Reds 2014

[USARugger]

They're so easy to detect today though with simple X-Rays that I really doubt a slipped disc is actually the cause here. At least I'd like to believe that. But the on-and-off again nature of it seems to indicate that it could be what is going on. It could be a minor herniation(s) which would allow him to play through the pain most days but he would need a rest and some NSAID's regularly with intermittent steroid treatments to keep the pain manageable. You only really need to start sweating nerve damage if you're talking about a serious or major herniation.

 

[RedsHappy]

I was going to post this. I dont know how he has been going at Wests but saw him in a few BGS games last year as i have ties with grammar and he was really good. Bit on the smaller side i think but over 40m he was super fast. Decent defender. Decent in attack. But what really separated him was his amazing kick both off the tee and general play, the best i've seen including in professional level.

Agree, strongly. A reliable, consistently accurate long kicking capability from hand is just so invaluable in top rugby especially when aligned with many other really good 10 or 15 core skills which Greene possesses. He's only 19 from memory.

 

[Scrubber2050]

He had an option to stay in Brisbane but took up the option to head back to Sydney. He wasn't going to be a long term option at the Reds.
Tuamata has been a bit out of form so far this season. He has great potential but will have to find some form. How's UJ going? He's meant to be the next big thing.
U20's will be interesting. Reds might look at someone like McIntyre as a possible long term option.

Jets,
He WAS to be the next best thing to sliced bread - but that was when as a 15yr old he was identified by the ARU.

Think he came up from Adelaide and went to TSS on the Gold Coast. Broke a leg and blah blah blah. Kid had unbelievable promise but I don't think that promise has transformed from that of a kid into a young man - as often is the case.

Suppose we will see !!!!

 

[lewisr]

Agree, strongly. A reliable, consistently accurate long kicking capability from hand is just so invaluable in top rugby especially when aligned with many other really good 10 or 15 core skills which Greene possesses. He's only 19 from memory.

He won a number of games for Grammar whether it was directly through goal kicking or a brilliant 70m kick and recover try against (cant remember haha but one of the absolute best individual tries I have ever seen - no doubt). Or indirectly through clearing and penalty touch kicks

I find its something we seriously lack here in Oz. Compared to NZ and SA kickers, we will often gain 10-20m LESS than the kiwis and springboks off clearing and/or penalty kicks. Greene will be one to watch without a doubt. His size is the only thing that could limit him but in saying that, Gio Aplon has played at test level and always performs admirably, I would say Greene is bigger than him as well.

 

[Ash]

They're so easy to detect today though with simple X-Rays that I really doubt a slipped disc is actually the cause here. At least I'd like to believe that. But the on-and-off again nature of it seems to indicate that it could be what is going on. It could be a minor herniation(s) which would allow him to play through the pain most days but he would need a rest and some NSAID's regularly with intermittent steroid treatments to keep the pain manageable. You only really need to start sweating nerve damage if you're talking about a serious or major herniation.

Yeah, if it was a herniated disc they would know immediately. But then, herniated discs are often just reported as "back problems".

I played rugby for a few months under what was categorised as a "severe" herniation. My MRI showed that the nerve canal was over 80% blocked by the herniation.

I had a fairly typical L5 S1 herniation. After the initial few days (from which I could barely walk), the symptons lessened with anti-inflammatories. My leg and buttocks were always very tight, so before training and game I got a rub down from the physio. Core strength exercises and stretches also helped, but my herination did not go away - in fact, the symptons became a bit intermittent, some days were fine (although my leg, buttocks and lower back were always tight) then other days were painful and hard to walk.

Despite this, playing was fine. A rub down from the physio would loosen my leg, buttocks and lower back enough to play. A few hours later I would tighten back up.

FYI, the physio basically diagnosed me stright away. I had an X-ray to confirm it, though. Only after it didn't go away for the couple months did I see the sports doctor, get the MRI, visit the surgeon and then finally opt for the surgery.

Pro players also play on with severe herniations before having an op from my understanding. For example, Pat McCutcheon had the same problem a couple years ago and played a couple months on it before opting for the surgery. FYI, Cutch at the time was reported as having "back problems". It's a "common" injury and surgery for sports players.

 

[something]

Agree, strongly. A reliable, consistently accurate long kicking capability from hand is just so invaluable in top rugby especially when aligned with many other really good 10 or 15 core skills which Greene possesses. He's only 19 from memory.

Just had a scroll through the QLD prem grade thread and it seems as if he is performing pretty well. Crazy feat to be in prem grade first year out of school & play at 10. He mustn't be too small these days. He was about the same size as the other backs in school boys but again, theyre boys not men.

 

[something]

on Greene's profile page it says he is 178cm & 90kg. Gio Aplon is under 80. Ben Lucas is 81. Quade is 92.

 

[USARugger]

Those figures are almost always inaccurate though for a myriad of reasons. It swings both ways even - CFS is listed at 92kgs on the QLD Reds website..yeah..in his left leg maybe.

 

[Scott Allen]

Sam Greene is not a big guy and the worry bringing him into Premier Grade straight out of school was how he'd handle the defensive role at #10. However from the first game he played it was clear that wasn't going to be an issue.

It took him a few games to get his confidence but he's now playing like he well and truly belongs at that level. He has the game to play well at the next level and I think he offers more than the other choices. Hopefully the Reds look seriously at him under the proposed new academy structure Pulver has been talking about for next year.

 

[lewisr]

Sam Greene is not a big guy and the worry bringing him into Premier Grade straight out of school was how he'd handle the defensive role at #10. However from the first game he played it was clear that wasn't going to be an issue.

