Rebels 2018

[Rebels3]

Sesh... the Dewar shield is going to have some quality players in it next season. The usual off season conflicting opinion to play another season or not just became a little bit clearer. haha

 

[elementfreak]

Such a shame about Jordy. He was turning into a very good Super Rugby player I thought.

 

[Jerry West]

Yes, Jordy Reid will depart the Rebels with that back issue getting the better of him. Such a shame after playing half the season with a fractured spine, huge effort with no reward. Steve Cummins as well is also set to depart after taking up a contract in the UK for 3 seasons.

It’s also believed that a host of Force players will choose NOT to sign with rival Australian franchises with players instead opting to join the Rebels on training contracts. Those players include Anaru Rangi, Kane Koteka, Michael Ruru and more.

Wallabies media confirmed news regarding Ainsley. Jermain has done a syndesmosis injury against the Barbarians which has required surgery and will sideline him for up to 3-4 months. Likely return for Rd 1 but will probably be underdone.

 

[swingpass]

Whilst i understand the pragmatism behind all the Force signings, it is nonetheless very disappointing that some Rebel stalwarts are going to be overlooked in the process. Cummins had a great year IMO in a well beaten team, Jordy is really unlucky, pretty poor time to get that injury, does anybody know where Louwrens is going, he was the pick of the bunch behind Coleman i believe.

 

[daz]

Whilst i understand the pragmatism behind all the Force signings, it is nonetheless very disappointing that some Rebel stalwarts are going to be overlooked in the process. .

That is a great thought swingpass, and one that I have been considering recently. My enthusiasm for the new signings and potential for 2018, has possibly blinded me to the fact that some Rebels lads who gave good service over the years, are being unceremoniously and quietly dumped out of the squad to make way for Rebels v2.0 Sadly, the reality was that a guy like Cummins, who did well in a shocking Rebels team in 2017, would not even come close to retaining a position against the lads we are bring in or retaining. Cruze Ah-Nau, who I am proud to declare is a mate of mine, knew that his time was up the second the Force were cut. Again, as much as I like the bloke, he was never going to make the cut with who we had access to. I think that theme runs deep against all the blokes we have let go in the last 12 months; we had a team full of blokes that were simply just not Super Rugby standard. There is not a coach at that team that would disagree with that statement off-the record. I guess the bit that hurts is that we are a family club, where we know our players personally. We talk to them and have access to them like no other pro-sports club in Melbourne. So to not get the chance to say bye, and thank them for their service, is a bit disappointing. I know where you are coming from sp, but putting the hard line blinkers on and thinking as a supporter who is looking for more than a wooden spoon, we desperately needed better players than the roster we had, no matter how much we liked them, or how hard they worked, or the passion they showed.

 

[GoMelbRebels]

That is a great thought swingpass, and one that I have been considering recently. My enthusiasm for the new signings and potential for 2018, has possibly blinded me to the fact that some Rebels lads who gave good service over the years, are being unceremoniously and quietly dumped out of the squad to make way for Rebels v2.0 Sadly, the reality was that a guy like Cummins, who did well in a shocking Rebels team in 2017, would not even come close to retaining a position against the lads we are bring in or retaining. Cruze Ah-Nau, who I am proud to declare is a mate of mine, knew that his time was up the second the Force were cut. Again, as much as I like the bloke, he was never going to make the cut with who we had access to. I think that theme runs deep against all the blokes we have let go in the last 12 months; we had a team full of blokes that were simply just not Super Rugby standard. There is not a coach at that team that would disagree with that statement off-the record. I guess the bit that hurts is that we are a family club, where we know our players personally. We talk to them and have access to them like no other pro-sports club in Melbourne. So to not get the chance to say bye, and thank them for their service, is a bit disappointing. I know where you are coming from sp, but putting the hard line blinkers on and thinking as a supporter who is looking for more than a wooden spoon, we desperately needed better players than the roster we had, no matter how much we liked them, or how hard they worked, or the passion they showed.

Very well said, Daz. It is harder than most, as you say, as we know the lads better than most clubs. Still, we have to decide between a team of nice guys who finish last or a winning team. Hopefully we end up with a friendly winning club!

 

[James Pettifer]

That is a great thought swingpass, and one that I have been considering recently. My enthusiasm for the new signings and potential for 2018, has possibly blinded me to the fact that some Rebels lads who gave good service over the years, are being unceremoniously and quietly dumped out of the squad to make way for Rebels v2.0 Sadly, the reality was that a guy like Cummins, who did well in a shocking Rebels team in 2017, would not even come close to retaining a position against the lads we are bring in or retaining. Cruze Ah-Nau, who I am proud to declare is a mate of mine, knew that his time was up the second the Force were cut. Again, as much as I like the bloke, he was never going to make the cut with who we had access to. I think that theme runs deep against all the blokes we have let go in the last 12 months; we had a team full of blokes that were simply just not Super Rugby standard. There is not a coach at that team that would disagree with that statement off-the record. I guess the bit that hurts is that we are a family club, where we know our players personally. We talk to them and have access to them like no other pro-sports club in Melbourne. So to not get the chance to say bye, and thank them for their service, is a bit disappointing. I know where you are coming from sp, but putting the hard line blinkers on and thinking as a supporter who is looking for more than a wooden spoon, we desperately needed better players than the roster we had, no matter how much we liked them, or how hard they worked, or the passion they showed.

