Rebels 2023

[swingpass]

Alright video out in the last few minutes from the club for awards night

can prob add to the list moving

Jeral Skelton
George Worth
Emosi Tuqiri
Tom Nowlan

Was just about to post this
pity about Skelton - no games in 2 ? 3 ? seasons

 

[Wallaby Man]

Was just about to post this
pity about Skelton - no games in 2 ? 3 ? seasons

He played a couple off the bench, just had two serious injuries back to back. Still only 23, would love to see him back in 7s

Tuqiri would be great if he links up with the Drua

Worth eligible for Aus but no more than a Super Rugby squad player but adds a lot of flexibility can play across the entire backline.

Nowlan could be a good 4th choice lock for someone. Was solid the few games he played.

 

[Rugbynutter39]

He played a couple off the bench, just had two serious injuries back to back. Still only 23, would love to see him back in 7s

Tuqiri would be great if he links up with the Drua

Worth eligible for Aus but no more than a Super Rugby squad player but adds a lot of flexibility can play across the entire backline.

Nowlan could be a good 4th choice lock for someone. Was solid the few games he played.

Yeh I think nowlan could be good 4th choice lock as looked all right. Force maybe might have a look at him…

 

[Dctarget]

He played a couple off the bench, just had two serious injuries back to back. Still only 23, would love to see him back in 7s

Tuqiri would be great if he links up with the Drua

Worth eligible for Aus but no more than a Super Rugby squad player but adds a lot of flexibility can play across the entire backline.

Nowlan could be a good 4th choice lock for someone. Was solid the few games he played.

@Wallaby Man, out of interest are you a rebels fan?

 

[Wallaby Man]

@Wallaby Man, out of interest are you a rebels fan?

Reds/Rebels I spent 8yrs in Melbourne and got to know a few of the guys at the club. They have all moved on now, but still have a keen eye on the team.

Back in QLD now tho, where I am originally from.

 

[Members Section]

He played a couple off the bench, just had two serious injuries back to back. Still only 23, would love to see him back in 7s

He played a couple off the bench, just had two serious injuries back to back. Still only 23, would love to see him back in 7s

Tuqiri would be great if he links up with the Drua

Worth eligible for Aus but no more than a Super Rugby squad player but adds a lot of flexibility can play across the entire backline.

Nowlan could be a good 4th choice lock for someone. Was solid the few games he played.

Same but he has put on a bit of size since his acl, dont know how he would go in that game now

 

[Dctarget]

Reds/Rebels.

Same as me, good mix.

 

[Derpus]

how did he change his tone?

The first tweet was fairly straight factually.

THe 2nd tweet was a little more theoretical.

I actually agree with him. Rebels have done well out of this. Not the type of player desperately needed by the Force who have some great backrow talent (unless Stander is going too?) and didn't get a lot of game time at the Rebels which was indicative of his standing there.

I don't think the Rebels have done well. Wells is solid Super Rugby squad material. Exactly the kind of player Australian sides lack and typically lose overseas.

The Rebels can barely field a Super Rugby quality starting 15. He may not be in their best backrow but he will do a reasonable job when he is inevitably required to play (which, i think, has been every match for the last two seasons).

Unless they have a big signing in the tubes I think their recruitment strategy is pretty fucked, honestly.

 

[Jimmy_Crouch]

Same but he has put on a bit of size since his acl, dont know how he would go in that game now

Watched him today off the bench for wests. He is thick. Would need serious time to get to sevens condition. Real shame the way his career has panned out so far. Hope he can stay injury free and give it a go

 

[qwerty51]

Been really disappointed with RHP's professional career so far. He was outstanding in the 2014 u20s side (which themselves didn't get the recognition they deserved - very good that).

 

[Members Section]

Watched him today off the bench for wests. He is thick. Would need serious time to get to sevens condition. Real shame the way his career has panned out so far. Hope he can stay injury free and give it a go

He was good today lol, but yeah not quite in "7's" shape. I remember Kerevi looking stocky compared to some others at the Olympics but then in that test in Perth thinking geez he's in shape.

I'm not having a crack at body shape at all just pointing out how different it is between the games

 

[RebelYell]

The Rebels can barely field a Super Rugby quality starting 15.

Unless they have a big signing in the tubes I think their recruitment strategy is pretty fucked, honestly.

