T
TOCC
Guest
Ive definetly come around of the jersey's and now think they have a certain appeal about them
Melbourne Rebels 2011
- Thread starter RugbyFuture
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Ive definetly come around of the jersey's and now think they have a certain appeal about them
RugbyFuture
Lord Logo
Better looking without the photoshopping and with the Sponsorship.
B
Burke's Boot
Guest
Ive definetly come around of the jersey's and now think they have a certain appeal about them
We need to have a disagree button not just agree as they are still
B
Burke's Boot
Guest
More like Tonga's 5th XV. Still it gives our new boys a physical workout and time to work out the best combinations.
T
TOCC
Guest
at least they are unique and not genergic replications of each other(ala the NZ S15 jerseys)
blues recovery
Billy Sheehan (19)
The Tongan team was made up of NPC players from NZ, Sydney first grade players and some pretty good ones and locals. Talking to their coaches after the match probably about 10 of these players will make their World Cup squad.
T
TOCC
Guest
Richard Kingi filled out a bit?
His stats say his up from 80kg to 86kg... respectable weight for a halfback, Will Genia is listed as 84kg
http://sphotos.AK (Andrew Kellaway).fbcdn.net/hphotos-AK (Andrew Kellaway)-snc6/hs066.snc6/167601_178726698834563_123392057701361_420262_7337702_n.jpg
His stats say his up from 80kg to 86kg... respectable weight for a halfback, Will Genia is listed as 84kg
http://sphotos.AK (Andrew Kellaway).fbcdn.net/hphotos-AK (Andrew Kellaway)-snc6/hs066.snc6/167601_178726698834563_123392057701361_420262_7337702_n.jpg
P
Parra GM
Guest
I would hardly call Pyle a probable.
I reckon come round 1 McDonald will be in the row with Saffy starting at 6
Henderson will start @ loosehead with Sommerville @ tighthead
Would also imagine that Vuna will start v Waratahs @ 12 with Mortlock @ 13
Sipa on one wing with Rooney on the other and Gerrard at fullback (or other way round). Though Sipa will prob fight it out with Du Plessis and Bethan for that starting spot.
If Cordingley is fit for round 1 he'll prob start but I cant see him lasting the season. His seniors card doesnt last that long! Phipps will take that spot, Cipriani will obviously be starting 10 coz Hilgendorf is realistically a 1st grader only. He's already been found out at Super level. I think the Rebels biggest worry will be if Cipriani gets hit by a bus, who's the back up 10?
DPK
Peter Sullivan (51)
Huxley?
mudskipper
Colin Windon (37)
Ive definetly come around of the jersey's and now think they have a certain appeal about them
Rebels jerseys are great, I also like the logo. A V shape cup with 5 stars representing their key team goals and the southern cross. Good branding, Melbourne will love them... Above photo of Sipa Taumoepeau scoring a try... Being congratulated by fellow ex-brumby team mate Pete Betham and the one that got away from the Reds scrum half Kingi. 3 very talented young players who will get to play a lot of super rugby this year. All the better for Australian rugby and the Wallabies.
T
TOCC
Guest
i wouldnt call Kingi the one who got away, he left from the Reds with Link's blessing... He wasnt going to get a start ahead of Genia
topo
Cyril Towers (30)
That's the old Joeys boys sipa and betham alright, but that sure doesn't look like Kingi on the left.
blues recovery
Billy Sheehan (19)
Guys its actually Chris Slade the local Melbourne Club player
RugbyFuture
Lord Logo
Yeh, Jerseys and logo are both a go for me too. Remembering Rod Macqueen apparently basically created it and installed its meaning within the club culture.
wamberal
Phil Kearns (64)
DPK
Peter Sullivan (51)
Well, that makes two reasonably good options. Expectations are pretty low for Cipriani at the moment, maybe the three of them will battle it out for the 10. jersey. I know Huxley is a fullback too, but remember that Cipriani also expressed and interest in playing 15 for the Rebels and with the outside backs being spoilt for choice they may play three wingers (one in fullback)
Lee Grant
John Eales (66)
en_force_er
Geoff Shaw (53)
I'm finally home after a very busy weekend and I'll do my little write up on both teams:
Tonga A:
The team seemed to be made of the very best Tongans playing in Tonga and at an amateur level in Australia and England. As such they were outplayed all game long bar the first 10 or 15 minutes but to their credit they ground out a halftime lead of a point. They played with heaps of passion and purpose and put some huge one off hits on.
