QLD GPS Rugby 2013

[Dark Shark]

Probably time to stop looking for excuses and prepare for next week. The fact is that Churchie was the better team. The Churchie backs were far more superior and the forwards more committed.
Trials are just that, an opportunity to trial different players in different positions. The results mean nothing.
Every team are going to have player fatigue and injuries. That's what makes the competition intriguing, the challenge of having all the best players on the field playing their best rugby at the same time.

Nah, no excuses. Just looking for reasons. If gambling was allowed on this game (and never ever ever let there be) there would be an enquiry as to why NC ran "dead".

A similar thing occurred to ACGS (with a few more injuries IIRC) last year across the whole season. They were training for a good nine months before the season actually commenced.

The question is around teams are being coached / trained so hard or as hard as Senior rugby teams and the young men's bodies may not be up to it. Is this having a profound effect and diminishing the talent coming through to Colts and Senior Rugby after the players finish their schooling?

I accept that there are injuries and that there are better teams on the day and that some schoolboy teams just do not turn up. And others can cause upsets. Even in my pre season analysis / predictions I said that I believed that any team could win on the day as I believed that the spread of talent across all the schools had evened out and the gaps had diminished and that ACGS would be pushing my two "favourites" for the GPS Premiership.

It is not the loss by NC that has me wondering, it is the size of the loss on their home ground by a team that over the five years in trials and GPS matches have lost, at most, two matches by far lesser margins until now.

This ACGS team is a very good team. No doubt about it. Mason and the centre pairing are no doubt the best in QLD GPS. But did Mason et al not competing at the National Champs work in their favour? Has a later start to school rugby training due to unavailability of many of the key players until the beginning of this year also assisted and reversed what occured to ACGS last year?

Speculation and unanswered questions. But this is what the forum is about.

 

[Dark Shark]

Ladder as of round 3.
1st= NC,ACGS,BBC,TSS
5th= BGS,BSHS,GT,TGS
9th= IGS

Round 4 Predictions
TSS over NC by 12
ACGS over BBC by 10
IGS over BSHS by 3
GT over TGS by 8

After three rounds there are still 8 teams that have a theoretical chance of winning the premiership. In past years the premiership was almost done and dusted by now. Last year was great because up to four teams still had a chance with only two rounds to go.

I hope the closeness and upsets continue to occur.

TSS have what should be their two toughest games over the next two weeks against NC and then ACGS. If TSS win those, their last match of the season v BBC could still be the premiership decider.

 

[Hits74]

TGS and ACGS have both bounced back from losses and recorded good wins. Is the pressure on NC to do the same and stay alive or TSS hot fav from the beginning of the season. Young NC vs TSS at home. I predict NC to bounce back but wether it will be enough for a win remains to be seen.

 

[insider18]

what has happened to IGS?? they were tipped to do quite well this season with a good amount of qld players and 3 australia a representatives? has anyone gone and seen both there games

 

[Monday's Expert]

Nah, no excuses. Just looking for reasons. If gambling was allowed on this game (and never ever ever let there be) there would be an enquiry as to why NC ran "dead".

Please don't over-use the quote function especially if it's a big one or it's on the same page - it just takes up space.

Just quote the post number of big posts as I have added below - or better still: just quote the portion of the post you want to discuss and delete the rest.

Dark Shark - post 1327

I think the Sanix tournament sewed the seeds of the NC loss. It is hard to keep things this interesting when you are 16-17-18 for this long. ACGS in 2012 returned from a UK tour which they had trained for and had a bit of a break in Term 1 as I understand from a neighbour who was in the squad. He said he felt fresh enough when proper training recommenced so I'll take it that fatigue wasn't a factor. Hearsay comment deletedThere were also a number of injuries masked over from the nationals before the season and then they lost Tanuvula the big centre 2 mins into the 2012 NC game. Nice to see him starting to repay the school with a fine game on the weekend by all accounts. Don't write off NC yet but don't underestimate the recuperative power of the TSS bye and their recon of the NC-ACGS game. My tips this weekend:
TSS by 10, Churchie by 10, BSHS by 3 TGS by 5.

 

[TheKing]

Just had a conversation with a GT source……….

TheKing - I transferred this post to the scholarships thread where it belonged. No more please otherwise they will be deleted out of hand.

