NSW AAGPS 2021

[AroundTheAnkles]

Amazed the huge CAS pack can’t dominate given the appalling conditions...... they actually look at little meek thus far

 

[AroundTheAnkles]

For all their money you would think Knox could provide a decent playing surface. Quite inferior to HH No. 1! Joeys should install some lights.

 

[BubblerTodd]

Your meant to tackle him, well done Jorgensen breathtaking footy.

 

[BubblerTodd]

We love a good win !! Over and out for tonight

 

[Rich_E]

Dominant GPS pack, good game management from McMullen and blinder from Jorgensen got the job done.
.

 

[brumbiesrugby]

Hi all, Tap and Go here.
Long time follower of the forum, first time poster. Hope you don't mind if I throw my two cents in.
After seeing many of the trial games and the first round myself, as well as all results, it's exciting to see what the boys have in stall for us for the rest of the season.
First Newington. Although they have some definite skill in their team, with the likes of Hugh Bell and a few others like Siteni Taukamo, they are lacking strength and depth that they have had in previous years. I don't see them doing much this season but may pull off a win or two against some of the weaker teams.
Now onto Kings. Players such as Ed Arnott (very surprised he didn't make the GPS 1st team!!), Will Johnston and Riley Hemsworth all have the ability to play very high quality rugby. However, without the players to provide some support to them during games I feel as though they will struggle this year. They will have to put in top performances to be able to compete with the top few teams (they did quite well against Scots in Round 1 to my surprise). They also competed well against View in the trials, however I have heard that it wasn't Views greatest performance.
Shore. A definite dark horse this year. They don't really have any standout GPS players, but they seem to work fantastically as a team. Hearing about their first half performance against View only reinforced my opinion on this. If they can work hard over this break between terms they can definitely pull off an upset or two, but it will require a whole team performance.
The boys from Bellevue Hill now. Some serious strength in this team with six players in the 1st and 2nd GPS teams. They have had to face a lot of strong teams in their trial games, and competed well, but were just not good enough. In my opinion one of the better teams in this GPS comp but i don't see them winning against Joeys or View later this season.
Joeys this year a looking strong as always. The pack is undeniably one of the strongest in the GPS, with the front row all representing GPS 1sts. The backline has both class and size with the likes of Ned Dalton, Jonny Chan and Max Jorgensen. I think they will run over all teams except for View, which will be a tight one and could go either way. With very tight losses to Barker and View, it will be very interesting to see how they can finish the rest of the season after a first round win over Newington.
View, in my opinion, are the team to beat this year. The backline doesn't have a single weakness. Even with O'Donnell out, his spot was filled excellently by the 2s inside, Conners, and with O'Donnell expected to return for the last few rounds it gives them every opportunity to win the comp. The class of the inside backs will be too much to handle for many teams, and the forward pack is full or workhorses and power runners that are very strong through the middle. The biggest challenge will be Joeys, and being in the final round I'd say it will be a premiership game.
Final Predictions:
1. View
2. Joeys
3. Scots
4. Shore
5. Kings
6. Newington

Let me hear your thoughts.
TnG

Excellent summary. View probably slight favourites but the comp game is at HH, so…..prob a slight leaning to Joeys. Would expect Kings to finish ahead of Shore and think the 5/6 places could go either way.

 

[rockstar]

Dominant GPS pack, good game management from McMullen and blinder from Jorgensen got the job done.
.

Jorgenson standout MOTM

Shout out to the rhino Will J who captained the GPS team and scored the match sealer - pound for pound no tougher player in the comp

 

[Rich_E]

Jorgenson standout MOTM

Shout out to the rhino Will J who captained the GPS team and scored the match sealer - pound for pound no tougher player in the comp

Best 7 I've seen all year
.

 

[BrickLayer]

From being out there first-hand at Knox college, the wet weather footy was clearly evident through the short hands and dropped ballsx. Aside from this, great footy from both ends of the spectrum. Allsopp was on point as always, consistent game from McMullen and standout from Jorgensen. Great prevailing footy from GPS in these conditions and held out for the win. I don't know how kids can play in this weather, I thought I was getting trench-foot!! Overall, great footy in harsh conditions and couldn't be prouder of our boys, onto round 2 in 4 weeks. Any other thoughts or takeaways from the game anyone??

As always, bricklayer...

 

[aussiefooty]

MHOG here.

Can't help but comment on the volume of the CAS contingent in front of the camera on the stream. Not only have they without fail not stopped abusing the players of the GPS2, but have also slandered the 14, 10 and 15 of the GPS2 side. Disappointing that without supervision this occurs.

Over and out,
MHOG100

Wonder if you could say the same about the GPS old boys of Riverview and Joeys against Barker. From a neutral perspective this really lets the image of the school down.

 

[Prodigy]

Anyone know if the under 16s rep teams have been announced?

