The Tahs 2009

[Moses]

he doesn't give them physical presence

 

[naza]

Pffftt. Fresh reverse, hospital pass, big deal.

Give me Ed Gower at 6 any day.

 

[Moses]

Town Hall Station in Sydney is covered with HSBC Waratahs ads, I mean 40m long ads

http://www.hsbcjersey23.com.au/

http://www.player23.co.za/

 

[Lindommer]

Pffftt. Fresh reverse, hospital pass, big deal. Give me Ed Gower at 6 any day.

Looked as if Beau was going forward to me. :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

 

[Lee Grant]

Don't think he's going to get one of those at the Tahs this year. If the Tahs had another top notch second rower to allow Mumm to go to blindside breakaway they'd have a world class scrum.

Rocky who?

Yeah this is the "if" which makes the Tahs miss Elsom more than the Wallabies missed him. Whereas the Wallabies have 3M and Mumm to play 6, the Tahs have to play Mumm at lock.

Of course we were posting this last year, as soon as we knew both Vickerman and Elsom were going; but now more people are mentioning it as though it is a new thought.

Mowen played well at 6 against the Canes but he is no Elsom, especially going by Rocky's superlative form for Leinster. Nor is he a Mumm.

It will be interesting to see the contest between Mowen and Doherty for the 6 spot once the new guy finds his feet, though injuries can make a mockery of such ifs and buts. Doherty is more of a lineout man than Mowen, but Mowen did well taking the ball at the Cake Tin, didn't he?

 

[PhucNgo]

I think Mowen did pretty well without being spectacular against the Canes. IMHO the bigger loss for the Tahs was Vickerman. He gave them the necessary height at the lineout and a big presence around the paddock. Mumm at 6 would more than compensates for the loss of Elsom but a combination of he and Caldwell in the lineout isn't gonna cut it for height, we've seen that they are caught out by the taller combos in the past. Mowen partially compensates for this lack of height by offering a third option in the lineout, but he lacks the bulk to be a threatening ball carrier. Thompson (who does offer a bit of tall) only made a cameo appearance last week, so you can't say how he's going to go. But from what I saw of him in the Brumbies trial he seems a fair way off the pace in terms of conditioning.

Ideally therefore the Tah's need a big lock to partner Caldwell, who's doing well in the tight stuff. This would free up Mumm to play at 6 with Waugh/Robinson and 7 and Palu/Waugh at 8.

 

[Lee Grant]

Of course Vickerman is missed more than Elsom.

As we all said last year:

1. Vickerman's absence would mean that Mumm would have to take his place, unless somebody else was found.

2. And that would mean that Mumm couldn't replace Elsom at 6.

The best predictions are true when you make them, but this one wasn't rocket science.

Yeah Thomson was sucking in seagulls against the Brumbies as he (and Kane Douglas) were at Newcastle against the Fijians. You could see them with hands on hips almost dry reaching whereas Caldwell and Mumm were like young pups and all over the joint.

It's a wonder that there were any seagulls left in the greater Newcastle area after the game. Thompson never impressed me in club rugby to be honest, but he's had a few injuries and I haven't seen a lot of him - and even less of Douglas.

As I have said before: we all want all our players to stay healthy during the Super14 but special prayers should be said for Caldwell and Mumm.

 

[Cutter]

Its hard to believe those blokes arent fit. They should have been training super hard since Oct/Nov.

 

[Lindommer]

The work Axle does with Doherty, Douglas, Fava, Mowen, Palmer, Robinson, Thomson and Tilse and the timing of Dunning's and Kepu's returns will define the Tahs' season this year. If Foley can get these blokes up to speed, fitness and skillswise, the Tahs have a very good chance of featuring in the finals.

Fringe Super squad names like these are the ones tempted to give up in Oz and take the filthy Euro.

 

[Ash]

The work Axle does with Doherty, Douglas, Fava, Mowen, Palmer, Robinson, Thomson and Tilse and the timing of Dunning's and Kepu's returns will define the Tahs' season this year. If Foley can get these blokes up to speed, fitness and skillswise, the Tahs have a very good chance of featuring in the finals.

Fringe Super squad names like these are the ones tempted to give up in Oz and take the filthy Euro.

If you're not up to it, you're not up to it. I don't think anything could bring, say, SuperProptm up to that level this season, or next, or maybe ever, no matter how much time Foley puts into him. Same could go for Douglas and Thomson. And maybe even Fava, whose body could sadly be on that downward spiral.