Clearly the big signing (or 3-4) is required, but the injuries were a killer this year. If they had everybody available in 2022, there's a very decent/competitive 23 there. And some of the guys leaving have little reason to stay to be honest (e.g. Powell, Hardwick).

If all fit, they could have had:

Gibbon, Uelese, Pone, Philip, Hosea, Kemeny, Wilkin, Leota, Tuttle, Gordon, Anderson, To'omua, Kellaway, Magnay, Hodge.
Hanson, Orr, Eloff, Hill, Wells, Hardwick, Powell, Vaihu

Experienced depth leaves out Ross HP, Worth, Sorovi, Ioane, Tonumaipea, Ili, Nu'u, Ma'afu

Young talent leaves out Ripley, Jooste, Canham, Vudogo, Tuqiri, Van Nek, Kailea, Nowlan, Icely, Maiava, M.Gordon, Wallis

And then you've still got Skelton, Pincus (both unseen at Super Rugby level)

Maybe not a Super Rugby winning squad, but 'barely field a Super Rugby quality XV' is bullshit.

 

[Rugbynutter39]

Clearly the big signing (or 3-4) is required, but the injuries were a killer this year. If they had everybody available in 2022, there's a very decent/competitive 23 there. And some of the guys leaving have little reason to stay to be honest (e.g. Powell, Hardwick).

If all fit, they could have had:

Gibbon, Uelese, Pone, Philip, Hosea, Kemeny, Wilkin, Leota, Tuttle, Gordon, Anderson, To'omua, Kellaway, Magnay, Hodge.
Hanson, Orr, Eloff, Hill, Wells, Hardwick, Powell, Vaihu

Experienced depth leaves out Ross HP, Worth, Sorovi, Ioane, Tonumaipea, Ili, Nu'u, Ma'afu

Young talent leaves out Ripley, Jooste, Canham, Vudogo, Tuqiri, Van Nek, Kailea, Nowlan, Icely, Maiava, M.Gordon, Wallis

And then you've still got Skelton, Pincus (both unseen at Super Rugby level)

Maybe not a Super Rugby winning squad, but 'barely field a Super Rugby quality XV' is bullshit.

Rebels also need to learn to play like a team instead of a bunch of talented individuals that lack cohesion.

Sure injures had some challenges but lack of team cohesion always seemed to be a big issue for the rebels. Coaching or culture problem perhaps.

 

[Proud Pig]

I get absolutely sick of hearing all the garbage about the great squad the Rebels have. It is absolutely rubbish. We have maybe 2 likely Wallaby starters and a couple of others who should be around the squad. Even those aren't certainties. Beyond those our squad is generally fairly poor and add to that an injury list that you couldn't jump over just meant we were never in the hunt early in the season.
Take a look at a guy like Wells, good servant to the club undoubtedly but apart from the Force would he actually be a starter anywhere else? You can do the same exercise with about half our starting 15 and get the same result. You could do the same with the Force and the result is very similar just in reverse. The Rebels and the Force are always on the back foot when it comes to recruitment as the draw of the Brumbies, Reds and Waratahs is far greater than ours. We would likely need to offer a 10-15% salary hike for most players to lure them to Melbourne. Over a whole squad that leaves very little for the non starters that is why our quality drops off so sharply.

 

[eastman]

Clearly the big signing (or 3-4) is required, but the injuries were a killer this year. If they had everybody available in 2022, there's a very decent/competitive 23 there. And some of the guys leaving have little reason to stay to be honest (e.g. Powell, Hardwick).

If all fit, they could have had:

Gibbon, Uelese, Pone, Philip, Hosea, Kemeny, Wilkin, Leota, Tuttle, Gordon, Anderson, To'omua, Kellaway, Magnay, Hodge.
Hanson, Orr, Eloff, Hill, Wells, Hardwick, Powell, Vaihu

Experienced depth leaves out Ross HP, Worth, Sorovi, Ioane, Tonumaipea, Ili, Nu'u, Ma'afu

Young talent leaves out Ripley, Jooste, Canham, Vudogo, Tuqiri, Van Nek, Kailea, Nowlan, Icely, Maiava, M.Gordon, Wallis

And then you've still got Skelton, Pincus (both unseen at Super Rugby level)

Maybe not a Super Rugby winning squad, but 'barely field a Super Rugby quality XV' is bullshit.

I admire the optimism but that backline is garbage- even if you can achieve some form of parity in the forwards you’re not scoring any points.

