I think Paisami could become a very good 12.
I think Stewart has been great there, but it won’t hurt him to have competition for his spot.
CFS has got better and better with age, but I still think he’ll most likely be bench cover.
You also have Josh Flook.
Defensively he would be less of an issue at 12 than 13 . Nothing wrong with his tackling ability, the 13 channel is more about timing and who to hit, toughest spot in the backline to defend .I personally think it would take a while for Hunter to be a good 12. He likes to run the ball and is a pretty natural 13, plus his defence needs a fair bit of work.
Defensively he would be less of an issue at 12 than 13 . Nothing wrong with his tackling ability, the 13 channel is more about timing and who to hit, toughest spot in the backline to defend .
His ball distribution would need to go up a level , but hat was a criticism of him playing 13 only last year . With time he could be a very good 12 .
Am I the only one that thinks Petaia would be an immense fullback?I think Paisami could become a very good 12.
I think Stewart has been great there, but it won’t hurt him to have competition for his spot.
CFS has got better and better with age, but I still think he’ll most likely be bench cover.
You also have Josh Flook.
I think Paisami could become a very good 12.
I think Stewart has been great there, but it won’t hurt him to have competition for his spot.
CFS has got better and better with age, but I still think he’ll most likely be bench cover.
You also have Josh Flook.
I think they’d be similiar. Definitely the game plan would not be just about giving it to Paisami. Paisami is a hard runner, but not nearly as devastating as Kerevi is. However he is a better defender.Would Paisami play 12 like Kerevi? Looks like a similar type of player with similar skills to me. With the rest of that backline I don't think the game plan would be a restrictive "give it to Paisami " as it was with Kerevi, but no way you'd want slow ball getting to the likes of Petaia, Daugunu etc.
I get it. Who knows what a couple of years will bring. We might see him back in our QLD colours.From what I’ve heard the Rebels see Gordon as a starting Super Rugby player in 2021 and were prepared to pay him as such, Reds didn’t have a starting position for him and couldn’t pay the same amount of money for a squad player.
It sucks and I don’t think it’s a lack of vision, just a different timeframe of when that vision will occur, but I get why players in this kind of position move on.
Seeing the improvement in the Reds is definitely Thorn’s influence and experience in the higher echelons. Clearly JOC (James O'Connor) as Wallabies flyhalf will get preference over an unproven player but we still have the risk on injury. I’m just pissed that Gordon’s timing wasn’t a year delayed. What’s the go with Mason Gordon, it was mentioned on the Rebels2020 thread that he was off there as well. Who else have we got developing?Agree with the majority of that RR. Certainly it is make or break next year for Campbell & Stewart in terms of Wallaby selection and it they can’t take the next step you’d assume there is a fair chance they’ll try and maximise their career potential. Likewise CFS has been a great servant, but injury has pushed him down the pecking order. Can’t blame them for that. What the great teams like the Crusaders have done really well is have new guys always progressing in the background and, because they have handled their development well and because they are coming into settled, performing teams the new guys always look good coming in.
Melbourne Storm is a very good example where they frequently take guys who are run-of-the-mill elsewhere and they look like world betters in the Storm system because they are really good at identifying their Tier 1 guys and having a good system that makes it easy for others to slot in around them. Thorn played in three similiar systems at the Broncos, Crusaders & Leinster plus, of course, the ABs with the difference there it is not so much about ‘core’ players as excellence across the board. (The one big difference with the Storm of course is they don’t have a nursery as such).
My point being I think everything Thorn is doing says to me that his big drive is to build a ‘system’ which stands up over time and will even hold up better in an environment of restricted economics. But it doesn’t necessarily mean retention of every star. I’ve got no doubt that one of the big factors that will determine if we are going to keep a lot of these guys is whether they are happy to take less than they could possibly get elsewhere.
The one place we probably differ is our view on what happened with Gordon. Clearly you are a lot closer to him and the whole environment then I am, but even based off what you’ve written a big factor in losing Gordon was the decision to embrace JOC (James O'Connor) as a 10. So then you have the current Wallaby 10 v a potential future Wallaby 10. IMO the right decision here was clearly to back JOC (James O'Connor) and, from that point on, it was always going to be hard to retain Gordon. He is simply a much worth much more to the Rebels the he is to us at the present. So personally, from my perspective I don’t see it as such a failing. Unfortunate. Would love to still have him - but you can understand why he took the money/opportunity at the Rebels.
Harry Vella was in the Super Rugby bubble as extended squad. Playing in 2nds rather than Colts 1 or Prems. Vella and Nonggor are a couple of years out IMO. Has FarrelL re-signed. We are light on Props who would provide depth in 2021So, moving on from our backs, who are the young guys coming through in the forwards?
In particular depth for prop & lock. We were extremely lucky Tupou never got injured this year. We really need some depth on both sides, particularly if it’s true both Smiths are moving on. Zander has done incredibly well for a bloke plucked from relative obscurity- but I’m not sure he has the mobility to become a top level prop. Nonggorr looks to have a high ceiling, but I’d like him to be able to build gradually. Lock - not sure. I thought Tualima was okay. Not sure where he is at in terms of his ceiling though.
Who are the names to watch from QPR?
So, moving on from our backs, who are the young guys coming through in the forwards?
In particular depth for prop & lock. We were extremely lucky Tupou never got injured this year. We really need some depth on both sides, particularly if it’s true both Smiths are moving on. Zander has done incredibly well for a bloke plucked from relative obscurity- but I’m not sure he has the mobility to become a top level prop. Nonggorr looks to have a high ceiling, but I’d like him to be able to build gradually. Lock - not sure. I thought Tualima was okay. Not sure where he is at in terms of his ceiling though.
Who are the names to watch from QPR?