It took him a few games to get his confidence but he's now playing like he well and truly belongs at that level. He has the game to play well at the next level and I think he offers more than the other choices. Hopefully the Reds look seriously at him under the proposed new academy structure Pulver has been talking about for next year.

Have you been watching? Are they playing him at 15 in defence? BGS used this tactic in an identical way to the reds and Quade. They scored in excess of half their tries through a Greene receive and counter attack. The team last year showed a resemblance to the Reds style of Rugby (albeit at schoolboy level I know) simply through Greene's "Quadesque" like ability. Pin point cut out balls, chip kicks, stepping and ghosting line breaks were his speciality.

 

[RedsHappy]

on Greene's profile page it says he is 178cm & 90kg. Gio Aplon is under 80. Ben Lucas is 81. Quade is 92.

....and look how much Liam G's filled out between 19 and now nearly 21. I'm hoping Scott Allen may pop in here and offer us some comments on Sam as Scott assisted Mooney at Wests for a recent period.

I'll never forget seeing Greene when BGS played Churchie last year. At least one kick from hand must have been 60+m with perfect accuracy, like nearly every kick he made that day.

 

[lewisr]

I'll make a prediction that Gill with be the Wallabies (and reds when Kev leaves) Skipper. He was a School Vice Captain and strikes me as just the right kind of guy to lead a footy team. Leads by example, is well spoken and is always composed (even at 21!).

This leads me to another point of discussion - what are peoples opinions on Sanchez as a captain? I am not debating the fact that he is the best player in world rugby at the moment but I feel he loses his head sometimes and isn't quite the perfect fit for the job. Very effective as a vice as he is a vocal bloke on the field but I often think a skipper need to have a little more composure when things go wrong. Just a personal opinion, fire away!

 

[No4918]

I'll make a prediction that Gill with be the Wallabies (and reds when Kev leaves) Skipper. He was a School Vice Captain and strikes me as just the right kind of guy to lead a footy team. Leads by example, is well spoken and is always composed (even at 21!).

This leads me to another point of discussion - what are peoples opinions on Sanchez as a captain? I am not debating the fact that he is the best player in world rugby at the moment but I feel he loses his head sometimes and isn't quite the perfect fit for the job. Very effective as a vice as he is a vocal bloke on the field but I often think a skipper need to have a little more composure when things go wrong. Just a personal opinion, fire away!

Fantastic and the next long-term Reds captain. I think Gill will be the VC with Slipper next in line.

 

[USARugger]

Genia does get way too angry when things don't work out and he has a tendency to have little outbursts on the field. I think he is a leader but should not necessarily be the captain. Let Will focus on making all of the decisions on the other side of the whistle for now.

 

[Tangawizi]

Going off topic for a minute, but what did people think of this season's membership pack? And more specifically, the merchandise in it?

For next season I'd rather just get a good quality cap, like the 2010 Kooga ones or Canterbury ones from 2006 than a big collection of lower quality gear.

 

[Scotty]

Have you been watching? Are they playing him at 15 in defence? BGS used this tactic in an identical way to the reds and Quade. They scored in excess of half their tries through a Greene receive and counter attack. The team last year showed a resemblance to the Reds style of Rugby (albeit at schoolboy level I know) simply through Greene's "Quadesque" like ability. Pin point cut out balls, chip kicks, stepping and ghosting line breaks were his speciality.

I hope he has been!

 

[Scotty]

I'll make a prediction that Gill with be the Wallabies (and reds when Kev leaves) Skipper. He was a School Vice Captain and strikes me as just the right kind of guy to lead a footy team. Leads by example, is well spoken and is always composed (even at 21!).

This leads me to another point of discussion - what are peoples opinions on Sanchez as a captain? I am not debating the fact that he is the best player in world rugby at the moment but I feel he loses his head sometimes and isn't quite the perfect fit for the job. Very effective as a vice as he is a vocal bloke on the field but I often think a skipper need to have a little more composure when things go wrong. Just a personal opinion, fire away!

Gill's post match interviews are always impressive. He speaks very well.

 

[Scotty]

Going off topic for a minute, but what did people think of this season's membership pack? And more specifically, the merchandise in it?

For next season I'd rather just get a good quality cap, like the 2010 Kooga ones or Canterbury ones from 2006 than a big collection of lower quality gear.

It was good for the kids.

 

[RedsHappy]

Sam Greene is not a big guy and the worry bringing him into Premier Grade straight out of school was how he'd handle the defensive role at #10. However from the first game he played it was clear that wasn't going to be an issue.

It took him a few games to get his confidence but he's now playing like he well and truly belongs at that level. He has the game to play well at the next level and I think he offers more than the other choices. Hopefully the Reds look seriously at him under the proposed new academy structure Pulver has been talking about for next year.

I will go so far re Greene as this: after a bit of settling in and confidence-building at S15 level, if Greene played for the Reds in 2014 (imagining here, not predicting), he'd do a significantly better job at 15 than Lance or Harris and would offer an excellent combination with QC (Quade Cooper).

The Reds are crying out for a competent, really fast attacking 15 with a wonderful, accurate long kick that can be regularly called upon. Our game and team lack what White and Mogg are bringing to the Brums with superb long kicks from hand. We also need a more balanced attacking force in the back three to take some of the attacking burden off our 9 and 10, and this truth will be significantly enhanced when DI is gone in 2014.

With Lance gone for 2014, and surely Harris is past his use-by date at 15 - he's simply too slow and unimaginative in agile counter-attack - recruiting an outstanding 15 has IMO emerged as one of R Graham's most important tasks in team design and is a soon-to-arrive test of his strategic abilities in the post-Link period.

 

[TOCC]

Imagine what a Chris Latham type player could do on the back of the current back line....