Thank you LG

 

[Set piece magic]

BBC will need a fine tuned performance in attack and defense against churchie if they want to walk away with a victory this Saturday. By all accounts the Churchie attack has explosive power in the centers, which means Quick et al need to have a great game. The advantage line will be crucial as always.

It would be fascinating to see a BBC TSS decider at Miskin oval in rd 9... I think a loooot of people would turn up.

But I'm tipping Churchie this weekend, by 5

 

[Black Caviar]

Nah, no excuses. Just looking for reasons. If gambling was allowed on this game (and never ever ever let there be) there would be an enquiry as to why NC ran "dead".

A similar thing occurred to ACGS (with a few more injuries IIRC) last year across the whole season. They were training for a good nine months before the season actually commenced.

The question is around teams are being coached / trained so hard or as hard as Senior rugby teams and the young men's bodies may not be up to it. Is this having a profound effect and diminishing the talent coming through to Colts and Senior Rugby after the players finish their schooling?

I accept that there are injuries and that there are better teams on the day and that some schoolboy teams just do not turn up. And others can cause upsets. Even in my pre season analysis / predictions I said that I believed that any team could win on the day as I believed that the spread of talent across all the schools had evened out and the gaps had diminished and that ACGS would be pushing my two "favourites" for the GPS Premiership.

It is not the loss by NC that has me wondering, it is the size of the loss on their home ground by a team that over the five years in trials and GPS matches have lost, at most, two matches by far lesser margins until now.

This ACGS team is a very good team. No doubt about it. Mason and the centre pairing are no doubt the best in QLD GPS. But did Mason et al not competing at the National Champs work in their favour? Has a later start to school rugby training due to unavailability of many of the key players until the beginning of this year also assisted and reversed what occured to ACGS last year?

Speculation and unanswered questions. But this is what the forum is about.

I think you're overreacting. They have lost one game. Its not the end of the world. They are a strong school and they will come back harder. Magnay was a huge loss. Very solid in defence and extremely quick in attack. He showed this against BBC. As for the scoreline yes it was quite suprising but churchie just turned up and played good footy

 

[Black Caviar]

May predictions for round 4.

Nudgee over TSS by 10
Nudgee will be gutted by their loss to the churchie boys and I believ will stop at nothing to beat TSS and prove that they are mortals. Expect Tuttle to have a blinder. Knowing him, he wants this premiership more than anything. Magnay is back! and he is more than capable of handling Tanuvasa.

BBC over ACGS by 10
The Boys in green are firing this season and there backline defence is awesome. Russel and Quick are impenetrable. This week Wilkins is back and will be ready give churchie a bit of their own medicine. Bowen will be the difference.


BSHS over IGS by 12
IGS are looking quite poor this season with a couple players really not hitting the mark. especially in their forwards which always used to be their strong point. No flair in attack either. State high are hardworking and should grab the game.

GT over TGS by 5
I think the only reason TGS beat BGS was because of BGS's terrible injury woes which includes the like of Pat Morrey who was essential to their premiership dreams. GT are coming of the back of a good win and Larosa is back. Larosa will easily handle Wathen.

 

[Vegas]

And by the way - all the posts about Bowen being the savior for BBC at No.10 - Bowen not playing this week - in fact he never has played ! The 10 for BBC is BOWYER, not Bowen.... and Josh Bowyer may very well do the job in 2013 !

 

[Digby]

BTW. The correct name for BBC no 10 is "Bowen-Boyer" ask the Broncos .

 

[Digby]

May predictions for round 4.

Nudgee over TSS by 10
Nudgee will be gutted by their loss to the churchie boys and I believ will stop at nothing to beat TSS and prove that they are mortals. Expect Tuttle to have a blinder. Knowing him, he wants this premiership more than anything. Magnay is back! and he is more than capable of handling Tanuvasa.

BBC over ACGS by 10
The Boys in green are firing this season and there backline defence is awesome. Russel and Quick are impenetrable. This week Wilkins is back and will be ready give churchie a bit of their own medicine. Bowen will be the difference.


BSHS over IGS by 12
IGS are looking quite poor this season with a couple players really not hitting the mark. especially in their forwards which always used to be their strong point. No flair in attack either. State high are hardworking and should grab the game.

