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The Wallabies Thread

GaffaCHinO

Peter Sullivan (51)
Does Coleman call the line-outs?

If so, I'm liking the idea of a future lock pairing of:

4. Coleman
5. Arnold / Douglas

Maybe a year or two away form where they want to be but come RWC they should be firing.
He calls the lineout at the Force so could work.
 

Forcefield

Ken Catchpole (46)
We've had a couple of line-out misfire games this season. I think Coleman has the potential to be the line-out general but you'd want to ease him into it and give a lot of support.
 

barbarian

Phil Kearns (64)
Staff member
I need to see Coleman a few more times before I'm on board.

I like him, but other than one nice run I thought he didn't do too much of note against England. Would have him 4th on the pecking order at the moment, behind Douglas, Simmons and Arnold.
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barbarian

Phil Kearns (64)
Staff member
You were rating Arnold after similar time out there, including a fairly average first up effort

Thought he was OK first up, and he improved the next week with a better showing. So he's 2/2 in my books, and that's why he's ahead of Coleman at this point. Also he was starting both games, so faced the Poms while they were at their most fresh.

Think he might offer just a bit more physicality with ball in hand.

But as I said- Coleman could be better, just need to see him once or twice more before I can make that call.
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T

Tip

Guest
I'd be pretty comfortable with an Arnold/Coleman pairing in the future.

I'd be stoked if Chieka picked Douglas&Horwill for Bledisloe 1. Horwill showed more in his 35 minutes off the bench in game 1 than Skelton/Arnold/Coleman did in their 50 minutes. Douglas' physicality was sorely missed

It's a seriously brutal pairing. Kev just needs to send Chiek flowers. I feel the best way to develop Arnold & Coleman are with 30 minute stints off the bench where a player like Coleman can thrive! Not sink and perish in the first 40 of a "bodyline" series.
 

The_Brown_Hornet

John Eales (66)
No doubt Kane is central to the Cheika game plan (as evidenced by how we went downhill after his exit in the RWC final) but unfortunately he just wasn't available. Might have made a difference.
 
T

TOCC

Guest
We've had a couple of line-out misfire games this season. I think Coleman has the potential to be the line-out general but you'd want to ease him into it and give a lot of support.

He needs to start doing that at the Force first, a few times this season against quality line-out opposition the Force line-out has buckled
 
T

TOCC

Guest
Overall I think our locks are pretty poor, Simmons is a mainstay because of his line-out ability but offers little outside of that, a reasonably high work rate but no physicality or presence.

Coleman and Arnold have show glimpses of of good potential but neither are hammering down the door to be an immediate starter. Still a work in progress.

Carter, I've been a critic of Carter for the last 2 seasons, I still think he gets selected on form he displayed in 2014, plays similar to Simmons, decent work rate but lacks physicality and goes missing.

Skelton, straight up lacks fitness, Wallabies can't carry a 50min player...

Douglas, he isn't the prodigal son but based on the 2015 RWC form he is the best we have..


Compared to the Boks, England and the All Blacks the Wallabies locks is one of the weakest areas in the team.
 

Joe Blow

John Hipwell (52)
Arnold was a bit out of place in the first test and improved in the second. Coleman looked pretty comfortable in his 50 minutes and will just get better with each outing. Both should start to come into their own with 6 or so tests under the belt.
If Simmons is fit I would still be starting he and Douglas against the ABs with one of the the other two on the bench giving them a bit more time against Argentina and SA.
There is no reason to have more than 4 locks in the squad and maybe one 5/6 like Mumm.
 

Joe Blow

John Hipwell (52)
And on QC (Quade Cooper), I'ts uncertain whether he can put himself back into contention for a test spot or not for the RC but one thing both he and Will Genia do very well is to put big forward runners into holes at pace. That run off a short ball from Adam Coleman was a nice piece of work. Was it Phipps who popped him the ball?
We need more of that.
 

fatprop

George Gregan (70)
Staff member
And on QC (Quade Cooper), I'ts uncertain whether he can put himself back into contention for a test spot or not for the RC but one thing both he and Will Genia do very well is to put big forward runners into holes at pace. That run off a short ball from Adam Coleman was a nice piece of work. Was it Phipps who popped him the ball?
We need more of that.


One of the things I have never understood is the static forward who receives the ball from static play.

