Melbourne Rebels 2011

[barbarian]

Fine Moekiola left Newington a couple of years ago. He plays like you think he would- big hard running centre, played Australian schoolboys or very close to it for a few seasons. Is a leaguie though, played for NSW under 18s at League as well. I'm sure Lee will have some additional info.

 

[waratahs_2010]

Fine Moekiola left Newington a couple of years ago. He plays like you think he would- big hard running centre, played Australian schoolboys or very close to it for a few seasons. Is a leaguie though, played for NSW under 18s at League as well. I'm sure Lee will have some additional info.

I don't really know much about him, that was just what my source relayed to me. Is he any good? Any more info on him? If he is a league player, why would Joe Barakat be going after him? The name rings a bell but I can't figure from where.

 

[chief]

I can't see Barakat being coach of the new team. They wouldn't put as much trust in someone with not much experience to start this Melbourne team. Maybe he'll have a senior coaching role but I severely doubt that he could be put in charge of this new franchise.

 

[spectator]

Fine Moekiola left Newington a couple of years ago. He plays like you think he would- big hard running centre, played Australian schoolboys or very close to it for a few seasons. Is a leaguie though, played for NSW under 18s at League as well. I'm sure Lee will have some additional info.

I don't really know much about him, that was just what my source relayed to me. Is he any good? Any more info on him? If he is a league player, why would Joe Barakat be going after him? The name rings a bell but I can't figure from where.

Fine was one of those rare kids who could have been a dual internatioinal at school. At schoolboy level, and as a fullback, he had Corey Brown ahead of him in rugby for NSW and a kid who is playing Premiers for the Tigers, ahead of him in league. definite potential.

 

[waratahs_2010]

Fine Moekiola left Newington a couple of years ago. He plays like you think he would- big hard running centre, played Australian schoolboys or very close to it for a few seasons. Is a leaguie though, played for NSW under 18s at League as well. I'm sure Lee will have some additional info.

I don't really know much about him, that was just what my source relayed to me. Is he any good? Any more info on him? If he is a league player, why would Joe Barakat be going after him? The name rings a bell but I can't figure from where.

Fine was one of those rare kids who could have been a dual internatioinal at school. At schoolboy level, and as a fullback, he had Corey Brown ahead of him in rugby for NSW and a kid who is playing Premiers for the Tigers, ahead of him in league. definite potential.

I think I know which kid it is now. He was the NSW Schools Under 16 fullback back in 2006. If this is him, I remember being very impressed with him and he should have gotten the nod for the Australian Under 16 fullback spot ahead of Aidan Toua based on the performances from the Under 16 Championships alone but I think the fact that Toua played Australia 'A' probably got him over the line. He had very good spatial awareness and was probably the best player at the championships for mine. He would have been in front of Corey Brown in 2007 if he hadn't picked up an injury that only allowed him to play 2 games before being selected for GPS. I think this is the same kid. Did a google search and it looks like he is currently playing league with the Sydney Roosters.

 

[Gil]

hi,
I don't think expats will be good enough to fill every post
as far as I saw,
forwards : rodzilla, vickerman, lyons
backs : james , henjak, berry, hewat,norton knight, gasnier, rooney, why don't you try to make back sony bill williams ?latham, uslter full back from reds ..

being french and looking at top 14 games :
gasnier ..mmm I don't think stade français will fight to keep him...good player , learning rugby union but far to be an international player..does he get potential ? ...sincerely I don't know.
luke roney and sonny bill ..no doubt.
brock james ..fly half from clermont who emigrate because he was second choice to giteau at western force ..performing well enough to play for a super 15 team.
rodzilla ...pretty ordinary ..but maybe being ordinary thinking all class props in french top 14 ( from france but from SA, argentina, georgia ...) it 's not too bad.
matt henjak and nick berry ...good players , cases a bit like james.
and I am afraid that's all in france ...

 

[Lee Grant]

Gil,

Most of us here don't think that we will get a lot of our overseas stars back for the 5th team - however you want to define "stars". It won't be long until there will be some pieces in the press, listing overseas players for Melbourne, and there'll be a lot of it when the new coach is appointed; but they will just be words filling a page. The realities will be different.



You are right – Mark Gasnier hasn't really kicked on this year as I thought he would, but he would walk into a 5th team squad regardless.

I think SF will want to keep him anyway because now and then he shows a bit of the class he had in rugby league. He won't come back to Oz to play in the 5th Super team but he may come back if he thinks he's a chance to make the Wallaby squad for the RWC. If SF use him in the centres a bit more this season and he succeeds, he may even make it, but he will have to make a decision in the next month or two. He has to be here for the 2011 Super15.



The Oz rugby league player who has impressed me most in the last 2 years is Luke Rooney. He has been a revelation on the wing for Toulon, and in the stints he has had at fullback this year. If you didn't know he had been a league player somebody would have to tell you.



