Rebels 2020

[GoMelbRebels]

Rebels fielding a very un-Rebels squad for this trial. Not sure the purpose of doing this. Expect them to struggle against a strong-looking Reds team.

 

[RugbyReg]

Hmmm... I retract my statements that Deegan should be the Wallaby 10 this year.

 

[Mick The Munch]

Hmmm. I retract my statements that Deegan should be the Wallaby 10 this year.

Concerning how passive in defence they look.

 

[Mick The Munch]

Rebels fielding a very un-Rebels squad for this trial. Not sure the purpose of doing this. Expect them to struggle against a strong-looking Reds team.

Agreed, surely these matches could be used to bed in some combinations. Very few of these would make the Rebels game day squad

 

[Mr Wobbly]

Agreed, surely these matches could be used to bed in some combinations. Very few of these would make the Rebels game day squad

Very few of them are even in the squad. Seems like a waste of a day.

 

[KevinO]

Hmmm. I retract my statements that Deegan should be the Wallaby 10 this year.

off that performance To'omua will be starting 10 all year

 

[Bobby Sands]

Hard day to judge Deegan. Rebels need to stop putting out this joke sides.

 

[Silverado]

Hmmm. I retract my statements that Deegan should be the Wallaby 10 this year.

I think it was hard to shine with the team he had around him, but on the flip side it was easy to shine in a Force team that was dominant in GRR and NRC

 

[Rebels3]

I’m not one for putting out full strength sides in trials but there needs to be a balance, otherwise there is absolutely no point to them. In what is essentially a short season (Super Rugby) when compared to similar competitions (Euro Rugby and NRL) I don’t see the point in holding players back. Someone like Billy Meakes would of played less than 15 games of rugby last season, which in my mind isn’t enough. Let’s get some of these boys out on the field to build game awareness and smarts. The Wallabies players in the squad I understand the need to rest as their season is long and arduous, the rest need as much game time as possible.

 

[swingpass]

well the actual Rebels Super Rugby team were training this morning. looked sharp too. during the drills, lots of interchange in the forwards (especially the 500 backrowers !) so hard to say who are the front runners for a starting berth in the pack, Michael Wells looked in good nic. the backs look like Lomani, To'omua, Meakes, Hodge, K'bete, Kellaway and DHP. a few missing from the run and a couple in team rehab. Mick Byrne was along to give the Wallabies a one on one.

 

[TSR]

so hard to say who are the front runners for a starting berth in the pack.

If only they had a trial game lined up against another super rugby team. They could have started sorting out the pecking order.

 

[RebelYell]

well the actual Rebels Super Rugby team were training this morning. looked sharp too. during the drills, lots of interchange in the forwards (especially the 500 backrowers !) so hard to say who are the front runners for a starting berth in the pack, Michael Wells looked in good nic. the backs look like Lomani, To'omua, Meakes, Hodge, K'bete, Kellaway and DHP. a few missing from the run and a couple in team rehab. Mick Byrne was along to give the Wallabies a one on one.

What an absolute waste of time that is. Two games to warm up for Super Rugby, one giant missed opportunity. Hugely disappointing.

 

[GoMelbRebels]

What an absolute waste of time that is. Two games to warm up for Super Rugby, one giant missed opportunity. Hugely disappointing.

There’s got to be a strategic reason for this. They did pretty much the same thing last season. Buggered if I know why, though.

 

[Rebel man]

Surely we put in a call to Will Skelton, not only does the Saracens have to get rid of players to fit back under the salary cap they are also getting relegated and going down to the championship will make them less attractive to be at.

 

[Rebels3]

Lock is definitely one of our weakest spots. It’d allow Jones to play 6.

4. Philip
5. Skelton
6. Jones
7. Hardwick
8. Naisarani

Would be a good back 5

 

[RebelYell]

There’s got to be a strategic reason for this. They did pretty much the same thing last season. Buggered if I know why, though.

It sure as hell didn't work last season, so I don't know why you'd repeat it.

The more I think about, the more it really pisses me off and actually lends weight to some of the calls from people in the other states who don't take the Rebels seriously. Why would the Reds actually want to play us again in pre-season after we disrespected the fixture like this? How much money did we waste sending these players to Gladstone, money that (if you listen to the right people) we really don't have? How can we expect to build combinations if we don't use NRC and pre-season hit-outs to see where we're at? It's beyond a joke. I'm seriously disappointed.

 

[Brumby Runner]

Trial form means very little. Last year the Brumbies beat the Rebels in a trial and then lost twice in a matter of a few weeks. The Rebels went on to lead the Aussie conference for some time until they went to water late in the season.

 

[RebelYell]

Trial form means very little. Last year the Brumbies beat the Rebels in a trial and then lost twice in a matter of a few weeks. The Rebels went on to lead the Aussie conference for some time until they went to water late in the season.

Sure - but the Brumbies' cohesion built over time, and they won the conference, while the Rebels still have never qualified for finals.

 

[Rebelsfan]

There’s got to be a strategic reason for this. They did pretty much the same thing last season. Buggered if I know why, though.

and how did that work out for them?

 

[Mr Wobbly]

I would have been happy enough to have seen a team something like this trial against the Reds. It's still a "B team" but most of these blokes should be pushing for a spot in the 23. The second trial game would be a lot closer to running out a likely starting 15 with the better performers from the first trial on the bench.

1 Sa'aga
2 Moore
3 Fa'amausili
4 Hosea
5 Haangana
6 Kemeny
7 Killingworth
8 Wells
9 Louwrens (or Tuttle)
10 Deegan
11 Potter
12 Meakes
13 Magnay
14 Tupou
15 Kellaway