agreed, Greene would have been better off playing a year of colts before going into grades but as it stands he is in grades and doing an okay job.
there is plenty of chat about it qld prem thread & also a few pages back in this one
This is what really annoys me about Rugby followers in the professional era. smug comments like the above, which pass for informed opinion, when the Queensland Reds, Ewa nMcEnzie, Robbie Deans and the other Wallaby Selectors have all seen fit to put him in both Reds - and Wallaby Colours.
Sideline Warriors just...(@#$%^&*) I don't even comprehend what delusions go on inside their minds. Australian Rugby certainly does not have the depth to be discounting outside backs lightly. Scoey and Suckerfored, thanks for sensible response.
My generation (at least), grew up to be proud of the blokes who played for the Wallabies, and would have given our right arms to be in their position. Taking Cheap shots from the sidelines was not a part of Rugby Culture back then - it was Mungo Territory.
Sam Greene= great potential
But he is nowhere near "leaps and bounds" ahead of Murphy & Brandon in regards to skill and overall performances. Those two are in a league of their own in the Premier Comp
I beg to differ on that front. I have seen every team play this year now and truthfully Greene has been the most impressive 10. Kicking and passing are second to none and he reads the game in both attack and defense like he is a veteran which is near invaluable in a competition like Premier Rugby. At Easts Brandon had a lot more trouble shutting down Greene than Greene did shutting down Brandon, which was clear to most at the game - and everything done well by Brandon was a result of a strong supporting cast (Easts have a great team with a winning culture). As for Murphy, he is a great Premier Rugby player, but this thread is about Super Rugby - and Greene just looks like he would fit into the environment more so than the rest, especially when you look at the success of guys like James O'Connor and Chris Sautia who were put into a Super Rugby system early and really thrived on the challenge as oppose to keeping them in Premier Rugby. Greene just has that spark and i would hate to see the Reds lose such a great opportunity to pick up a player like Greene before he is stolen from Queensland by another franchise.
I I agree he would look good in super rugby, however Sautia and O'Connor were thrusted into Super young because they were absolute freaks. Greene was really really good (probably the most valuable player in QLD Gps in 2012) but he wasn't a shoe in to the aus side (even though he was probably more hyped up than anyone that year - in the quade sense)
Dont get me wrong, i really would love to see him playing for red but as someone mentioned earlier, throwing him in too early could have the same effects as it has had on UJ & Toua - really good players who hasn't lived up to reputation.
But most importantly, Reds are lacking someone who can slot goals and be a second playmaker & that is what greene is. (we have mike harris but he isn't setting the world on fire)
I have already posted on what a major talent IMO Greene is and could be for the Reds. When I saw him perform exceptionally and consistently so for BGS in last year's QLD GPS I was astounded at his skill and composure under pressure. He seemed also to have a maturity about his decision-making way beyond his years. I thought then: c. 2015: a Reds 15 in the C Latham mould who'd also serve as a second playmaker to a QC (Quade Cooper), adding oddles of value in both roles. I will almost guarantee Greene is a class of potential way ahead of M Harris' and J Lance's actual skills today (which I don't rate highly and Harris' place kicking seems to have dropped off alarmingly).
The lingering worry (amongst many) that is building in my mind re R Graham's total control of the Reds 2014 model is the deathly silence to this juncture re exciting or innovative player recruitment from outside the current Reds playing stock. We have glaring attacking weaknesses at, for example, 15 and 13 (given competitive S15 evolution as we see it in 2013 and into 2014, not as things were in 2011). What are we doing about them? We don't look on paper competitive with for, example, the Brumbies, Tahs or Chiefs total back lines as they are emerging in late 2013 and into 2014.
R Graham's recruitment and retention policies at the 2011-12 Force were, to put it at its most polite, undistinguished. To this point in his engagement with the QRU, no evidence has emerged to give we Reds fans confidence that the current Reds management mindset has moved beyond a kind of self-satisfaction with the playing resources we have to one of exciting, strategically-focussed regeneration and realignment with the latest competitive team qualities as advanced by the best coached S15 teams. Let's hope this seeming passivity regarding the playing resources we'll require to remain at the very top of the S15 tree will be corrected as 2013 continues to unfold.
Listening to today's pod cast with Richard Graham as a guest speaker I'm feeling really confindant with the change over from Ewin. I have never really heard RG talk before or know to much about him. But his chat today with Matt and Scott was a really good listen.
As always I'm looking forward to every new season of super rugby and I feel confidant that the reds will be even a tougher team to beat and still play ewins style the reds fans have come to love.
I've heard Graham speak a few times. He's a really engaging guy. Hopefully he's picked up a few things from Link as a head coach. He seems to do a really good job with the defensive structure this year.
Wendell