I doubt if Sonny Bill Williams, or Money Bill as he is sometimes called here, will come back to play in Melbourne, or to fill a hole in an existing team that loses players to them. The money is too good over there. And if he wanted to return briefly to play in the RWC he would know about the recent Top 14 edict: that, in effect, they will be cutting down on the numbers of players not eligible to play for France in future years. It will be harder to get back in should he leave; so I don't think he will.

He's played well in the games I have seen him play after coming back from injury and now he is displaying some of his excellent rugby league traits. Sometimes he is like Mermoz and Jauzion in how he can slip a tackle or offload a pass on contact, and I think Max will want to keep him in Toulon.

He can tackle too; but if he comes back to this neck of the woods to play Super rugby and become a candidate for the RWC, it is no certainty that he will offer his services to Australia. He played rugby league for NZ and he may play for one of their Super teams. If he wants to play in the next RWC, he is more likely to stay in France to become eligible for France on residency.



Brock James good enough to play in the Super15? You sure - the best flyhalf in the Top14 last season good enough, and only Beauxis close this year when he is healthy – and Freddy for 15 minutes every game? You're probably right as he would have been in any French squad of the last 2 years had he been eligible. Unfortunately Clermont have stitched him up until June 2012; so he won't be coming home soon.



But, as mentioned at the beginning: we won't get a lot of stars back. We'll get a few good players back from France, but I'm not sure when the contracts of which players expire, let alone who has an interest in returning. I'd like to see players like Rooney, Berry, and Daruda come back from France and even Henjak, warts and all - plus Mackay, if he is healthy for a while. We can't be too choosy.

More important than which offshore players Melbourne will get for 2011, is which Oz players will not go overseas in 2010 and future years because there are 25% more playing jobs in Oz rugby.

 

[Bruce Ross]

Bruce,

That is the biggest load of crap I have ever heard. Have a look here for a start - http://www.usyd.edu.au/scholarships/current/sports.shtml. You must play for the University Sports Club.

Secondly one of my very good mates plays cricket for Uni(I have just finished year 12) & also played GPS 2's/3's rugby. He is giving the rugby up to focus on cricket, I tried to entice him over to North Sydney in cricket as I play for Norths & my old man is in charge of recruitment etc(this guy just made his first grade debut year out of school, mostly played 2nd grade).

Uni offered him $6,000(the cricket club) which is matched by the Sydney Uni Sport foundation another $6,000 in course fees paid for.

Along with other things such as free uni accomadation & a job(which they have not fulfilled, although the other stuff has).

The Sydney Uni Sport Foundation usually matches the amount offered by the club(within reasonable amount) Sydney Uni in cricket have a 2 million dollar foundation that gets them $160,000 interest a year of which they run their cricket club on.

Other examples another of my mates from last year gone to Uni this year Uni offered him $1,000 of Uni fees paid and all the other stuff job, accomadation etc and also he got the $1,000 matches by the Sydney Uni Sport Foundation.

Clubs always understimate what happens in their own club to make it sound better, In Sydney Grade Cricket only 1st grade players really get paid but only usually about 6 of the first grade team(the ones worth it) usually only travel expenses though and stuff like that. Clubs will also move players from the country i.e get them jobs & units(of which they usually pay unless they are a real top level country players(ie ones going to go on and play for NSW i.e Hazlewood & Cockley etc over the last few years).

Sydney Uni in cricket pay a lot of 2nd & 3rd graders & that is why they are so suceesful(pay i.e uni fees).

barbarian's explanation of the Elite Athlete and Performers Scheme at the University of Sydney contains a couple of inaccurate statements.

He mentions "certain UAI concessions. This may be 5 UAI points, it may be 10." Not true. The concession is a maximum of 5 points and in practice for some faculties it is virtually zero.

He then states: "the catch is by accepting those concessions you are effectively locking yourself into playing for Sydney Uni." Again, not true. Students who have received the benefit of the EAPS are under no obligation to play for Sydney Uni. Some can, and do, as I pointed out above, decide to play for other clubs. In fact they are not obliged to continue to play rugby, or play cricket, or play the violin, or ballet dance, or continue to strive in whatever field earnt them their elite status.

AussieDominance, you are obviously confusing the Elite Athlete and Performers Scheme at the University of Sydney with the sport scholarship program.As I went to quite a deal of trouble to point out, in order to qualify under the EAPS you do not have to play for a Sydney University Club, nor indeed play for any club. The EAPS has nothing whatever to do with scholarships.

The link to which you directed people refers to the fact that "through Sydney Uni Sport & Fitness the University of Sydney offers sport scholarships." It is indeed the case that "recipients are expected to represent their university sports club." Funny that - you would expect that people receiving scholarships from the University could just take the money and go off and play for any other club.

You accuse me of "the biggest load of crap I have ever heard." Let's look at a few of your own statements:

"The Sydney Uni Sport Foundation usually matches the amount offered by the club" - not true.

