Rebels 2018

[Rebels3]

Out of interest, what is the Rebels starting XV looking like?


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Daley/Ainsley/Sa’aga
Uelese
Faulkner
Coleman
Phillip/Parling
Timani
Fainga'a
Mafi
Genia
???????
Koroibete
Meakes
Hodge
Naivalu
DHP

Very good depth at 9, centers and the outside backs. The forwards - great depth at lock and blindside. No7 has two good super players although any injury to Fainga'a or Hardwick will test teams ability to get over the ball. No8 is more than covered (Mafi actually getting front football is going to be great). The front row is solid but unspectacular, Uelese the only one I believe has the ability to be a real force at int level. Happy to be proven wrong from anyone one of the guys. RHP, Uelese and Hodge are 3 people I think can take their game to the next level by seasons end, Genia, Mafi, Coleman and DHP will be the pillars of the team. Sa’aga I also have confidence will be at starting super level standard by seasons end

 

[cyclopath]

It’s not in this thread.

OK, that helps.

 

[Simon.]

I do rate Fainga'a but I reckon Hardwick is the better option at 7 there, to give some solid breakdown presence. It's the only thing that Rebels team is missing, and Fainga'a is decent at the breakdown but Hardwick is a true openside. Personally I would shift Fainga'a to the bench because he can cover the whole back row. He's certainly the more energetic of the two, which is what you want in the last 20 when the opposition is tiring.

I'll be happy with either though. Super excited for this Rebels season.

 

[amirite]

Give it a rest fellas, there’s more to it then a player just having a change of heart.


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Well that's obviously a different discussion if something bad has happened, but I still think it's an interesting chat to have in isolation. The concept of a contract is almost becoming exactly that, a concept.

 

[amirite]

Daley/Ainsley/Sa’aga
Uelese
Faulkner

Now I could be wrong, but I believe when the Wallabies ran Ainsley/Faulkner at the same time Ainsely was the TH. Maybe I'm misremembering.

Also, I really do think Talakai will pressure for a starting spot. He's certainly good enough and is being run with the starters in opposed runs right now.

 

[southsider]

Rebels have been the major beneficiaries of essentially a “no salary cap” for 2018 (which I’m pretty happy about) but I think someone needs to tell them to pull in their head and release Lance to qld. Similarly I’d love to see Quade released and head down to Melb

 

[TOCC]

OK, that helps.

if i was in a position to say precisely what it was the first time, then clearly i would have.....everything will play out in time.. In the mean time i was trying to stop things turning into a witch hunt.

 

[Simon.]

Talakai is a great scrummaging TH but at the Reds he didn't offer much else. I had him in my fantasy team last season (so I was watching him closely and analysing his stats each game) and was surprised how little he actually did around the field compared to other props. He doesn't really make carries, hit many rucks or even make many tackles by prop standards. Or at least he didn't under Stiles, it will be interesting to see how he plays under Wessels - for all I know it may have been a deliberate Reds game plan for him to stay out of the loose stuff and save his legs for pushing in the scrum.

But overall I reckon if you want an immoveable object in the scrum Talakai's your man. If you want a higher workrate outside of set piece I'd probably pick Faulkner or Ainsley.

 

[Proud Pig]

Talakai is a great scrummaging TH but at the Reds he didn't offer much else. I had him in my fantasy team last season (so I was watching him closely and analysing his stats each game) and was surprised how little he actually did around the field compared to other props. He doesn't really make carries, hit many rucks or even make many tackles by prop standards. Or at least he didn't under Stiles, it will be interesting to see how he plays under Wessels - for all I know it may have been a deliberate Reds game plan for him to stay out of the loose stuff and save his legs for pushing in the scrum.

But overall I reckon if you want an immoveable object in the scrum Talakai's your man. If you want a higher workrate outside of set piece I'd probably pick Faulkner or Ainsley.

At TH I want a pot plant, a player who preferably cannot spell the word loose. LH sure the occasional run and carry, hit a few rucks and generally be the adventurous, devil-may-care love machine that is the want of all loose heads. Tight Head however is a man who should think that running is for wimps and that the game is the scrum and the rest of the game is so he can get his breath back.

 

[Braveheart81]

At TH I want a pot plant, a player who preferably cannot spell the word loose. LH sure the occasional run and carry, hit a few rucks and generally be the adventurous, devil-may-care love machine that is the want of all loose heads. Tight Head however is a man who should think that running is for wimps and that the game is the scrum and the rest of the game is so he can get his breath back.

