QLD Premier Rugby 2015
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TheBigDog
Nev Cottrell (35)
Taking away GPS only two prospects! Harsh!
I think you'll find in the lower grade comps this year it'll go like it usually does with standout teams storming home to win the comp. Uni also get quite a few runs on the board during the season in 2nds, 3rds and 4ths but for lack of a better term they 'lack the mindset' to consistently win grand finals in those grades as the opposition are usually a bit older and have been there before.
1st
Daylight
2nd
3rd
4th
With GPS being above the daylight in 3rds and 4ths!
I think you'll find in the lower grade comps this year it'll go like it usually does with standout teams storming home to win the comp. Uni also get quite a few runs on the board during the season in 2nds, 3rds and 4ths but for lack of a better term they 'lack the mindset' to consistently win grand finals in those grades as the opposition are usually a bit older and have been there before.
1st
Daylight
2nd
3rd
4th
With GPS being above the daylight in 3rds and 4ths!
Cat_A
Arch Winning (36)
"Lack the mindset"? No. It's much more practical than that.
When the teams above you at the club also make the finals it's virtually impossible to play week to week with the same team - even one injury in any other team trickles down to have an impact. But of course, you're playing against teams who can pick from ANY player who has qualified for that grade, and probably also have fresh reserves that they've trained with.
As for training? Changes are being made to most teams right to the end of Thursday night, so between the last training session and running out on Sat or Sun, the lineup can also change.
It's a great dilemma to be in, and I'm certainly not complaining, but when your starting 10 in 3rd grade gets pulled right before kickoff because someone else in another team got gastro, and he's a part of a 3way change, inexperience isn't the greatest challenge.
When the teams above you at the club also make the finals it's virtually impossible to play week to week with the same team - even one injury in any other team trickles down to have an impact. But of course, you're playing against teams who can pick from ANY player who has qualified for that grade, and probably also have fresh reserves that they've trained with.
As for training? Changes are being made to most teams right to the end of Thursday night, so between the last training session and running out on Sat or Sun, the lineup can also change.
It's a great dilemma to be in, and I'm certainly not complaining, but when your starting 10 in 3rd grade gets pulled right before kickoff because someone else in another team got gastro, and he's a part of a 3way change, inexperience isn't the greatest challenge.
TheBigDog
Nev Cottrell (35)
I'm a bit confused by the point you're trying to make Cat.
I wasn't having a crack at Uni in that regard, just speaking in terms of experience in what I've noticed with how Uni middle/lower grade teams fair when it comes to finals.
Uni undoubtedly are the front runners in terms of getting over the line in Premier, Prem Reserves and across all Colts grades but seem to struggle when it comes to the middle grades. I understand your point about player movement etc but you don't believe it may also have something to do with the fact that many 2nd,3rd,4th grade teams from other clubs put far more experienced sides on the field compared to what Uni have to offer? For example GPS, Norths and Souths have had great success at that level over the last 5 years as lots of their ex-Prem players stick around and play the lower grades. I haven't seen that as much at Uni.
I wasn't having a crack at Uni in that regard, just speaking in terms of experience in what I've noticed with how Uni middle/lower grade teams fair when it comes to finals.
Uni undoubtedly are the front runners in terms of getting over the line in Premier, Prem Reserves and across all Colts grades but seem to struggle when it comes to the middle grades. I understand your point about player movement etc but you don't believe it may also have something to do with the fact that many 2nd,3rd,4th grade teams from other clubs put far more experienced sides on the field compared to what Uni have to offer? For example GPS, Norths and Souths have had great success at that level over the last 5 years as lots of their ex-Prem players stick around and play the lower grades. I haven't seen that as much at Uni.
Red Heavy
Billy Sheehan (19)
It is a bit of a strange phenomenon at uni. For the last 5 years every team makes finals but only colts and prem grade bring home the bacon.
The only grades team to win a premiership in that time was 1st grade back in 2011 I am pretty sure.
While they may contribute I don't think the reasons listed above are why either.
