Wallabies 2019 Thread

[TSR]

I’m just putting myself through the pain of rewatching last weeks game and I don’t think Bernard has ever played as badly as Lilo did for 50 minutes before they did the sensible thing and hooked him. Neither are great but I think if Foley puts in a redemptive performance v Samoa we are likely to see him starting in the first couple of pool games v Fiji and Wales.

I question your sanity on the basis of the first sentence, so I am not sure I can hold any faith in the rest of your post.

 

[Braveheart81]

If I was Jones I would hunting around for a club in Japan or Europe. He comes back to Australia to try and grab a spot in the world cup squad and is given 10 minutes across two games to press a case. If he had been given a decent chance to show what he could do and couldn't perform then fair enough but 10 minutes behind someone not exactly setting the world on fire. You would almost think he was behind Hanigan.

I think Jones is pretty unlucky but his form in the second half of the Super Rugby season fell away pretty heavily and then he had a shocking cameo in his few minutes off the bench the first time.

He certainly didn't do himself any favours.

Not sure why Hanigan gets a mention here. He wasn't in the squad at any point this year.

Dempsey is undoubtedly lucky but he's also a far more dynamic player than Jones.

 

[upthereds#!]

Surely Jones and LSL (Lukhan Salakaia-Loto) (as locks) will become quite important in 2020. Young trees at the Reds, Brumbies & Rebels (Hockings, Blyth, Swain, Hosea, Frost) all still growing, and our backrow stocks are looking pretty sweet.

Lock- Rodda, Simmons, Jones, LSL (Lukhan Salakaia-Loto)
Backrow - Hoops, Wright, Samu, Dempsey, Naisarani, Valetini

 

[Tomikin]

Surely Jones and LSL (Lukhan Salakaia-Loto) (as locks) will become quite important in 2020. Young trees at the Reds, Brumbies & Rebels (Hockings, Blyth, Swain, Hosea, Frost) all still growing, and our backrow stocks are looking pretty sweet.

Lock- Rodda, Simmons, Jones, LSL (Lukhan Salakaia-Loto)
Backrow - Hoops, Wright, Samu, Dempsey, Naisarani, Valetini

Matt Philip should get a look in next year. But we will have to see who the coach is, and then he will stamp his mark on the team

 

[Brumby Runner]

Paul Cully reckons the next Golden Age for Strayan rugby is almost upon us:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/opini...ld-be-the-start-of-a-golden-era-for-wallabies

Interesting that he thinks it's the Reds, not the 'tahs or Brums, who'll usher it in.

Under a fair and impartial head coach, the Brumbies will still supply a major part of the forwards pack for the next 2 - 4 years, Sio, Fainga'a, Ala'alatoa, Slipper, Valetini, Swain and Samu will be there or thereabouts. They will also have some handy backs who will be likely to figure in conversations as well; Powell, Kuridrani, Banks and Simone, maybe Tom Wright too.

The Reds have some fantastic talent coming through but imo will be another 2-3 years before most reach Wallaby level. Rodda, Hoopert, Mafi, LSL (Lukhan Salakaia-Loto), Hockings, Wright, JOC (James O'Connor) and Petaia will be in contention from next year, but the real golden age might not arrive until the likes of this year's U20s reach the next level.

Rebels will contribute to the next swathe through Leota, Ha'angana, Hosea as well as more established players like Maddocks.

Tahs will have some strong u20s talent coming through as well in Harris, Harrison and Nawaquanitawasi. HJH (Harry Johnson-Holmes), Tom Robertson and Dempsey are also players who will feature from next year.

I think the spoils will be shared around quite a bit as the next crops of Wallabies are put together towards 2023.

 

[fatprop]

10 is the question mark in most sides, newbies or meh are the options in most sides

 

[Brumby Runner]

I question your sanity on the basis of the first sentence, so I am not sure I can hold any faith in the rest of your post.

KOB loves his Tahs, just as I love the Brumbies.

 

[wamberal]

KOB loves his Tahs, just as I love the Brumbies.

Keep an eye on Angus Bell, he could be the best of the lot, IMHO.

 

[Braveheart81]

KOB loves his Tahs, just as I love the Brumbies.

I assume the question about sanity was in relation to rewatching the game, not how dire Lilo's performance was.

Anyway, hopefully he doesn't do that again because we sure as hell can't afford him to.