I just wonder if some of them would have done better with a coach who had a different style. Of course, this was the ARU's intent. Reducing the number of SuperRugby players in Australia was always going to result in people having to move on and given the Rebels performance in 2017 and a new coach, it was always likely to be more of the Rebels than the other teams. Going forward though, it means that the new blood just probably won't get a look in - someone like Hodge wouldn't be playing for Australia if there were only 4 teams last year as he wouldn't have got as much of an opportunity.

That said, I wish all of those who are departing from any of the teams all the best. I hope that those who do stay in Australia play out of their skins and get another opportunity in coming years.

 

[swingpass]

a fair few will hopefully find employment as journeymen in Europe and UK,

of course as our Force friends will tell you, when the IPRC starts they will all come flooding back on salaries of $300K + bonus a year

 

[Tex]

a fair few will hopefully find employment as journeymen in Europe and UK,

of course as our Force friends will tell you, when the IPRC starts they will all come flooding back on salaries of $300K + bonus a year

Please do not poke that bear! We've only just now (appeared to) achieved peace in our time.

 

[swingpass]

Please do not poke that bear! We've only just now (appeared to) achieved peace in our time.

sorry couldn't resist. i've been biting my tongue for many, many days, not wishing to inflame the situation.

 

[Killer]

Wessels is a players coach with a lot of alligence both ways.
By hiring him you are embracing that.
Thus under the circumstances of less Pro players needed and an already small Rebs playing group left you are going to get a Force coaching style, a Force playing style and a primarily Force roster with a few Rebels.
1+1=2

 

[swingpass]

now i'm really sorry

 

[James Pettifer]

Wessels is players coach with a lot of alligence both ways.
By hiring him you are embracing that.
Thus under the circumstances of less Pro players needed and an already small Rebs playing group left you are going to get a Force coaching style, a Force playing style and a primarily Force roster with a few Rebels.
1+1=2

Well we don't want a 2017 Rebels playing style (or a 2015 or 2016 Force playing style either TBH - pre Wessels obviously). Probably more than a few Rebels ... and with the addition of Parling and Genia. At the moment, I think it would be roughly 6-8 from the 2017 Rebels team, 6-8 from the 2017 Force Team and Parling and Genia. It is by far the strongest team that either the Rebels or Force have had at any point in either of their existences and with what we hope is a good coach (still on the fence about Wessels) you would hope that the team would do well. Hopefully, that will start to bring the crowds up in Melbourne and Twiggy starts kicking goals with his comp and the ARU wake up.

 

[Tex]

Be right back, I'm sharpening my pitchfork.

Jokes aside I feel for the Rebels and Force guys who didn't make the cut but there was always going to be heartbreak.

I have a gut feeling that Wessels' approach to community and media engagement will be such a blast of oxygen after the years of surly totalitarianism. Big picture for a fan like me is being able to head to the stadium after work on a Friday, cheer my team and head home with a sore throat and a contented feeling. That's due to the jersey more than the blokes in it.

 

[TOCC]

That’s a massive payroll for 2018, hope the VRU can afford it...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[daz]

Be right back, I'm sharpening my pitchfork.

Jokes aside I feel for the Rebels and Force guys who didn't make the cut but there was always going to be heartbreak.

I have a gut feeling that Wessels' approach to community and media engagement will be such a blast of oxygen after the years of surly totalitarianism. Big picture for a fan like me is being able to head to the stadium after work on a Friday, cheer my team and head home with a sore throat and a contented feeling. That's due to the jersey more than the blokes in it.

Yep. I dunno why others seem so focused on things that are completely out of our control. Most of us just want to get to the end of the working week, cheer our team, drink our beer and watch a few wins from time to time. Oh, and attend mid-Winter Balls. Yeah, that one was for you, Baden! ;-)

 

[James Pettifer]

That’s a massive payroll for 2018, hope the VRU can afford it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Hope the Tah's can afford their payroll ....

 

[daz]

Wessels is a players coach with a lot of alligence both ways.
By hiring him you are embracing that.
Thus under the circumstances of less Pro players needed and an already small Rebs playing group left you are going to get a Force coaching style, a Force playing style and a primarily Force roster with a few Rebels.
1+1=2

That may well be the case. But it's now a Rebels coaching style, Rebels playing style and 100% Rebels roster.

 

[Killer]

That may well be the case. But it's now a Rebels coaching style, Rebels playing style and 100% Rebels roster.

1+1=1

 

[Mr Wobbly]

Be right back, I'm sharpening my pitchfork.

Jokes aside I feel for the Rebels and Force guys who didn't make the cut but there was always going to be heartbreak.

I have a gut feeling that Wessels' approach to community and media engagement will be such a blast of oxygen after the years of surly totalitarianism. Big picture for a fan like me is being able to head to the stadium after work on a Friday, cheer my team and head home with a sore throat and a contented feeling. That's due to the jersey more than the blokes in it.

surly totalitarianism
That is a quality play on words. Well done.