The boys have had plenty of experience having been there for the last 5 years straight and they all won premierships while playing colts.
And while having all the teams in finals can hurt its not like uni are the only club that go through this.
Who knows 2015 may be the year we break the curse
The only grades team to win a premiership in that time was 1st grade back in 2011 I am pretty sure.
While they may contribute I don't think the reasons listed above are why either.
The boys have had plenty of experience having been there for the last 5 years straight and they all won premierships while playing colts.
And while having all the teams in finals can hurt its not like uni are the only club that go through this.
Who knows 2015 may be the year we break the curse
T
Tigers Tale
Guest
Hey Filth do you only put the game on Vimeo Brother RC if you win?
I see the Prem Reserve game is up but not the Prem game.
I see the Prem Reserve game is up but not the Prem game.
T
Tigers Tale
Guest
Red Heavy - out of interest is Matt Randell injured or has he been dropped/rotated?
I just noticed he was not listed in the Prem team last week.
I just noticed he was not listed in the Prem team last week.
Cat_A
Arch Winning (36)
No, I didn't take it as having a crack. I've just seen an awful lot of team changes in the lower grades through the years that are potentially unsettling for the team, happen at very short - to absolutely no - notice. In the sudden-death environment of finals that are rarely won by blowout scores, the little things make a difference.
Still, that's just how finals go.
T
Tigers Tale
Guest
Red Heavy - no doubt Randell is a good player.
It is just strange he went to Uni to get more Prem grade minutes but if he had stayed at Easts he would have had 80 minutes in Prems v Wests(Rnd 6) & Bros(Rnd 7) and for the foreseeable future until Saia is back for the Reds.
Instead he is coming off the bench for Uni.
In days gone past plenty of Reds players vying for the same spot in the Reds have played for the same club the main examples that come to mind are halfbacks - Tony Parker & Guy Sanders(#9 at Uni), Peter Slattery & Brian Smith(#9 @ Wests), Rod Hauser & Nev Cottrell (#9 at Teachers-Norths), Jeff Miller & Tony Roche(#7 at Uni).
(Lots of Uni examples their.)
I still believe that if you are good enough you will get there no matter what club you play for.
It will be interesting to see at the end of the day whether Randell gets the NRC spot for which he yearns - I hope he does because he's a good bloke if not a bit misguided.
It is just strange he went to Uni to get more Prem grade minutes but if he had stayed at Easts he would have had 80 minutes in Prems v Wests(Rnd 6) & Bros(Rnd 7) and for the foreseeable future until Saia is back for the Reds.
Instead he is coming off the bench for Uni.
In days gone past plenty of Reds players vying for the same spot in the Reds have played for the same club the main examples that come to mind are halfbacks - Tony Parker & Guy Sanders(#9 at Uni), Peter Slattery & Brian Smith(#9 @ Wests), Rod Hauser & Nev Cottrell (#9 at Teachers-Norths), Jeff Miller & Tony Roche(#7 at Uni).
(Lots of Uni examples their.)
I still believe that if you are good enough you will get there no matter what club you play for.
It will be interesting to see at the end of the day whether Randell gets the NRC spot for which he yearns - I hope he does because he's a good bloke if not a bit misguided.
TheBigDog
Nev Cottrell (35)
Anyone seen these 'Water Boy' videos floating around on YouTube that follow the life and times of Sam Greene? I only came across them today but noticed they were posted a few weeks ago so I might be a bit slow.
Whoever is making the videos seems to be a huge Greene/Brothers fanboy as it completely brushes the time he spent at Wests.
For me, its a bit concerning that a 20yr old lad has someone making docos about him. I'm not sure if they are being done a bit of a gee up but they seem fairly serious. I remember when JOC (James O'Connor) had a similar thing happen back in 07/08 and look how he turned out...
Whoever is making the videos seems to be a huge Greene/Brothers fanboy as it completely brushes the time he spent at Wests.
For me, its a bit concerning that a 20yr old lad has someone making docos about him. I'm not sure if they are being done a bit of a gee up but they seem fairly serious. I remember when JOC (James O'Connor) had a similar thing happen back in 07/08 and look how he turned out...