GT over TGS by 5
I think the only reason TGS beat BGS was because of BGS's terrible injury woes which includes the like of Pat Morrey who was essential to their premiership dreams. GT are coming of the back of a good win and Larosa is back. Larosa will easily handle Wathen.

Agree with all you say except I cannot see BBC beating Churchie with their set piece woes especially line-out.

 

[Knockers]

Does Asiata play front row or number 8? I hardly think he will have THAT much of a difference for Churchie. Harley Fox, Brodie Brusasco, Will Bailey and Josh Webb are all playing the house down this season, so why recruit a player to replace in-form players?

 

[TheKing]

You're killing me, @leegrant

Thank you for moving it though and not just deleting it. I thought I might have been able to keep it on the technicality that he wasn't on a scholarship. Never mind, thanks for the assist. What are your thoughts on the matter?

 

[light]

Guys, the preceding few posts have absolutely no business in this thread. When will you get the message that it will not be tolerated? [I have edited them - LG]

Vegas and Digby you guys may be relatively new to this forum but there is a protocol we follow and I find it quite disturbing that you blatantly disregarded the rules. The fact that all your evidence is hearsay and that you are picking out individual players does not add any quality to the thread whatsoever. Take it elsewhere and find some factual evidence - it was not so long ago that these threads were clogged with similar BS that nearly resulted in the end of schoolboy forums.
[It is getting better but we really need guys to follow the rules even though they disagree with them. LG]

As for TheKing (and to a lesser extent Knockers), you guys have been around here long enough to know better. I hate to be the fun police but I know you guys have more substantial contributions than the last few posts. Don't drag yourselves into this mess cause it will just end in cards.


Black Caviar, some interesting predictions. I tend to agree with the bottom two however those top ones are bold! I'm sure the return of Magnay will boost Nudgee but TSS don't have Tanuvasa and Perese and their threats are not limited to the centre pairing. Third is an elite 10 in this competition and on another level to Mason, if they can shut him down they will have half a chance of containing the back line but much will depend on how they handle the TSS forward pack (I'm not so sure they will). Mafi will need to keep close tabs on Clifton, the breakdown will also be essential. As for BBC v ACGS could be anyone's game, I like the confidence BBC is showing and Barker will have his troops fired up with a solid game plan, expect Gilmore to respond accordingly with a well-drilled side that will take any points on offer. If BBC gets up they will have to play an incredibly tight game with very few errors and penalties. Taking the Churchie crowd out will be essential early on.

GT v TGS will be a cracker, both teams have nothing to lose and have been written off so far this season - I'd have this one down as an important game for both sides in terms of their future results.

 

[Giteau]

May predictions for round 4.
BBC over ACGS by 10
The Boys in green are firing this season and there backline defence is awesome. Russel and Quick are impenetrable. This week Wilkins is back and will be ready give churchie a bit of their own medicine. Bowen will be the difference.

Sorry mate but this is the team that just beat one of the competition favourites at there homeground by 28 points, the Nucifora, Mason, Tanuvasa, Perese combination will overwhelm the College defence, and the defense of the Churchie center pairing as well as Ogilvie will frustrate Bowen into pushing passes etc. like he has in the past. ACGS vs TSS will be the match of the season.

 

[TheKing]

And by the way - all the posts about Bowen being the savior for BBC at No.10 - Bowen not playing this week - in fact he never has played ! The 10 for BBC is BOWYER, not Bowen.. and Josh Bowyer may very well do the job in 2013 !

I agree with you, but it's probably best not to upset Big Brother and talk about it.

I was under the impression that it was Josh Bowyer-Bowen who was playing 15, but has since been moved to 10, with previous 10 Russell moving to 12, and former 13 Wilkins moving to 15. Conrad Quick to play 13 against Churchie.

Inside backs should be a great match up, which I alluded to in a previous post. If I was in Brisbane this weekend I'd be there in a flash.