Forwards:
Tongan played an incredibly forward centric game relying on their forwards to get over the gain line close to the rucks. This was quite successful in the 1st half which due to Tonga's lack of subs would probably have been what they were looking for out of the game.
Tonga's forwards were reasonably competitive in the scrums/line outs in the first half but got taken to the cleaners in both set-pieces in the 2nd half. This was despite having some quality Shute Shield cattle in the tight 5 (Ofa Faingaanuku and Antonio Halangahu).
They had a big unit No8 who accounted well for himself and according to the program is probably named Chris Aho. Halangahu also had a couple of sneaky runs through the ruck which were pretty impressive but probably due to a missed defensive assignment.
Backs:
The Tongan backs never really looked intimidating as a whole. Their flyhalf (named either Tom Palu or Vaea Poteki) had some impressive breaks but all in all they looked pretty shaky under the high ball and didn't really facilitate well for each other. Also, particuarly odd for a Tongan team, they kicked every penalty for points which I found strange. This could of perhaps been due to set-piece pressure but if they got a penalty in their half, they went for the points and this didn't prove fruitful.
Rebels:
There was a huge playing group so I'll only mention the ones I noticed on the field.
The Rebels played a high tempo game which relied on quick ball. They did this through setting up forward pods quite a bit wider from the ruck then I've seen before and then using the quick ball to give the backs time and space to do their work. The backs certainly looked strong and they did play a style I would say was more back-centric then forward-centric.
Perhaps this isn't the deepest game's analysis but I've only seen them play once and there isn't any footage to review.
Forwards:
Somerville/Blake: These two were the prop pairing for the first half and scrummed pretty well, wheeled them a bit of their ball and always got their own. They seemed to get involved around the rucks which was good but I don't remember any notable carries or tackles by either (but such is life for a prop). Also notably, Blake looks both incredibly large and fit by his standards.
Henderson/Weeks: These two really did eat the Tongan scrum, which could have been due to the fact it was 2nd half and the Tongans were tierd but it was a sight to behold. Weeks also got involved in general play and make some big defensive hits.
Tessman/Robinson: Both threw well and seemed to be good members of the forward back but neither did anything exceptional. Tessman appeared to be uncomfortable after he got smashed particularly hard in a hit up and only played one 20 minute quarter but perhaps he was always only going to play a quarter and he is fine.
Holmes: In my opinion he looked like a man who was fighting for his career in all the right ways and played with heaps of quality aggression. Definitely the most notable of the 3 hookers and with Frier likely to be injured for part of the season perhaps he will get the shot he spent 2010 waiting for this year. Still a journeyman but perhaps deserving of further cracks.
Byrnes: Looked fit but still guilty of his old ways of doing something good followed quickly by something bad. 'Makes a great hit then gives a penalty for niggle on the ground' type of thing. I still like the aggression he brings and hope that Macqueen finds a way to channel it.
Campbell: The form 2nd rower of the game seemed to do everything right at lineout time and get involved with play quite well. Watching him with interest.
O'Neil/Pyle/Jones/Macdonald: All seemed to be solid an lineout time and decent in general play. Whilst none did anything individually notable they went about their work which is all you can ask of a lock. Macdonald and Jones played a bit of 6 which I think is interesting, Rod sure does like size in his teams.
Chamberlain: I can't stress how amazing it is to see a man this large get through so much work, it's very impressive. That being said he had a couple of ball carrier that didn't play out so well but his involvement was generally terrific and I'm really looking forward to see him blossom at Super level.
Saffy: Made a point to watch him and he certainly tried to get involved but didn't find many opportunities. Didn't play badly but needs a few more games of Union to really start getting into it.
Delve/Davidson: Both impressed me as they were the hardest hitters of their halves. Both played 8. They really did smash blokes with both ball in hand and in defense with a pretty good work rate. Delve did throw a silly pass from scrumhalf on his own tryline which made me whince but perhaps this isn't the hugest deal in a trail game. I'd be interested to see these two play in tandem as 8 and 6 but it doesn't look to be on the cards at this stage.