Purce
Dave Cowper (27)
With regards to the lack of premierships from Uni's middle/lower grades IMO it's a mixture of what CAT, RH and The Big Dog have been saying above.
The major differences are:
Quite often it is a case of young men playing seasoned men in grades 1-4. For example the UQ 2nd grade back line last week consisted of 5 x 19yo players straight out of colts... playing against a couple of ex premier guys. That makes a pretty big difference. Take the stacked Norths 2nd Grade last year for example... it really was a case of Norths 2nd best XV verse most other teams 4th best. That is the reality of lower grade rugby. It happens year in, year out with a number of clubs.
I'll touch on the point Cat was making. Lets look at if you have your Premier grade team through to your 4th grade team in the finals. Lets, for example, say you have on average 1-2 injuries per team in the weeks leading up to finals/the finals. What you're looking at in 1st grade is 3-6 positional changes, 2nd grade is 4-8 positional changes, so on and so forth. Again this is a reality of that situation. A team such as Logan in 1s, Norths in 2s or Easts in 3s doesn't have that number of respective changes to those specific teams. Their change remains 1-2 with likely subs from grades above who didn't make the finals. This makes a pretty significant difference in Finals.
As we all know, experience is huge in finals. There is a pretty high turn over of players at UQ with a strong Colts program pushing more and more players into Grades each year. Whilst a certain team may have made the finals a number of years in a row, it's never the same or similar team(from about 1st grade down). So you actually lose all that individual experience in that grade from the previous year. A product of the high turnover. In saying that, I think this year will be a little different. A number of players have come back and a fair few have hung around adding that much needed experience. Fingers crossed a few of the boys get the cake in finals this year.... a fair few have earned a win.
None of these are excuses.... just thought I'd share my experience and thoughts on the matter.
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I can think of 3 grades we should have won over the past 2 seasons of which there is no excuse apart from "less than finals" performances. Probably another 3 which we could have won if they had played to their potential during the finals series. But that's Rugby... our loss is another clubs win.
The major differences are:
Quite often it is a case of young men playing seasoned men in grades 1-4. For example the UQ 2nd grade back line last week consisted of 5 x 19yo players straight out of colts... playing against a couple of ex premier guys. That makes a pretty big difference. Take the stacked Norths 2nd Grade last year for example... it really was a case of Norths 2nd best XV verse most other teams 4th best. That is the reality of lower grade rugby. It happens year in, year out with a number of clubs.
I'll touch on the point Cat was making. Lets look at if you have your Premier grade team through to your 4th grade team in the finals. Lets, for example, say you have on average 1-2 injuries per team in the weeks leading up to finals/the finals. What you're looking at in 1st grade is 3-6 positional changes, 2nd grade is 4-8 positional changes, so on and so forth. Again this is a reality of that situation. A team such as Logan in 1s, Norths in 2s or Easts in 3s doesn't have that number of respective changes to those specific teams. Their change remains 1-2 with likely subs from grades above who didn't make the finals. This makes a pretty significant difference in Finals.
As we all know, experience is huge in finals. There is a pretty high turn over of players at UQ with a strong Colts program pushing more and more players into Grades each year. Whilst a certain team may have made the finals a number of years in a row, it's never the same or similar team(from about 1st grade down). So you actually lose all that individual experience in that grade from the previous year. A product of the high turnover. In saying that, I think this year will be a little different. A number of players have come back and a fair few have hung around adding that much needed experience. Fingers crossed a few of the boys get the cake in finals this year.... a fair few have earned a win.
None of these are excuses.... just thought I'd share my experience and thoughts on the matter.
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I can think of 3 grades we should have won over the past 2 seasons of which there is no excuse apart from "less than finals" performances. Probably another 3 which we could have won if they had played to their potential during the finals series. But that's Rugby... our loss is another clubs win.
Red Heavy
Billy Sheehan (19)
I see where you are coming from TT but it also means he wouldn't have gotten any time in rounds 1-5. He would also be unlikely to get any time in finals if/when Easts make it at the end of the year.