 

[Moses]

Can anyone confirm who the Tahs squad were in 2009? This post of Lee's seems to be the most complete
http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/forum/threads/3256-The-Tahs-2009?p=95231&viewfull=1#post95231

Here's what I've got

Tahs 2009
Props: Sekope Kepu, Benn Robinson, Al Baxter, Matt Dunning, Dan Palmer
Hookers: Tatafu Polota-Nau, Adam Freier, Damien Fitzpatrick
2nd row: Will Caldwell, Dean Mumm, Chris Thompson, Al Campbell/Cam Treloar (B)
Backrow: Phil Waugh, Beau Robinson, Ben Mowen, S. Fardy (B,S), Wycliffe Palu, Tim Davidson, Coridas/McCutcheon (R), Scott Fava
Scrummie: Luke Burgess, Brett Sheehan
Flyhalves Kurtley Beale, Daniel Halangahu
Midfield: Timana Tahu, Tom Carter, Rob Horne, Lachlan Mitchell
Wing: Ratu Nasiganiyavi, Lote Tuqiri, Lachie Turner, Matt Cararro
Fullbacks: Sam Norton-Knight, Ben Batger

 

[TOCC]

NSW also had Scott Farva in 2009

 

[topo]

NSW also had Scott Farva in 2009

Damien Fitzpatrick was there as well. I think initially on an academy contract but upgraded during the year as there were a few injuries and he got a few starts.

 

[Moses]

Al Campbell was at the Brumbies right?

 

[topo]

Can anyone confirm who the Tahs squad were in 2009? This post of Lee's seems to be the most complete
http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/forum/threads/3256-The-Tahs-2009?p=95231&viewfull=1#post95231

Here's what I've got

Tahs 2009
Props: Sekope Kepu, Benn Robinson, Al Baxter, Matt Dunning, Dan Palmer
Hookers: Tatafu Polota-Nau, Adam Freier, Damien Fitzpatrick
2nd row: Will Caldwell, Dean Mumm, Chris Thompson, Al Campbell/Cam Treloar (B)
Backrow: Phil Waugh, Beau Robinson, Ben Mowen, S. Fardy (B,S), Wycliffe Palu, Tim Davidson, Coridas/McCutcheon (R), Scott Fava
Scrummie: Luke Burgess, Brett Sheehan
Flyhalves Kurtley Beale, Daniel Halangahu
Midfield: Timana Tahu, Tom Carter, Rob Horne, Lachlan Mitchell
Wing: Ratu Nasiganiyavi, Lote Tuqiri, Lachie Turner, Matt Cararro
Fullbacks: Sam Norton-Knight, Ben Batger

I don't think McCutcheon had a full contract in 2009. He was academy until signed to a full contract this year.
Coridas was signed on a rookie for 2010. I think he was academy in 2009
Al Campbell was at the Brumbies in 09 wasn't he?

 

[Lee Grant]

That post in 2008 was only a notional exercise and was started the month after the 2008 S14 ended.

The list of players who played for the Tahs in 2009 were:

[ Starts/From Bench]

Al Baxter - 8/0
Kurtley Beale -9/3
Luke Burgess - 11/2
Will Caldwell -13/0
Matt Carraro - 0/1
Tom Carter - 7/6
Luke Doherty - 0/8
Scott Fava - 1/1
Damien Fitzpatrick** - 0/4
Adam Freier - 1/4
Daniel Halangahu - 7/4
Rob Horne - 9/0
Sekope Kepu - 0/6
Ben Mowen - 11/2
Dean Mumm -13/0
Sam Norton-Knight - 10/2
Dan Palmer - 5/2
Wycliff Palu -12/1
Peter Playford - 3/0
Tatafu Polota-Nau -12/1
Benn Robinson - 13/0
Brett Sheehan -2/9
Timana Tahu - 7/6
Chris Thomson - 2/6
Jeremy Tilse - 0/1
Lote Tuqiri - 13/0
Lachie Turner - 13/0
Phil Waugh - 13/0

There were others in the squad who were not used:

Ben Batger, Dave Dennis, Matt Dunning, Ratu Nasiganiyavi, Beau Robinson.

** - started the year in the Pro Academy

Appearances as a blood replacement only are not counted.

 

[Hartman]

+ Chris Alcock...

 

[Moses]

Alcock debuted on 3rd April 2010, was he on a full contract in 2009?

 

[topo]

Alcock debuted on 3rd April 2010, was he on a full contract in 2009?

No, pretty sure he was a rookie contract for 2010 only, like Coridas.

 

[Hartman]

Ahhhh jeez my mistake, got confused, I was thinking of 2009 as "last year" = "last season".... idiot...