Backs:
Phipps: Was serviceable is attack and threw good passes but seemed to miss his defensive assignment as sweeper on defense. Though, this could very easily be my lack of knowledge of the scrum half position.
Kingi: Impressed everyone with good option taking and great sniping but perhaps his passing wasn't perfect. I think we can definitely say he's a scrumhalf of the Burgess mold but this is all based off of one game.
Cipriani: Seemed to marshal well and was solid but not impressive. Threw a hospital pass but they did play with a heap of width so perhaps it wasn't his fault.
Hilgendorf: Impressive and facilitated very well. Set heaps of blokes up for tries but was pretty terrible with the kicking tee afterwards. Take the good with the bad I guess.
Mitchell: Certainly the surprise package of the game for me and perhaps one of the better backs. Displayed great skills and good running lines and played both 12 and 13. It's amazing to see a bloke who wasn't a Shute Shield stand out look so impressive in a game with higher level players.
Vuna: Big, fast and a great line runner at 12. Certainly could start this year if he keeps playing like he did. Opened Tonga up with his step more then once and offloaded well. Also, he looked to be a great sport and a good ambassador for our game
Taumoepeau: Looked similar to the two above. These blokes really did outclass the Tongan backline for obvious reasons but all is optimistic for now.
du Plessis: I made the big call that he would impress and it could have gone either way but I'm confident I won out. Was certainly the form winger and ran well and kept his feet into contract far better then anyone would expect. Could be a Super starter at 20.
Betham: Looked good, ran good lines and read the kicks well. It's hard to acess outside backs when they are dominating so much but it certainly appears he could play Super rugby sooner rather then later.
Slade: The local ran good lines, positioned himself well at the back and took good options but executed them pretty poorly. Knocked on a couple of times and put up a way-would kick. I was probably nerves and he will be much richer for the experience.
Anyway, that's my quickly typed analysis. If you're interested in anything else ask.
The crowd numbers were 8000ish which seeing as the Rebels advertising campaign isn't in full swing is fine. Go Rebels.
Tonga A:
The team seemed to be made of the very best Tongans playing in Tonga and at an amateur level in Australia and England. As such they were outplayed all game long bar the first 10 or 15 minutes but to their credit they ground out a halftime lead of a point. They played with heaps of passion and purpose and put some huge one off hits on.
Forwards:
Tongan played an incredibly forward centric game relying on their forwards to get over the gain line close to the rucks. This was quite successful in the 1st half which due to Tonga's lack of subs would probably have been what they were looking for out of the game.
Tonga's forwards were reasonably competitive in the scrums/line outs in the first half but got taken to the cleaners in both set-pieces in the 2nd half. This was despite having some quality Shute Shield cattle in the tight 5 (Ofa Faingaanuku and Antonio Halangahu).
They had a big unit No8 who accounted well for himself and according to the program is probably named Chris Aho. Halangahu also had a couple of sneaky runs through the ruck which were pretty impressive but probably due to a missed defensive assignment.
Backs:
The Tongan backs never really looked intimidating as a whole. Their flyhalf (named either Tom Palu or Vaea Poteki) had some impressive breaks but all in all they looked pretty shaky under the high ball and didn't really facilitate well for each other. Also, particuarly odd for a Tongan team, they kicked every penalty for points which I found strange. This could of perhaps been due to set-piece pressure but if they got a penalty in their half, they went for the points and this didn't prove fruitful.
Rebels:
There was a huge playing group so I'll only mention the ones I noticed on the field.
The Rebels played a high tempo game which relied on quick ball. They did this through setting up forward pods quite a bit wider from the ruck then I've seen before and then using the quick ball to give the backs time and space to do their work. The backs certainly looked strong and they did play a style I would say was more back-centric then forward-centric.
Perhaps this isn't the deepest game's analysis but I've only seen them play once and there isn't any footage to review.
Forwards:
Somerville/Blake: These two were the prop pairing for the first half and scrummed pretty well, wheeled them a bit of their ball and always got their own. They seemed to get involved around the rucks which was good but I don't remember any notable carries or tackles by either (but such is life for a prop). Also notably, Blake looks both incredibly large and fit by his standards.