Same goes for Elliott Hagen. He saw jj and Banksy ahead of him for his 15 jersey and now with banks injuried and jj's best chance of making the Reds being on the wing he prabably would have started the remainder of the season. No one at uni begrudges him for moving. Although Elliott didn't play at uni since he was 6 either.
Same goes for Elliott Hagen. He saw jj and Banksy ahead of him for his 15 jersey and now with banks injuried and jj's best chance of making the Reds being on the wing he prabably would have started the remainder of the season. No one at uni begrudges him for moving. Although Elliott didn't play at uni since he was 6 either.
TheBigDog
Nev Cottrell (35)
Question for the Uni supporters;
Is having 30+ Colts graduating to grades each year becoming counter-intuitive to creating depth in middle/lower grades? Are some of the older (and I mean by footy standards mid-late twenties) players feeling like they can retire earlier as there are plenty of guys to fill teams?
GPS had five blokes who have played 200+ games for the club run out in 4th grade the other week, would something like that ever occur at Uni? This isn't me having a crack at Uni's setup either, I'm genuinely interested whether there comes a point where turnover from Colts to Grades becomes too high that players feel unwanted to so speak. If anything, it looks to me like a disadvantage of their own success so its a hard one to judge.
Is having 30+ Colts graduating to grades each year becoming counter-intuitive to creating depth in middle/lower grades? Are some of the older (and I mean by footy standards mid-late twenties) players feeling like they can retire earlier as there are plenty of guys to fill teams?
GPS had five blokes who have played 200+ games for the club run out in 4th grade the other week, would something like that ever occur at Uni? This isn't me having a crack at Uni's setup either, I'm genuinely interested whether there comes a point where turnover from Colts to Grades becomes too high that players feel unwanted to so speak. If anything, it looks to me like a disadvantage of their own success so its a hard one to judge.
T
Tigers Tale
Guest
Look no issue with Randell's move - he has done what he thinks is best for him and good luck to him.
As for Hagen - I would have thought he would consider himself more Stingray than Student!!
On Hagen I think he is a more complete footballer than JJ - but I know we all rank players differently e.g. I don't follow all the Green hype, despite having a fine kicking game and speed off the mark there are still things he needs to improve on. I am also not a fan of the Greene swan dive when he scores a try it just makes him look like a tool.
As for Hagen - I would have thought he would consider himself more Stingray than Student!!
On Hagen I think he is a more complete footballer than JJ - but I know we all rank players differently e.g. I don't follow all the Green hype, despite having a fine kicking game and speed off the mark there are still things he needs to improve on. I am also not a fan of the Greene swan dive when he scores a try it just makes him look like a tool.
T
Tigers Tale
Guest
Red Heavy - I am happy to leave the Randell thing go - just one last statement if Hanson is back for the QPR finals I can't see Randell getting much game time during the finals for Uni.
Red Heavy
Billy Sheehan (19)
TT I mentioned Hagen because he had originally planned to come back to uni this year but changed his mind.
As for chibb there is an outside chance he will be back playing at uni in finals time but there is a 100% chance Ready will playing for Easts
Big dog there is a big contingent of middle grade players that have been together for 5+ years and run the show down there. As for ex prems players in the lower grades it doesn't happen a lot because we have a policy that you must play in the highest team you are able to. So you won't ever find any stacked teams.
Otherwise we lose a lot of players when they finish their degrees and head overseas to live and play. or just get too busy with work/life balance. But I am sure we are not unique there.
As for chibb there is an outside chance he will be back playing at uni in finals time but there is a 100% chance Ready will playing for Easts
Big dog there is a big contingent of middle grade players that have been together for 5+ years and run the show down there. As for ex prems players in the lower grades it doesn't happen a lot because we have a policy that you must play in the highest team you are able to. So you won't ever find any stacked teams.
Otherwise we lose a lot of players when they finish their degrees and head overseas to live and play. or just get too busy with work/life balance. But I am sure we are not unique there.
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