10. Mason v Bowen
12. Tanuvasa v Russell
13. Perese v Quick

That being said, Southport/Nudgee have some awesome match ups too

1. Guttenbiel v Luka
2. Lyon v Mafi
4. Upfield v Hewatt/Spendelwinde
6. Vandenburg v Rodwell
8. Brown v Jones
9. Fines v Pilz
10. Third v Tuttle
11. Nathan v Hussey
12. Fielea v Pritchard
13. Fittock v Magnay
14. Dorrough v Calugay

in fact the only positions where they won't be a huge contest is Clifton v ? And the fullbacks. I expect Papworth to dominate his opposite number though. Talking to a source close to Papworth told me he'd been snubbed by the selectors due to an apparently widely held view that he didn't do much work. From what I can ascertain it seems Papworth has been working hard at proving the selectors wrong. I'm getting very excited for this game

 

[fairplay]

Just found this. And yes I am an old boy.

Anybody else found any good videos for this years comp. As I live overseas its the only way I can check out the teams and attempt to vicariously relive my youth

Hoping for a real cracker of a game between ACGS and BBC this Saturday.

 

[light]

Papworth (TSS) is in his second year of 1st XV rugby, I'd be surprised if he is dropped as he is one of their key players and instrumental at the breakdown. I was shocked that he didn't make higher rep honours last year, the kid is a confidence player and his style of tight play at 7 perfectly suits the TSS pack. Incredibly strong but his form waivers more than most.

Jayden Rodwell (NC) is the key for Nudgee IMO, he's a grafter and the type of player coaches love. He doesn't have the same support that he had last year in the backrow so has had to pick up a lot of the slack this time around but you can count on him to make a difference.

My thoughts are that Third will give Tuttle a masterclass at 10 but both have the ability to negate each other. Much of that battle will depend on the service from their 9's, from all reports Pilz has been below par this season and his performance against Churchie was very sub-standard. Fines is a very solid 9 who makes few errors but rarely gets the same accolades as his teammates. Expect him to standup at some point but remember that it is very easy to look good behind a pack that is going forward. If Nudgee can pressure him who knows what might happen to the TSS backline.

Isaac Nathan and Fred Dorrough is probably the best wing combination in the comp. Nathan in particular reminds me of Linsday Crook from a few years back, he has plenty of speed but will need to be on his game to contain Hussey who is a very competent winger and similarly relies on speed. Being on opposite wings they probably won't see too much of each other but I'd be curious watching those two duel.

If Magnay and Mafi fire then who knows what might happen but Pilz and Tuttle will need to play a lot better than last week and figure out a way to combat TSS rushing defence tactics (no doubt they will be similar to those employed by ACGS). TSS are a well-rounded unit and I expect will be too strong in the second half. Clifton, Lyon, Upfield, Papworth, Brown, Third and Nathan would all walk straight into any 1st XV. And then there's Nili Fielea, who can single-handedly tear defences apart on his day. Unfortunately he lacks the consistency to be among the top 12's in the comp but I rate him highly based on what I saw in 2012, very similar mould to Tanuvasa minus the kicking game. I'll stop now because I could write for days about the TSS XV, they are a bloody strong side all over the park. Oh, and I forgot tall timber Vandenberg, that lock combination should really dominate come line-out time.

Curious to see what the weather brings, Nudgee will be hoping for rain so Mafi and the big piggies can assert dominance and play field position and forward pick n drives, whereas I don't think TSS will mind either way. Dry weather should mean a high scoring affair.

 

[fairplay]

My tips for the weekend

NC vs TSS. I think Southport comfortably. They are well rested and choc-a-block with talent. I kind of agree with previous posters that NC is a little spent already and I think the churchie touch up may really have really hurt their confidence. TSS by 15

IGS vs BSHS. Well I picked Ippy last week and they lost. They really, really gotta be hurting. I'm tipping them again. I think their desperation for a first win of the season will just get them an away win over BSHS by about 3 points.

TGS vs GT. A hard game to pick as not a lot has been written about them. Both coming off wins in the last round. I'm tipping GT just because of home ground advantage. GT by 8

BBC vs ACGS. IMO the match of the round though I may be a little bias. Not just for the 1st 15 but also to see how their programs match up throughout all the grades. Also Gilmore vs Barker should be an interesting tactical battle.
Anyhow in the 1sts... I think the BBC backs will actually match up pretty well against their ACGS counterparts. They have some skill and hitting power to match Churchies excellent combinations. A seemingly obvious statement but I think this will really be won in the forwards especially at the breakdown battle. My heart says BBC but my head says Churchie, at the death, in a high scoring game. Churchie by 2