We have three examples on how to move forward IMHO

1/ Follow the Bok approach, have a unit on their hip drving them over the gains line

2/ Look at the NRL, have units hitting the advantage line at pace

3/ Do both

The challenge is that all these options require better fitness and bigger efforts and essentially more workrate
 

Brumby Runner

Jason Little (69)
And on QC (Quade Cooper), I'ts uncertain whether he can put himself back into contention for a test spot or not for the RC but one thing both he and Will Genia do very well is to put big forward runners into holes at pace. That run off a short ball from Adam Coleman was a nice piece of work. Was it Phipps who popped him the ball?
We need more of that.

It looked to me that Coleman intercepted a pass meant for an outside runner. Either way, it was a strong effort and shows the sort of potential he has.
 

ForceFan

Peter Fenwicke (45)
My comments regarding Will Skelton's ongoing poor performances as a Test level Lock have drawn a few comments.

Although we see glimpses of Skelton's potential in Super Rugby, he has yet to prove himself as a regular and reliable Lock for the Wallabies. Accordingly, he is taking the place of players who have shown a greater desire to develop the fitness and necessary skill set.

Nothing shows this situation more than a comparison of his performance at various levels over the past 2 years.

My hope is that this information will stimulate some worthwhile discussion.


Will Skelton – Over the past 2 years

Game Time – Ruck Involvements – TOW - Discipline

2016-06-28_16-06-03_1.jpg

  1. All stats are presented as averages per 80 minutes in order to allow for different game time. This provides a better indication of work rate - especially when comparing with others.
  2. Averaging less game time in 2016 (Fitness or Plan?)
  3. Reduced involvement in Defensive Rucks in Test rugby.
  4. Nil Turn Overs Won in Test Rugby.
  5. Penalised significantly more in Test rugby (Trying to “impose” himself upon the game?)
Tackling – Ball Carries – Line Out

2016-06-28_15-50-35_2.jpg

  1. Tackles more in Test rugby
  2. Main RWC game against Uruguay (10 mins against Fiji)
  3. More carries but less m gained in 2016.
  4. Reduced Defenders Beaten and Off Loads in 2016.
  5. Limited Line Out impact in Test Rugby.
Conclusions:
  1. Skelton is not as fit in 2016 as he was in 2015.
  2. Skelton is struggling to have the same impact in Test Rugby as he does in Super Rugby.
  3. Skelton has minimal impact in Defensive Rucks in Test rugby with no regular Turn Overs Won. His role is mainly supporting the Wallabies ball carriers.
  4. Skelton is rarely used as a Line Out Option in test rugby.
Note: I have no data for effectiveness in Mauls and Scrums.
 

ForceFan

Peter Fenwicke (45)
Arnold was a bit out of place in the first test and improved in the second. Coleman looked pretty comfortable in his 50 minutes and will just get better with each outing. Both should start to come into their own with 6 or so tests under the belt.
If Simmons is fit I would still be starting he and Douglas against the ABs with one of the the other two on the bench giving them a bit more time against Argentina and SA.
There is no reason to have more than 4 locks in the squad and maybe one 5/6 like Mumm.

I have finally watched the Brumbies v Sunwolves game. This and the 2 games by Rory Arnold against England confirmed to me that Arnold is very soft going into contact - he makes few tackles (4 in each Test and 8 against the Swolves - Carter had 14) and has very few ruck involvements (compared to other Locks). A lot of his ruck involvements are turning up to rucks, hands on bum and not even braced for contact or looking at the opposition. He rarely applies any aggressive cleanouts. He has very few Defensive Ruck Involvements with main focus supporting own ball carriers.

I reckon Coleman is just as good in the Line Out, is a more effective ball carrier, is more committed to making an impact at the breakdown and presents a better option for the Wallabies.
 

Sully

Tim Horan (67)
Staff member
It confirms what I'd thought about his ball carrying this year. I don't understand how he doesn't make any impact.

Sent from my D5833 using Tapatalk
 

cyclopath

George Smith (75)
Staff member
It confirms what I'd thought about his ball carrying this year. I don't understand how he doesn't make any impact.

Sent from my D5833 using Tapatalk

Short runs, never exceeds low velocity, low momentum. Look at his run against the ?Chiefs when he ran off Palu at a much higher speed then put Hooper away. Try stopping that. It is his season highlight. That was the swallow that does not a summer make. Unless he's doing one or two of those a game, in the context of the rest of his game, it just isn't enough.
 
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