Official Sean McMahon Bandwagon Thread

[Train Without a Station]

Lewis Moody is probably a good point of discussion. At 191cm and 102kg it is my understanding that playing 6 was always his preference, and he never was quite a natural 7, though due to his lack of size (weight in his specific case) he needed to play 7 to make his mark in the English game.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

I think all of this suggests that McMahon will need to put on a few kilos of muscle mass to play anything other than openside at the top level.

 

[oztimmay]

Is a marathon, not a sprint

Just like Bernard Foley and the Rebels

 

[Scrubber2050]

If he's good enough, big enough AND / OR the best option, then play him where needed.

If not, then go and get more biggerer and more betterer UNTIL he is the bestest option.

 

[Scrubber2050]

Shit - if he needs to have more weight now there is a simple solution: Add a few kilos of lead to the blokes shorts/ boots like they do in horse racing (in saddles) He could then be 119kg

 

[Dumbledore]

I think what we have shown is that to consistently have impact over the duration of a career, players have needed to be around the 192cm & 110+kg mark as a 6 or an 8.

Haven't really though. How much of it is causation and how much is correlation? McMahon doesn't play 'light' like, say, a Hoiles. He plays heavy in the carry, and at the ruck for that matter. So if he gets a run against the Welsh and plays well again do you have to start reconsidering preconceptions about size and effectiveness?

I wonder if he just has far better body control than most of the bigger blokes around him and so is able to better apply himself to the task at hand? Adding kegs to him just because he doesn't fit the model that people have been rolling with for the last ten years might just slow him down.

 

[Train Without a Station]

For McMahon to consistently be good at international level as a 6 or an 8 he will have to be more effective with his size than 95% of international players in the modern era have been. To expect that of him would be foolish. I'm not saying it's impossible. But I am saying it's not likely. Not because he's not good, but because it's not likely for a player to be better than most players before him.

I wonder if he's just had a good year. Much like Ed Quirk in 2013 but really lacked the physicality and at 108kg lacked a little of the bulk to perform as well in 2014 when the weight of expectation look far too heavy on him.

I in fact haven't advocated him adding weight. I've simply said his smaller frame (than his contemporaries - at 178cm it's certainly a bigger frame than mine) doesn't really lend itself to that of a typically successful 6 or 8, as he lacks the height to be a truly top line jumping option, lacks the bulk in collisions and to add to the scrum of many others, and that adding bulk would negatively impact his line out jumping.

 

[fatprop]

This guy is being set up for a massive fall

High expectations much?

 

[Highlander35]

Nah. He's Richie McCaw 2.0.

He can't fail. He's too big to fail! We need a Government Bailout!

Anyway, I'm not serious. I just hope he can replicate his form at Super and NRC level in the Canary Jersey.

 

[Scrubber2050]

This guy is being set up for a massive fall

High expectations much?

fatprop

I agree and said it early.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

No massive expectations from me, but he's made a good start this year. I reckon he's a talent and will only get better from here as his body matures. He certainly seems to have the right attitude.

 

[TOCC]

Ever wondered why Australian Rugby seems to breed more then its fair share of dickheads? The answer lies within this thread.

The Australia public and the Australian media jump on bandwagons and hail any young player with potential as the saviour of Australia Rugby, this breeds a culture of self-inflated egos with little substance to fall back on.

Lets make a new rule, no more bandwagon threads until a player has started a test against the All Blacks and Springboks, not a team who had trained together 4 times.. Otherwise you are just setting them up for failure.

 

[Bobby Sands]

Will never understand the obsession with size. Completely ridiculous.

Has McMahon ever looked small on a football field? No.

Has he ever been smashed in contact, because he was too small? Not that I can remember.

Has he played well at all levels so far? Yes.


What the hell are we even talking about?

 

[Tomikin]

Haven't really though. How much of it is causation and how much is correlation? McMahon doesn't play 'light' like, say, a Hoiles. He plays heavy in the carry, and at the ruck for that matter. So if he gets a run against the Welsh and plays well again do you have to start reconsidering preconceptions about size and effectiveness?

I wonder if he just has far better body control than most of the bigger blokes around him and so is able to better apply himself to the task at hand? Adding kegs to him just because he doesn't fit the model that people have been rolling with for the last ten years might just slow him down.

Its what happened to G.Smith and Hoolies. I wouldn't be bulking him up he plays heavy anyway, I'm more concerned with The lineout, if his good there then that's what counts

 

[Dumbledore]

Ever wondered why Australian Rugby seems to breed more then its fair share of dickheads? The answer lies within this thread.

The Australia public and the Australian media jump on bandwagons and hail any young player with potential as the saviour of Australia Rugby, this breeds a culture of self-inflated egos with little substance to fall back on.

Lets make a new rule, no more bandwagon threads until a player has started a test against the All Blacks and Springboks, not a team who had trained together 4 times.. Otherwise you are just setting them up for failure.

Are you serious? I'm not quite sure how much more tongue-in-cheek the OP could have been.

Can see him struggling under the enormous weight of media expectation from this quote on the single Fairfax article featuring him -

"To be told I was going to get an opportunity was just breathtaking," McMahon said. "I knew I had a good year and I was stoked with that, but I booked a trip [to Mexico] and when I got the call up … I'm still a bit speechless, I think. I'm still in a bit of a dream at the moment, just pinching myself every day. Just getting through and learning as I see it. Right now I'm just stoked to be where I am."

There's one article about him in the Australian that I can see, so... I dunno man. If his ego is going to be inflated by anything, I'd say it'd be a bit more likely to come from the enormous swag of awards he's picked up through the year.

But hey, let's face it, if he's the sort of person who's actively looking around to find out what some punters on the internet have to say about him he's probably a lost cause already.

 

[Redsfan]

Ever wondered why Australian Rugby seems to breed more then its fair share of dickheads? The answer lies within this thread.

The Australia public and the Australian media jump on bandwagons and hail any young player with potential as the saviour of Australia Rugby, this breeds a culture of self-inflated egos with little substance to fall back on.

Lets make a new rule, no more bandwagon threads until a player has started a test against the All Blacks and Springboks, not a team who had trained together 4 times.. Otherwise you are just setting them up for failure.

I think that if you are taking this thread that seriously, then you need to log off the forum, close your browser, turn off your computer and then go for a walk around the block to clear your head.

Do you really think that the hyperbole in this thread isn't tongue-in-cheek? I'm sure people think he's good (I do), but I'm pretty sure that everyone on this board is more than familiar with our tendency to over-hype players. And that this thread is taking the pis out of that tendency.

 

[swingpass]

so i shouldn't be emailing Sean all the links to this thread ?

 

[Dumbledore]

so i shouldn't be emailing Sean all the links to this thread ?

It'll be the first step towards midnight Hungry Jacks if you do. The internet is very serious business and shouldn't be treated lightly.

 

[swingpass]

bugger !

 

[Paradox]

Any footage of him defending a maul or drive from a lineout?