 

[Snort]

Jorgenson standout MOTM

Shout out to the rhino Will J who captained the GPS team and scored the match sealer - pound for pound no tougher player in the comp

Jorgenson was phenomenal tonight.

 

[Love2Scrum]

Dominant GPS pack, good game management from McMullen and blinder from Jorgensen got the job done.
.

Awesome work rate by the GPS pack. Stellar performance by Max Jorgensen

 

[Love2Scrum]

Anyone know if the under 16s rep teams have been announced?

Not yet Prodigy. I'm led to believe the announcement will be made sometime tomorrow.

 

[Tap and Go]

What a game of rugby for such poor condition. Disappointed I wasn't able to make the game, mind you I was much more comfortable watching it on cluch from the warmth of my house.
Standout for the game was definitely Jorgensen. Continually threatened the line and had a number of outstanding runs, as well as a few of good tackles. Also thought the inside, Jonny Chan, played quite well. He seemed to break the line a number of times, as well as provide some good ball for those outside him, which generated good momentum for the rest of the team.
The GPS pack did really well to stop the CAS pack from dominating them. Talk all week has been that the bigger and stronger CAS forwards would dominate through the middle and allow their backs to play freely. Although the wet weather may have prevented this, I'd say that their forwards were well contained by the geeps pack. And how about that Joeys front row! They seemed to be doing everything this evening. They carried well through the middle, tackled them off the park, and not to mention that Paddy Burns try of the slick line-out move (a nice ball from Dalrymple to set him up).
Overall great game, and I'm excited to see what the rest of the GPS season has in stall for us.
TnG

 

[Love2Scrum]

How did the GPS Blue & White teams go????

 

[Love2Scrum]

Yes, cracker of a match. Whatever happened to Morreti? He was a wallaby in waiting.
.

Plays for the Roosters reserve grade.

 

[RuckInfringement]

Glad to see GPS get the win, little bit disappointed it wasn't in better conditions though, the wet weather really made it a battle of the forwards and left many of the outside backs wanting as the ball hit the floor more times than it should've in better conditions. Despite this, I thought Jorgensen (15) was fantastic, as were Chan (12) and Burns (2) despite the difficult conditions. Dalrymple (4), Hemsworth (11) and Granger (14) also impressed with Granger scoring a lovely try with a big left foot step off the back of work from the ever-present Allsopp (8) who continues to push his case for NSW selection over Barker's Slacksmith, who both have impressed in every single opportunity and have given the selectors such a tough decision to make. The Riverview and Joeys boys impressed me the most overall in both the 1s and the 2s, although the boys from Scots weren't far behind which is perhaps unsurprising given they're the 3 favourites for the GPS premiership by all accounts. McMullen (10) played a solid game, although still felt that Bowen's performance in the 2's showed that he deserved the higher honours. In saying that, there really wasn't much to split the two other than Bowen playing a slightly more expansive game but once again, it may just have been the way McMullen was instructed to play against a strong CAS side in the wet and cold conditions. His game management showed experience beyond his years, and may have been why he was selected. Let's look forward to the GPS season with all the excitement in the air. The injury cloud of Riverview's O'Donnell definitely allows Scots and Joeys to get their hopes up, yet at the same time I have no doubt that this View side is the strongest we've seen in years and will match up strongly against Scots and Joeys, with or without their star number 12. Anyways, with the final game being played in HH, Joeys are slight favourites to take out the silverware with a nail biter on the final weekend. Perhaps someone has news on O'Donnell's return date, it could be the make or break for this view side??

 

[RuckInfringement]

Not sure the exact length of his recovery and rehab, but with the long weekend and school holidays around the corner, hopefully he will be fit and healthy towards the back end of the season.

That sounds good TME, for View's sake I hope he's fit and firing come Scots in Rd 3 and finding his form by Joeys away at HH in Rd 5 which may well be the competition decider, but Connors showed against Shore and again tonight that he's more than a reliable replacement back, he can match it with the best in the GPS. Any chance someone has more info? It would be really disappointing for such a talent to miss out on the majority of his final season in year 12 when the mighty Joeys, led by Burns, Jorgensen and Chan, have a great opportunity to snatch the premiership from under their noses with the final game at HH.

 

[Ace Ventura]

Not to discount Joeys at all, but View played them without Bowen (10) and O’Donnell went off after about 25 minutes injured. Those two are certainly standout players, but the fact that view still managed to get up, albeit in a very close fashion, is a testament to the depth and skill in the view side which is certainly not limited to the 10/12 combo.

for those interested in stats from tonight's game, particularly after all the banter from the CAS boys about how their huge pack would dominate the set piece, here are some interesting numbers:

• total scrums 22 - 10 GPS putins and 12 CAS putins
• GPS wins 10/10 on own putin plus 4 tightheads and a tighthead scrum penalty
• CAS wins 7/12 on own putin

this scrum dominance (IMHO) had a major influence on the game, and disproves some of the sillier comments on this forum about scrums being irrelevant. Also size is not critical, it's all about technique.