 

[Rebel man]

I admire the optimism but that backline is garbage- even if you can achieve some form of parity in the forwards you’re not scoring any points.

Just weak in the centres

 

[Rugbynutter39]

I get absolutely sick of hearing all the garbage about the great squad the Rebels have. It is absolutely rubbish. We have maybe 2 likely Wallaby starters and a couple of others who should be around the squad. Even those aren't certainties. Beyond those our squad is generally fairly poor and add to that an injury list that you couldn't jump over just meant we were never in the hunt early in the season.
Take a look at a guy like Wells, good servant to the club undoubtedly but apart from the Force would he actually be a starter anywhere else? You can do the same exercise with about half our starting 15 and get the same result. You could do the same with the Force and the result is very similar just in reverse. The Rebels and the Force are always on the back foot when it comes to recruitment as the draw of the Brumbies, Reds and Waratahs is far greater than ours. We would likely need to offer a 10-15% salary hike for most players to lure them to Melbourne. Over a whole squad that leaves very little for the non starters that is why our quality drops off so sharply.

I think the great squad was reference to when force folded and lot of force players and wallabies came to the rebels and people felt the rebels failed to take advantage of the quality of the squad back then.

 

[RebelYell]

I get absolutely sick of hearing all the garbage about the great squad the Rebels have. It is absolutely rubbish. We have maybe 2 likely Wallaby starters and a couple of others who should be around the squad. Even those aren't certainties. Beyond those our squad is generally fairly poor and add to that an injury list that you couldn't jump over just meant we were never in the hunt early in the season.
Take a look at a guy like Wells, good servant to the club undoubtedly but apart from the Force would he actually be a starter anywhere else? You can do the same exercise with about half our starting 15 and get the same result. You could do the same with the Force and the result is very similar just in reverse. The Rebels and the Force are always on the back foot when it comes to recruitment as the draw of the Brumbies, Reds and Waratahs is far greater than ours. We would likely need to offer a 10-15% salary hike for most players to lure them to Melbourne. Over a whole squad that leaves very little for the non starters that is why our quality drops off so sharply.

Nowhere did I say a great squad - I just attempted (successfully in my opinion) to debunk the theory that the Rebels couldn't put together a Super Rugby quality XV.

Would Kerevi, Coleman, Arnold, Skelton, Quade, Koroibete, and probably 3 dozen other overseas based Aussies improve the squad? Of course. We need to build a strong program which entices players to commit and stay, something every team bar the Brumbies is attempting to do - some more successfully than others. It's a wonderful city to live in, but players need a great experience on and off the field, need to feel there's a wonderful culture, and need to feel like they will become better Rugby players in melbourne than some of the alternatives. That's the challenge, and whether we will ever get there or not I don't know, but I don't see who the other players that the Rebels could realistically sign to improve instantly are, and where they're coming from?

 

[Rugbynutter39]

Nowhere did I say a great squad - I just attempted (successfully in my opinion) to debunk the theory that the Rebels couldn't put together a Super Rugby quality XV.

Would Kerevi, Coleman, Arnold, Skelton, Quade, Koroibete, and probably 3 dozen other overseas based Aussies improve the squad? Of course. We need to build a strong program which entices players to commit and stay, something every team bar the Brumbies is attempting to do - some more successfully than others. It's a wonderful city to live in, but players need a great experience on and off the field, need to feel there's a wonderful culture, and need to feel like they will become better Rugby players in melbourne than some of the alternatives. That's the challenge, and whether we will ever get there or not I don't know, but I don't see who the other players that the Rebels could realistically sign to improve instantly are, and where they're coming from?

To me the brumbies should give hope for rhe force and rebels as they have a very small low catchment of players to rely on but excellent ability to identify, attract and develop talent from outside the ACT alongside local talent.

Brumbies prove it can be done. Rebels have some good local pathways developed as well so the building blocks are there. Coaching side had question marks for some time as Wessels was a flop and Foote TBc

 

[RebelYell]

Will be really interesting to see how the Brumbies manage four key departures.

Their ability to find value in the Murray Douglas/Andy Muirhead/Connal McInerney types of recent years will be called upon again, massively.

But you'd back them to get it done and stay ultra-competitive.

Interestingly, the Rebels had 4 Wallabies picked and the Force none (Rodda would have been picked). Will almost certainly be more Rebels in Australia A than the Force as well, you'd think.