Henderson/Weeks: These two really did eat the Tongan scrum, which could have been due to the fact it was 2nd half and the Tongans were tierd but it was a sight to behold. Weeks also got involved in general play and make some big defensive hits.
Tessman/Robinson: Both threw well and seemed to be good members of the forward back but neither did anything exceptional. Tessman appeared to be uncomfortable after he got smashed particularly hard in a hit up and only played one 20 minute quarter but perhaps he was always only going to play a quarter and he is fine.
Holmes: In my opinion he looked like a man who was fighting for his career in all the right ways and played with heaps of quality aggression. Definitely the most notable of the 3 hookers and with Frier likely to be injured for part of the season perhaps he will get the shot he spent 2010 waiting for this year. Still a journeyman but perhaps deserving of further cracks.
Byrnes: Looked fit but still guilty of his old ways of doing something good followed quickly by something bad. 'Makes a great hit then gives a penalty for niggle on the ground' type of thing. I still like the aggression he brings and hope that Macqueen finds a way to channel it.
Campbell: The form 2nd rower of the game seemed to do everything right at lineout time and get involved with play quite well. Watching him with interest.
O'Neil/Pyle/Jones/Macdonald: All seemed to be solid an lineout time and decent in general play. Whilst none did anything individually notable they went about their work which is all you can ask of a lock. Macdonald and Jones played a bit of 6 which I think is interesting, Rod sure does like size in his teams.
Chamberlain: I can't stress how amazing it is to see a man this large get through so much work, it's very impressive. That being said he had a couple of ball carrier that didn't play out so well but his involvement was generally terrific and I'm really looking forward to see him blossom at Super level.
Saffy: Made a point to watch him and he certainly tried to get involved but didn't find many opportunities. Didn't play badly but needs a few more games of Union to really start getting into it.
Delve/Davidson: Both impressed me as they were the hardest hitters of their halves. Both played 8. They really did smash blokes with both ball in hand and in defense with a pretty good work rate. Delve did throw a silly pass from scrumhalf on his own tryline which made me whince but perhaps this isn't the hugest deal in a trail game. I'd be interested to see these two play in tandem as 8 and 6 but it doesn't look to be on the cards at this stage.
Backs:
Phipps: Was serviceable is attack and threw good passes but seemed to miss his defensive assignment as sweeper on defense. Though, this could very easily be my lack of knowledge of the scrum half position.
Kingi: Impressed everyone with good option taking and great sniping but perhaps his passing wasn't perfect. I think we can definitely say he's a scrumhalf of the Burgess mold but this is all based off of one game.
Cipriani: Seemed to marshal well and was solid but not impressive. Threw a hospital pass but they did play with a heap of width so perhaps it wasn't his fault.
Hilgendorf: Impressive and facilitated very well. Set heaps of blokes up for tries but was pretty terrible with the kicking tee afterwards. Take the good with the bad I guess.
Mitchell: Certainly the surprise package of the game for me and perhaps one of the better backs. Displayed great skills and good running lines and played both 12 and 13. It's amazing to see a bloke who wasn't a Shute Shield stand out look so impressive in a game with higher level players.
Vuna: Big, fast and a great line runner at 12. Certainly could start this year if he keeps playing like he did. Opened Tonga up with his step more then once and offloaded well. Also, he looked to be a great sport and a good ambassador for our game
Taumoepeau: Looked similar to the two above. These blokes really did outclass the Tongan backline for obvious reasons but all is optimistic for now.
du Plessis: I made the big call that he would impress and it could have gone either way but I'm confident I won out. Was certainly the form winger and ran well and kept his feet into contract far better then anyone would expect. Could be a Super starter at 20.
Betham: Looked good, ran good lines and read the kicks well. It's hard to acess outside backs when they are dominating so much but it certainly appears he could play Super rugby sooner rather then later.
Slade: The local ran good lines, positioned himself well at the back and took good options but executed them pretty poorly. Knocked on a couple of times and put up a way-would kick. I was probably nerves and he will be much richer for the experience.
Anyway, that's my quickly typed analysis. If you're interested in anything else ask.
The crowd numbers were 8000ish which seeing as the Rebels advertising campaign isn't in full swing is fine. Go Rebels.
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