Ella (57)
Train Without a Station said:
as does Hooper's work rate and tackling ability. He just makes more pilfers in comparison (Super rugby level, only comparible stats we have. I assume solely due to being quicker, therefore quicker to the breakdown), he just has a great attacking game too. I'm not saying that a couple of good performances makes Hooper the superior player, I'm just saying Pocock isn't purely by virtue of reputation. Things need to be put into context. Pocock didn't single handedly win us the world cup quarter final, he put in a great scavenging openside game in addition to a great defensive effort by McCabe in a game when South Africa's fetching openside went off injured early in the first half and was not replaced with a similar type of player. The ref refereed a good game for opensides, we had one, they didn't. Pocock had a great game, but this was a factor.
Click to expand...

Some good points in there. I guess it is too early to be comparing the both. But in regards to the SA Test, at this current time, if Hooper had been playing instead of Pocock i can't picture him playing the same great scavenging game that Pocock did.

Maybe we should start a Pocock Vs Hooper thread.
 
USARugger

USARugger

John Thornett (49)
Antony said:
I think so'oialo was only ever really considered small because the alternative was sione lauaki.

But having said that, and I'm a back so don't really know what I'm talking about, 8 can be defined by roles, rather than body-types. If you can manage a ball at the back of the scrum, make good meters through traffic and hit hard, why shouldn't you play number 8?

Hooper may never be a Read clone, but he can bring a different set of skills.
Click to expand...

Hooper is too short to easily see over the top of the scrum and read the opposing play on defense. It's a pretty easily overlooked but equally important part of the position. Also putting Hooper into the same pack as Pocock means that we have a 7 and an 8 that cannot jump in an international line-out (both are in the neighborhood of 5'11"). Which leaves us with 3 line-out options (4,5,6). Most international squads have at least 4 options in their line-out. For a team that has already been struggling perennially with the line-out this would be a really piss poor decision to make.

Or maybe a Robbie Deans game plan stroke of genius - make our line-out too simple to fail?! (At least we won't see any FUBAR line-out calls during test matches that way...I'd hope)
 
USARugger

USARugger

John Thornett (49)
Samo, Timani, Sharpe, Douglas

They used Timani as a jumper earlier in the RC which means teams have to acknowledge the possibility that he can jump, even if Timani is really awful at it. I haven't gotten a chance to watch the Rosario match in it's entirety yet (school/rugby/work). Douglas is only a kilo or two heavier than Timani which means he can also be used a jumper. Sharpe and Samo speak for themselves.

The point is that if Hooper and Pocock are both in other teams will know for a fact that neither of them will be jumping. This makes our line-out that much easier to operate against.
 
Sully

Sully

Tim Horan (67)
Staff member
USARugger said:
Samo, Timani, Sharpe, Douglas

They used Timani as a jumper earlier in the RC which means teams have to acknowledge the possibility that he can jump, even if Timani is really awful at it. I haven't gotten a chance to watch the Rosario match in it's entirety yet (school/rugby/work). Douglas is only a kilo or two heavier than Timani which means he can also be used a jumper. Sharpe and Samo speak for themselves.
Click to expand...
Timani has never taken a lineout for Australia. Douglas has 1 line out win in his first match
 
barbarian

barbarian

Phil Kearns (64)
Staff member
Douglas did get the first lineout in Rosario, which maybe indicates they were going to use him more.

And Braveheart, didn't Sharpie jump as well?
.
 
Viking

Viking

Mark Ella (57)
brumsfan said:
There is no doubt that pocock is an excellent player and very strong defensively and at the breakdown, I will be supporting him at the brumbies next year. But I believe hooper is equally as good in these areas and has already proven this at test level. If I'm not mistaken he has been our best player in 4 of his 5 test match starts and would have been top 3 in the other game.
I suggest Seb you watch the games again as hooper got a pilfer and a forced penalty against the All Blacks and also a pilfer and forced penalty against the boks as well as several very impressive counter rucks all of which were well identified during the game by the commentators. I think this was achieved by his immense strength.
I do agree about players being targeted, this was clear during super rugby as both hooper and gill got multiple pilfers in early games but less towards the end of the season once they were identified. They will all have to work harder next year to be as successful again.
Click to expand...

We are going to have to agree to disagree, As good as Hooper is I don't think he is as effective as Pocock is.
 
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