Does that hold true in Super Rugby still? I don't think it does. The best teams don't have passengers around the field. I think having a pot plant at 3 works at lower levels such as club rugby where teams aren't good enough to play a 15 man game and having a dominant scrum is a huge advantage. We've certainly seen games in Super Rugby where teams with dominant scrums haven't been overly successful. The New Zealand teams in particular (and it certainly holds true for them at test level) have really made attacking rugby a 15 man game and having every player on the field with good catch and pass skills is a huge asset. Clearly you don't want someone who is a complete liability at scrum time but that pot plant player has to give you a huge advantage at scrum time if they aren't doing anything else.

 

[Rebels3]

The days of been a 1 trick pony on a rugby field are gone. Same goes for locks, if you are an expert come lineout time but offer very little elsewhere there isn't much room for you on the field in 2018.

 

[RugbyReg]

Confirmed that Lance has signed with the Reds.

 

[Rebels3]

Confirmed that Lance has signed with the Reds.

Best of luck to him, we need a better QLD than what was shaping up.

 

[Simon.]

Yeah, the pot plant is the traditional view of TH but I think these days, Super-level rugby is a full 15 man game and if you don't have that, you're going to pay for it on the field.

Not only the Kiwis but the Saffa tightheads tend to make a LOT of tackles compared to Aussie props and get more involved across the park. Particularly guys like Malherbe and Coetzee. I actually think Australian teams have fallen behind on this - not just the props but the whole tight five are more involved in SA and Kiwi teams, which relieves the back rowers of some workload. But that's a discussion for another time.

Anyway it will be interesting to see if Talakai's involvement stats go up this season when coached by Wessels instead of the ex-prop Stiles. He's a big unit and I'd like to see him bashing into people a bit more.

 

[Proud Pig]

Yeah, the pot plant is the traditional view of TH but I think these days, Super-level rugby is a full 15 man game and if you don't have that, you're going to pay for it on the field.

Not only the Kiwis but the Saffa tightheads tend to make a LOT of tackles compared to Aussie props and get more involved across the park. Particularly guys like Malherbe and Coetzee. I actually think Australian teams have fallen behind on this - not just the props but the whole tight five are more involved in SA and Kiwi teams, which relieves the back rowers of some workload. But that's a discussion for another time.

Anyway it will be interesting to see if Talakai's involvement stats go up this season when coached by Wessels instead of the ex-prop Stiles. He's a big unit and I'd like to see him bashing into people a bit more.

I was being a tad glib with my pot plant comment however for a number of years Australian sides have sacrificed the scrum for open play. Nothing hurts a teams chances more than a scrum going backwards as the front row is dominated by their opposition. I certainly agree that a TH needs to involved in the defensive side of the game and should be making tackles but if you are dependent upon your props in the loose you have serious problems in the team.

 

[RugbyReg]

nice to see the Rebels organisation show some care and concern for the players. Obviously it's not everyone on here's first priority.

"“We understand and respect Jono’s request so in the best interest of Australian rugby and the player we’ve agreed to release him from his contract," Melbourne Rebels General Manager Professional Rugby & Pathways Nick Ryan said.

“We wish him well in his return to the Reds.”"

 

[Mr Wobbly]

Confirmed that Lance has signed with the Reds.

Yep. Rebels have posted on their Facebook page that Lance has been released and JD has been signed on a one year deal.

I actually think this will be better for us long term. Jono clearly would have been our best option at 10 but won't get a pre season with the team and, is only going to be around for one year in any case. I think we will be off going with one of the other guys; someone that has been training with the team and building a combination with Genia, DHP and Hodge.

Best of luck to him at the Reds

 

[RugbyReg]

I'm a fan of Lance, for sure, but probably more excited to have Deb back playing in Oz. That's great news.

 

[dru]

At TH I want a pot plant, a player who preferably cannot spell the word loose. LH sure the occasional run and carry, hit a few rucks and generally be the adventurous, devil-may-care love machine that is the want of all loose heads. Tight Head however is a man who should think that running is for wimps and that the game is the scrum and the rest of the game is so he can get his breath back.

That is pure poetry. Beautiful, just beautiful.

 

[Jerry West]

I'm a fan of Lance, for sure, but probably more excited to have Deb back playing in Oz. That's great news.

Lots of news movement with Lance moving on. The move has now opened up for a certain outcast to head south and reunite with his partner in crime. More news to come from this...