Reds 2011

[en_force_er]

Rebs =/= Reds. Easy mistake to make I guess.

Link, Ioane and Tapuai are Victorian juniours.

 

[Red Rooster]

My mistake - need my glasses agree a Victorian born player at the rebels would be nice

 

[Ruggo]

Does anybody know when the tickets go on sale?

I am looking to come down to Brissy to watch the Tahs, Crusaders and Brumbies games. Any advice on cheap accomodation would be a huge help also.

Also going to Melbourne too watch the Rebels game.

Would love to catch up for a beer while I am down there.

 

[Ruggo]

Sounds like a good day.

http://www.qru.com.au/corporate/events/2011_pre-season_launch,72911.html

 

[liquor box]

what would happen if Genia or Cooper were injured for a significant part of the tournament?

I dont think there is a single team that could perform just as well without their "normal" 9 or 10. It certainly could be an issue if they get injured, but if we had players capable of filling Genias or Coopers roles then why would they want to play second fiddle when they could go elswhere and get a start?

 

[Eyes and Ears]

I dont think there is a single team that could perform just as well without their "normal" 9 or 10. It certainly could be an issue if they get injured, but if we had players capable of filling Genias or Coopers roles then why would they want to play second fiddle when they could go elswhere and get a start?

While I agree to a certain extent, the effect of losing Genia or Cooper would be greater than losing Burgess or Barnes or Valentine or To'omua. Their replacements are not match winners like Genia and Cooper. Even the Crusaders could better handle the loss of Carter.

 

[tranquility]

it would seem we have our Quade back up. Anyone seen him play? Thoughts?

what does this mean for Jono Lance I wonder?

 

[fatprop]

what does this mean for Jono Lance I wonder?

That he is not ready to start a S15 match if cooper is injured

 

[dobduff11]

For me it always seems like your schoolboys take ages to start for a super 15 team compared to English players (with a few exceptions JOC (James O'Connor), QC (Quade Cooper), KB (Kurtley Beale)) but i also always seem to forget your boys finish school a year earlier than ours do and therefore have more time between school and the pro game.

Its a shame for Jono Lance but he is 20 now and should probably be a little further along in his development than he is. The reds hve so many promising youngsters but none of them are starting which is probably stunting them a bit taps, toua, morahan L, quirk and situati would probably be atleast in the 22 of the force, the rebels and maybe the brumbies on an inury hit day.

How close are the guys I mentioned and maybe Gill as well to starting for the reds

 

[Lee Grant]

For me it always seems like your schoolboys take ages to start for a super 15 team compared to English players (with a few exceptions JOC (James O'Connor), QC (Quade Cooper), KB (Kurtley Beale))

Wrong methinks. Methinks an elite Oz schoolboy gets to Super rugby if he is good enough sooner than an English boy gets to play in the Premiership if he is good enough - and Super rugby is of a higher standard.

The Celtic boys start sooner than the English also methinks.

 

[dobduff11]

Lee they seem to get signed quicker in Super rugby also if some are good enough they start, JOC (James O'Connor), QC (Quade Cooper), KB (Kurtley Beale), hooper and Colby F.

But aus has a small player pool so the schoolboys that are good enough get in quickly. However loads of them are stuck in limbo for about 4 years until they are 21 or 22 before they start like taps,toua morahan, afu tamoupeaue(spelling),lance, hamlin, steve mafi,lucas, shipperley,.

In england because we have so many games a season most academy members get 3 or 4 four starts a season and then if they play well they get a run in the team.

The welsh boys tend to start at a young age alot, scotland have barely any academy players playing, and ireland don't associate players to academies until they finish school, (exception is luke Fitzgerald), so they dont play until 21-22.

 

[Bruce Ross]

But aus has a small player pool so the schoolboys that are good enough get in quickly. However loads of them are stuck in limbo for about 4 years until they are 21 or 22 before they start like taps,toua morahan, afu tamoupeaue(spelling),lance, hamlin, steve mafi,lucas, shipperley,.

I don't know about being "stuck in limbo", dob, but Nick Phipps spent 3 years in Sydney Uni Colts learning his craft. Less than three months ago he was playing Third Grade. Maybe Uni were a little slow to bring him through but it doesn't seem to have done him any harm. The advantage of having a strong playing roster is that you can afford the luxury of letting players fully develop before throwing them in at the deep end.

 

[Lee Grant]

However loads of them are stuck in limbo for about 4 years until they are 21 or 22 before they start like taps,toua morahan, afu tamoupeaue(spelling),lance, hamlin, steve mafi,lucas, shipperley.

I said: "if he is good enough" deliberately.

 

[Lee Grant]

Nick Phipps spent 3 years in Sydney Uni Colts learning his craft. Less than three months ago he was playing Third Grade. Maybe Uni were a little slow to bring him through but it doesn't seem to have done him any harm. The advantage of having a strong playing roster is that you can afford the luxury of letting players fully develop before throwing them in at the deep end.

This is one reason why I admire the Uni system (though naturally that goes by the board when I'm at Rat Park watching them play), and wish that there were more Sydney Unis in Oz. It is very similar to the Kiwi system which brings young players on more slowly.

Generally, we bring on our players much to soon. JOC (James O'Connor) should not have been playing Super rugby at 17 nor should KB (Kurtley Beale) have started for the Tahs on the veldt a few weeks after he turned 18 and need I remind folks that an 18 y.o.Hooper was used a few months out of school by the Brumbies this year after he couldn't play rugby in Yr.12 because he had a shoulder reconstruction during his last season at school. Nor should 2009 schoolboy 2nd rower Luke Jones have been playing Super14 in 2010.

The reason why we use players so young in Super rugby, which is a tougher grade of rugby than the English Premiership, is our lack of depth.

 

[louie]

Here here lee. Josh holmes is another I'd add to the list most youth players spend far to much time trying quiken their physical development and not enough time learning their craft (catching and passing)!

 

[Lee Grant]

Josh has had a lot of chances and hasn't really taken them. He had a great season for the Rats this year with Sheehan at 10 (when Sheano wasn't injured or suspended), but when he comes on for the Tahs in the S15 I fear I will see the same dithering at the base of rucks and scrums. At the Super level it's not so much his skill that is the problem, but the delay in what he does and sometimes the choices he makes.

At the club level he has played some games with distinction at 12 in the last couple of years and was often first receiver on one side of the ruck in that time. Some believe that scrummie is not his best position and they may be right, but the chances of his being picked in any other position but 9 for the Tahs, or any other outfit, are slim. He's one of those players like Dan Parks who would be better in the generally slower game they play in Europe.

But I digress. I don't think that Holmes is an example of a player that was brought on to slowly which was the recent point.

I have just recalled this is the Reds thread. Excuuuuuse me.

 

[Lee Grant]

But the recent performance of Mikey Harris is germane to this thread.

He had a terrific 1st half for Harbour v Wellington last week, but in the 2nd half his team was getting blitzed; so he can't be assessed too well in that stanza. The commentators said his kicking percentage was 78% and he got a couple more over in the game - one from 49 metres out; so it must be around 80% as we speak.

He has an air of authority for a 22 y.o.

 

[Spewn]

So the likely starting backrow next season will be Houston, higginbotham and ????

 

[RugbyReg]

Link will rotate his squad a fair bit. We'll see plenty of movement particularly in the back row.

I think Gill at 7, Houston at 8 and Higgers at 6, assuming all are fit and in form, is my backrow of choice.

 

[Spewn]

I'm impressed by Gill but Braid's maturity and composure was so vital last year it's hard to see anyone replacing him.