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Rebels 2023

Rebel man

Jim Lenehan (48)
Eloff has played a lot in the 1 jersey for the Rebs.

Move him back to one and alternate the two big fellas at 3 to keep them both fresh and having an impact all season long
 

oztimmay

Tony Shaw (54)
Staff member
Snippet from codesports, via a DT repeat.

Taniela Tupou is on the verge of signing a two-year extension with Rugby Australia that is also set to see him defect to the Melbourne Rebels.
The development came after Tupou’s new manager, Anthony Picone, is understood to have placed a 72-hour deadline on re-signing “Tongan Thor” before he looked at overseas clubs.
 

Adam84

Rod McCall (65)
Be interested in the details on the sabbaticals. Would be a shame to lose Eloff or Pone if Tupou only plays one season out of the two.
 

qwerty51

Stirling Mortlock (74)
It's a very risky deal. I said before but I would be very hesitant re-signing players off serious injury without seeing them play first again.

But it's Tupou so who knows, you kind of don't want to miss out on him.
 

PhilClinton

Tony Shaw (54)
Strong signing for the Rebels, if they manage to get the value out of him without giving up a current starter.

It’s a bit of a sad assessment of our professional game that a player coming off what will likely be 12 months injury lay-off and is looking to change teams, still gets to dictate terms regarding sabbaticals or threatening to bail overseas full time.
 

Adam84

Rod McCall (65)
Assuming there is a sabbatical, which reportedly was a critical part of the 4 year negotiations, but may have been scrapped under the shorter 2 year deal. You’d assume the sabbatical would be next year, in order to be back for the Lions Tour.

So joining the Rebels in 2025? In which case we won’t see Tupou play Super Rugby for next 2 years.
 

Rebel man

Jim Lenehan (48)
Assuming there is a sabbatical, which reportedly was a critical part of the 4 year negotiations, but may have been scrapped under the shorter 2 year deal. You’d assume the sabbatical would be next year, in order to be back for the Lions Tour.

So joining the Rebels in 2025? In which case we won’t see Tupou play Super Rugby for next 2 years.
If he is only signing for two it’s unlikely their is a sabbatical
 

Derpus

Nathan Sharpe (72)
Strong signing for the Rebels, if they manage to get the value out of him without giving up a current starter.

It’s a bit of a sad assessment of our professional game that a player coming off what will likely be 12 months injury lay-off and is looking to change teams, still gets to dictate terms regarding sabbaticals or threatening to bail overseas full time.
He is one of the best THPs in the world, which also happens to be a fairly in demand position.
 

Dctarget

Tim Horan (67)
If we can keep them together, this is a monster pack.
1. Eloff 2. Mafi/Uelese 3. Tupou
4. Hosea 5. Philip
6. Leota 7. Wilkin 8. Ioane
 

Wilson

Nick Farr-Jones (63)
If we can keep them together, this is a monster pack.
1. Eloff 2. Mafi/Uelese 3. Tupou
4. Hosea 5. Philip
6. Leota 7. Wilkin 8. Ioane
You'd have to have them all fit at once for that to work. More than half of them have had a season ending injury in the past year.
 

Rebel man

Jim Lenehan (48)
It’s not risky at all, the rebels have been historically a poor performing franchise. They get one of the best players in Aus and one of the best players from a top two side in Aus.

If it fails we are in the same boat we normally are in if it succeeds we start to climb
 

swingpass

Peter Sullivan (51)
It’s not risky at all, the rebels have been historically a poor performing franchise. They get one of the best players in Aus and one of the best players from a top two side in Aus.

If it fails we are in the same boat we normally are in if it succeeds we start to climb
if the contract with them has sufficient safeguards for the Rebels then there is potentially a lot of upside and personally i hope he comes and dominates, but there is as much potential for a significant clusterfuck, losing either/or both Eloff and Fa'aumasili without any gain.
 
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Tex

Greg Davis (50)
if the contract with them has sufficient safeguards for the Rebels then there is potentially a lot of upside and personally i hope he comes and dominates, but there is as much potential for a significant clusterfuck, losing either/or both Eloff and Fa'aumasili without any gain.
That's my concern. So much work has gone into developing players and culture in-house. Bringing in the biggest name in the country is good on paper, but fuck I hope we get value out of him and don't nuke a bunch of existing players needlessly.

All that said - he's a beast and would be my favourite Aussie player, so I'm definitely stoked. He's a phenom and I hope he finds a good home in Melbourne.
 

Rebel man

Jim Lenehan (48)
That's my concern. So much work has gone into developing players and culture in-house. Bringing in the biggest name in the country is good on paper, but fuck I hope we get value out of him and don't nuke a bunch of existing players needlessly.

All that said - he's a beast and would be my favourite Aussie player, so I'm definitely stoked. He's a phenom and I hope he finds a good home in Melbourne.
Winning drives culture. We simply have to win
 

Dctarget

Tim Horan (67)
Winning drives culture. We simply have to win
It almost feels weird discussing winning. It's just not something that goes with the Rebels. But yes, Tupou is a fantastic start. Would be amazing if we can string together some good performances this year, improve players and have a genuine foundation ready for him come his arrival.

On that, what is everyone's pass mark for the season?

Assuming we're still doing the stupid 8 teams finals in a 12 team comp. Then making finals is a pass mark for me. And I genuinely think that's ambitious aha. Last year we came 10th with 4 wins, I wanna come 8th or better with 6 wins. Would be amazing if two of those came from kiwi teams.

I know it's been a lot of fun of fans sticking it to the Rebels about it being a player development grave yard but this year we have no excuse. Ignoring Foote, he has Sampson & Stiles as assistants who should have ample time and opportunity to develop them. To round out my desires for the year I want Hosea, Kemeny & hopefully Gordon to be in Wallabies conversations by the end of the year.
 
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