QLD GPS Rugby 2019

[Garry Owens]

I don't reckon . League Centres of Excellence within the State School System will attract continue to attract moreso. Generally speaking I don't reckon the type gives a rats ass about a broader based curriculum and the educational merit of it.

 

[Lute]

Totally agree G

I will say though ...I don't think Campbell Moller gets enough attention / credit .

Very very good player . A throwback in a lot of ways . A hard and direct Herbert-esque type of Centre.

Yeah, and that football to the back of his head a few years ago hasn’t hindered his performance

 

[Taipan168]

James O'Connor is returning to Queensland Reds.

 

[BraveandGame]

James O'Connor is returning to Queensland Reds.

Well has -'the more things change the more they stay the same' ever been more relevant!!

 

[Cancelled Account]

I remember watching James play at Nudgee around 2006 or 2007. This kid continues to be the best back from Nudgee to ever play on Ross. Not too sure if he left in year 11 or 12 to join the Wallabies squad. Putting aside the off-field events, the Reds picking up James for 2020 is a good thing.

 

[Beer Baron]

I remember watching James play at Nudgee around 2006 or 2007. This kid continues to be the best back from Nudgee to ever play on Ross. Not too sure if he left in year 11 or 12 to join the Wallabies squad. Putting aside the off-field events, the Reds picking up James for 2020 is a good thing.

That’s a big call. Would be keen to hear the view on those who saw Flatley play and JOC (James O'Connor)

 

[Cancelled Account]

Flats must have been at least 10 years prior to James. Bloody good too but I always liked James. Many didn’t like his give a fuck attitude but I liked how it showed in his game.

 

[Beer Baron]

Flats must have been at least 10 years prior to James. Bloody good too but I always liked James. Many didn’t like his give a fuck attitude but I liked how it showed in his game.

20...
Flatley's schoolboy dominance never transferred to the big stage. Still a solid 10/112 for Reds/Wobs though. But ran the show at school.

 

[Cancelled Account]

Shit 20 years. I didn’t realise it was that long ago. Was a memorable schoolboy talent. I thought I saw him at the last Nudgee fundraiser for Alex but wasn’t sure.

 

[Beer Baron]

No 10 years... 95 finish. Bad maths on my part.

 

[Garry Owens]

Re : GPS Schools and their discouragement of their students participation in the Rugby State Championships, a possible big reason ( and that no one has talked about yet ) may have been the 4 x horrific spinal injuries we saw last season.

On a very rough rule of thumb the game sees one of these injuries ( across all levels ) about once every 8 -10 years. We saw 4 in one Schoolboy competition within a month. The additional scrutiny , compliance and potential liability risk for a potential duty of care challenge would have been significantly significant.

In this context , and as a possible explanation, this might make some sense as to why GPS Schools were in no rush to support or sign off students wishing to participate in an early competition before they had completed all compliance checks and balances around the season ahead .

Having said that :

1. They already had Open Squad players in Camp from late March
2. Some signed off on their students heading off to play in the League State Championships with QSSS that would have required sign off approximately at the same time ( or possibly a few weeks later )

But ......if I’m not mistaken, Insurance coverage ( obviously for Rugby related activity ) filters down from RA

However , wouldn’t all other Schools and QSSS itself been in the same boat ?

 

[Aussie Luke]

That’s a big call. Would be keen to hear the view on those who saw Flatley play and JOC (James O'Connor)

I saw Flats play for Nudgee and he was the only player on the park anyone was watching due to his dominance. I agree this didn’t translate to professional rugby but he’ll always be remembered for his penalty kick v England in the 2003 Rugby World Cup final.

I’m very happy O’Connor has been brought back into the Wallabies squad and it’s completely ridiculous to the extreme how they managed the situation in the past.

Is there any word on whether Skelton will be allowed to play for the Wallabies or is Rayleen still putting up the barrier?

 

[RugbyReg]

I saw Flats play for Nudgee and he was the only player on the park anyone was watching due to his dominance. I agree this didn’t translate to professional rugby but he’ll always be remembered for his penalty kick v England in the 2003 Rugby World Cup final.

I’m very happy O’Connor has been brought back into the Wallabies squad and it’s completely ridiculous to the extreme how they managed the situation in the past.

Is there any word on whether Skelton will be allowed to play for the Wallabies or is Rayleen still putting up the barrier?

why do you blame Raelene for Skelton too? He's re-signed over in England and has played nowhere near the reqired tests. he aint better than Rodda, Arnold, Philip, etc anyway. But this is content for another thread.

 

[Aussie Luke]

why do you blame Raelene for Skelton too? He's re-signed over in England and has played nowhere near the reqired tests. he aint better than Rodda, Arnold, Philip, etc anyway. But this is content for another thread.

I followed Skelton in the European Championshiip and he dominated the forwards in the competition, including the Poms. He was devastating. Raelene said she wouldn’t be flexible in the 60 test rule and so I was wondering if anyone had come up with a way to get him in the team. You’re right though, not the right thread.

 

[D'Lite Full]

Yes, will do spud. Up at Bundy watching RL carnival this week where the AIC schools have done well against the traditional favourites of this carnival. Padua in the final 4 and MCA just missed by 2 points on the Division 1 semi-finals. The best performance in years illustrating the talent in their squads and the standard in 2019 compared to previous years. St Pats and Iona have toiled hard too and not disgraced against the RL schools. Still a great event each year.

Would definitely like to go out & watch some GPS school games in term 3 before settling on my combinations. The Colts players - Crothers, Downes, Flook, Roach and Engelbrecht were all worthy mentions for QLD Academy v Rebels. I thought #8 (Titi?) led the way defensively for the school members of the team. How good did they look when Flook went to 12 and Fifita was at 13? Dangerous.

 

[D'Lite Full]

Yes I am a Pats man. Will go back to the AIC thread to comment on Galloper's thoughts on the merits or potential representative merits of the MCA team, who I saw play once live but their centres were unbelievable that day. Probably the best AIC 12/13 combo in several years.

 

[Garry Owens]

Not taking anything away from the efforts of the MCA Centres this season - especially their 13 , who I believe was on the fringes of the expanded Reds Academy squad .........

However ...........

Most of the midfield combinations they were up against were pretty ordinary. The MCA set piece was ordinary ( to put it kindly ) and there are several backrow combinations throughout GPS that , combined with , greater size and defensive speed and physicality of those GPS midfields that would have all contributed to a much different reality for those boys

And that's no knock . But its important to view it through the relativity lens

 

[D'Lite Full]

I don't know about ordinary but they made them look ordinary. Get to lots of MCA games?

 

[D'Lite Full]

And mate whilst you might say you're not taking anything away or it's not knocking, I do agree the relativities are important.

Unfortunately these boys don't get to play a game for AIC v GPS or even higher honours to test the lens.

 

[The Nomad]

Can back GO up there DF, the MCA #7 Howse and the # 13 Moller were invited into camp with the U18 Academy team prior to the match day team being announced, so they were at least looked at, which is what the Reds promised, as in players recognised for their form.

How’s that team of yours going that will smash the Academy team?