"Sydney Uni in cricket have a 2 million dollar foundation" - not true.

"a 2 million dollar foundation that gets them $160,000 interest a year" - where can you get 8% interest in today's market?

With regard to your two mates telling you how much they are getting paid to play cricket for Sydney Uni, I think you may find they are pulling your chain.

 

[Bruce Ross]

AussieDominance, I have no wish to engage in protracted argument with you, particularly about cricket on a rugby site.

I will just make the point that if Dave Gilbert told your father that "Sydney Uni in cricket have a 2 million dollar foundation " then either he is badly misinformed or your father misunderstood him.

 

[AussieDominance]

No point getting in an argument over it I suppose, better to have your knowledge here than not here!

I may be wrong, considering I have never played for Uni myself and I am passing on second hand info so it can be misinterpreted as many people have been with the success of the Sydney Uni system.

Cheers,

AD

 

[Bruce Ross]

Thanks for your gracious comment, AussieDominance. Good luck to both your cricket and rugby clubs.

Regards
Bruce

 

[TOCC]

It would be good to see some rugby union scouts turning up at rugby league junion representative matches, similar to how the rugby league scouts turn up to the the rugby union ones currently.

Its probably going to head that way eventually, with AFL, NRL, A-League and S14 all expanding, the codes are going to have to continue to encroach on each others playing stock. Whilst i would like to say that we should purely just recruit from our own rugby ranks, im more then happy just to watch the best athletes out there rather then been pretencious.

 

[waratahs_2010]

I'd love to see Sonny Bill Williams playing back in the new Melbourne Super 15 team. Everytime I have seen him play, he seems to impress me with his ability to offload the ball in contact which is a very rare quality to have. Although he may lack a bit of game awareness at times, I see a lot of potential in him that he could be developed into not only an international, but a very good one as well. Mark Gasnier should come back to Australia as well as I think he would thrive in the environment here where he can understand the coaches more and learn the technical side of Australian rugby which IMO is usually far better than French rugby.

 

[TOCC]

the two Stanley brothers(Benson & Winston) playing for Auckland are elegible to represent Australia as well, i know the Reds were talking to them a year or two ago, didnt eventuate though.

I wouldnt be surprised if they are targetted though, Nucifora would be well aware of the situation and would probably forward there names down to the new melbourne team, they are going to struggle to earn starting positions with McCalister and Tuitavake ahead of them.

 

[chief]

Has now been officially confirmed Melbourne will be able to recruit 10 foreign players, which will be scaled back to 2 players by 2015. Also expected that numerous Brisbane youngsters will be receiving call ups to the squad. All the shambles will be resolved within the next two weeks. I think this is looking very good for Melbourne, hopefully we can attract some big names from Japan to come back and even some European names.

 

[TOCC]

I think the foreign policy is a good thing, however maybe they should have looked at boosting the other teams foreign quota rather then just giving the Melbourne team a massive one. Maybe allow the other Aus S14 teams to recruit 2 foreign players and Melbourne can only recruit 8 foreign players. I mean, at the end of the day the other Australian S14 teams are still going to be plundered, shouldnt they be allowed to look offshore as well.

Melbourne should sign Fijian 7's specialist William Ryder, this blokes got talent just check him out on youtube.

 

[chief]

Yes, heard and seen him play plenty of times. They need really quick and fast paced wingers, that will add excitement to the game. They should definitely look towards some of the Islander countries for talent.

 

[Blue]

I'd love to see Sonny Bill Williams playing back in the new Melbourne Super 15 team. Everytime I have seen him play, he seems to impress me with his ability to offload the ball in contact which is a very rare quality to have. Although he may lack a bit of game awareness at times, I see a lot of potential in him that he could be developed into not only an international, but a very good one as well. Mark Gasnier should come back to Australia as well as I think he would thrive in the environment here where he can understand the coaches more and learn the technical side of Australian rugby which IMO is usually far better than French rugby.

Gasnier has been way more impressive than SBW from the few games I have watched in the Top 14.

But both in Melbourne will be great to watch only can't see that happening anytime soon.

 

[TOCC]

i was watching Gasnier play the other day, he had 12 on his back but was slotting in at 13 more often then not.

He looked quite dangerous in attack, everytime he touched the ball he had the defence guessing, he either did a step and away or got the defence sliding before stepping back in taking the tackle but getting a off-load loose.

In saying that, he does seem to play a lot like Ryan Cross IMO, not necessarily a bad thing but i just not very direct, tends to slid more often then not and at time he left himself a bit isolated.

 

[Zinzan]

Yes, heard and seen him play plenty of times. They need really quick and fast paced wingers, that will add excitement to the game. They should definitely look towards some of the Islander countries for talent.

Well said......let's find another rupeni Caucau, not an over rated ex league player :tuqiri: Happy for Melbourne just sad they're named after outlaw bikie gang.