Rocky road ahead for Rocky...........

[Scarfman]

I don't think you understand the importance of the position of Wallabies captain. Deans made the only decision he could - Elsom was the stand-out choice as captain, and choosing the captaincy is not a week by week proposition.

Wha!?!? Deans picked Rocky as captain from overseas AND when he was crocked. It was FAR from obvious at the time.

 

[redstragic]

Are we going to look back on what might have been in 10 weeks time when we get done by Samoa again in the quarters? For me its the leadership, I don't see him manning up out in the middle when words need to be said to calm the team down. Hopefully I am wrong and his genius is that all his words said behind closed doors are so powerful they carry the team through a game or he has a telepathic link with his team mates and I am misinterpreting what I am seeing.

 

[Gnostic]

Considering Elsom still hasnt signed with any Super side he might fix the problem and chase more money elsewhere.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

I'd be interested to know who the other captaincy candidates were at the time of Rocky's appointment? That is, who did G&GR folks think was worthy of the job at the time. I recall thinking it was a decent choice, as there weren't a lot of other guys who stood out, either through form or injury. With the benefit of that always clear hindsight, it wasn't a great choice. If you were picking a captain today, I think you'd go with Horwill, regardless of his success with the Reds.

I wouldn't actually be that disappointed if Rocky lost the captaincy from this weekend onwards. I don't think it's done a lot for his game and he's not a natural leader, especially in comparison with some of the other captains we've had over the last couple of decades.

 

[allitsab]

I wouldn't be surprised if the ARU were contractually obliged to give Rocky the captaincy - ie he used the leverage he had while abroad to pickup both some nice $ AND the wallabies captaincy in his contract when he resigned in Australia.

If this is the case, then the ARU/Robbie have no choice (aside from their pride getting in the way of things).

 

[grievous]

The coaching set up seems too scared to step on toes, tell em hes dropped and take the captaincy away. Maybe we should have got Grizz Wylie as a coach from NZ

 

[tallboy]

I agree Scotty. I think Elsom at his best is better than I have seen from Higgers so far. And some of Elsoms problem may be the lack of a dominant #8. Lets see some Samo and see if the burnt Palm tree is up to it or not. Or give Higgers a go and see if he can make a difference.

I think what most people @triplejsr how can all these people not get the point the wallabies. You could say the same for the force backrow and maybe the Waratahs. They are all good players but the balance isn't right.

Couldn't agree more Sully. Well said and exactly what was on show on Sat night. Our backrow just don't quite compliment each other. The Reds and Force are perfect examples of not necessarily the absolute best guys in their position, but guys who understand their individual jobs and work hard to offset the work their teammates are doing. Everyone saw what the Reds did with that.
Matt Hodgson spoke about it on the podcast. He and Pocock spend more time training together at the Force than anyone, running through scenarios so their games are the perfect foils for each other. The Wobs backrow on the other hand is 3 talented blokes dancing to their own beat.

 

[Waylon]

Elsom hasn't been the best 6 in the country for 2 years. If he isn't the best player in his position, he shouldn't be in the team

You pick the best team, then you make one of them captain

This is national coaching 101

Elsom is luggage

The team is carrying him. he spends the game on the wing

The axe must fall

 

[DPK]

Say Elsom does get dropped; who would you like to see brought in to 6? (General question, for everyone)

(Might I again suggest Horwill? )

 

[Joe Blow]

When he was named captain, and it was a good decision at the time with Morty not available, it was totally unnecessary to state he would be the captain through to the RWC.
I had thought that every time the selectors sit down to pick a squad, they do that and then pick a captain from that group. After being chosen as captain multiple times then it becomes a given that they are the incumbent.
They only had to pick him for one tour/set of tests and then review how he went before selecting him in that role again or not.

 

[qwerty51]

Say Elsom does get dropped; who would you like to see brought in to 6? (General question, for everyone)

(Might I again suggest Horwill? )

McCalman with Samo/Palu at 8.

 

[lordo]

McCalman with Samo/Palu at 8.

After the last 2 games by McCalman he needs to work his way back into the team. Higginbotham deserves a shot at the very least. He has been the form no.6 for Australia the last 2 years, and only the injury kept him out last year, which is a shame because maybe he could've played Elsom out last year and we wouldn't have this problem with the world cup about a month away...

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Higgo must play this weekend and probably at eight. I'd like to see Samo get some minutes too, to see if he's still up to it.

 

[drewprint]

I think they'll start with Higgenbotham at 8, and at some point late in the match hook Elsom, bring Samo on at 8 and push Higgers to 6.

 

[Joe Blow]

I think they'll start with Higgenbotham at 8, and at some point late in the match hook Elsom, bring Samo on at 8 and push Higgers to 6.

We live in hope. When is the side named?

 

[Keithy]

I hope Higgenbotham get's his chance but will he still play a loose role? It would be hard to get some go forward with Elsom and Higgenbotham standing on the wings.

 

[RedsHappy]

Higgo must play this weekend and probably at eight. I'd like to see Samo get some minutes too, to see if he's still up to it.

TBH, agree. My slight concern re Samo is that from recollection is he one of those players that may take until a second game in sequence to get back to his best play. We'll see, I hope. This is one of the multiple downsides of clearly mistaken selections (e.g. McCalman) in such a crucial year as this - once a replacement comes in, they don't automatically fire up perfectly in their first match after having maybe weeks or months since they last played at a high level.

 

[Reddy!]

Haha forget about Elsom. What about the selectors? They have shown over the past few years that they have no talent in making good selections. It actually borders on the shocking. Anyway, everyone here knows my opinion on this so I won't say much more...apart from:

What I'm dreading on seeing this weekend is Higgers at no.8 (it has been well documented through his performances that he is a blindside flanker through and through), Elsom at no.6 and Samo somewhere in oblivion.

Simmons and McCalman are one of the most uninspired selection moves in recent memory.

And one of Australia's best leaders, talented utility and best goal kickers - Matt Giteau - is playing club rugby in Brisbane while specialist A. Fainga'a and under achiever Turner sit on the bench doing nothing. Along with Sharpe, that is nearly 200 fucking test caps taken away from the team that clearly was rudderless on the weekend against the most experienced All Blacks side of all time. What a joke.

 

[Scarfman]

Rocky getting appointed was a 'meh' moment for most people here. Not everyone's choice, but not a huge problem. My problem at the time was that he was and continues to be crocked. But it's the trademark Deans stubborness that is now the issue.

And as much as people will roll their eyes at another Deans-hater, I just cannot believe that Elsom playing on the wing was his own decision. It simply must be the coaching staff. The idea is - we're going to play the full width of the field, so stick our "blindside flanker" on the wing. I don't get it either, but it doesn't seem possible that Rocky just decided to do it on the spur on the moment, or through glory hunting.

 

[Waylon]

Rocky is on the wing for half the game because he can't keep up with the action anymore

he's crocked

He isn't fit enough

he doesn't deserve his place.

pretty simple stuff

cull hard. It's nearly time for spring cleaning.........just in time for RWC