 

[RugbyReg]

Under a fair and impartial head coach, the Brumbies will still supply a major part of the forwards pack for the next 2 - 4 years, Sio, Fainga'a, Ala'alatoa, Slipper, Valetini, Swain and Samu will be there or thereabouts. They will also have some handy backs who will be likely to figure in conversations as well; Powell, Kuridrani, Banks and Simone, maybe Tom Wright too.

.

hilarious.

 

[Braveheart81]

Darcy Swain is a strange one to include on the list. He's alright but given the locking talent we have already that are well ahead of him and the younger talent coming through it's hard to see him becoming a core member of the Wallabies in the next RWC cycle.

 

[Viking]

Fair point. Hard to argue against that. We have been told AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) trained the house down so maybe the powers that be believe AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) can offer potentially more than we amateur pundits think. I had not seen enough in Super Rugby to think AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) had done enough but maybe in Wallaby squad showed something more. SBW is a player who is similar age at 34.1 year younger.who I thought was past it. Look I am not saying I would have chosen AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) but equally I have seen he still has a lot of rugby smarts that maybe like SBW I might be wrong and selectors seen something we haven't. I hope AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) starts against Samoa so we can really see what he offers either way as the brief minutes off the bench in eden park AB game gave us nothing to really judge him on (should have been brought on earlier was my view).

I don't think it's fair to compare SBW and AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper). Both have very different styles of play and play in different positions.

SBW at 12 uses his size and offloading ability, and ball in hand skills - he can lose some footwork and pace with age and still do this successfully. You probably don't need a 12 with a huge amount of pace for his style of play.

AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) on the other hand - well i can't even describe his primary skillset? Right hand fend and run straight? To be fair you can't discount his experience but he was never exactly a visionary or great distributor so I'm not sure his "smarts" are all that valuable.

 

[Viking]

For Samoa I would almost prefer they start Foley and have Lilo on the bench. Lets see what both offer and compare. Lilo as Cheika said is marginally in front and Foley after Lilo's last game against AB's at eden park certainly worth seeing Foley in action.

As much as I love Lilo, that was a horrible game. And if it were Foley or Cooper everyone would be calling for am immediate dropping.

I actually think that performance was worse then anything Cooper or Foley has done. What has really worried me about Lilo is his poor distribution game - so many forward passes or poor passes (although mixed in with a few beauties too). He's usually good in this area so I hope he finds form here.

His goal-kicking has always been inconsistent too, especially under pressure (misses easy ones A LOT - i.e. Brumbies finals in front of the post).

To be fair, I'd still back him to go up a level and perform better then Foley. But it is worth a shot to have a look at Foley. And maybe have JOC (James O'Connor) doing the goalkicking.

 

[Braveheart81]

For whatever reason Banks is seen only as a fullback and not as a winger. DHP is viewed as both.

I wouldn't have picked AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) but I can also see why they want him as part of the squad. His experience and professionalism will contribute a fair bit. Let's also consider that this is a position in the squad that will probably only be involved in our game against Uruguay.

 

[fatprop]

hilarious.

Brumby Runner reminds me of this guy

 

[TSR]

I assume the question about sanity was in relation to rewatching the game, not how dire Lilo's performance was.

Anyway, hopefully he doesn't do that again because we sure as hell can't afford him to.

Surely no one would watch the game for a third time.

 

[Braveheart81]

Surely no one would watch the game for a third time.

I certainly only watched it once.

I might rewatch it tonight though to try and distract myself from the PTSD I've just acquired from the cricket.

 

[Tomikin]

Darcy Swain is a strange one to include on the list. He's alright but given the locking talent we have already that are well ahead of him and the younger talent coming through it's hard to see him becoming a core member of the Wallabies in the next RWC cycle.

I think his no less likely then probably Hockings or Bylth at the moment, his very talented, and will be getting more game time then the others, although a little short comparatively

 

[Braveheart81]

I think his no less likely then probably Hockings or Bylth at the moment, his very talented, and will be getting more game time then the others, although a little short comparatively

Sure, but I would say it would be equally presumptive to suggest those guys are going to be core Wallabies in this RWC cycle.

We'll still have Rodda and LSL (Lukhan Salakaia-Loto) who are both very young. Rob Simmons who might not play another test after the RWC but likewise has a wealth of experience and could easily factor in selections regularly over the next cycle (or at least the first couple of years), test capped Matt Philip and Blake Enever. Luke Jones who can play lock, and then the other youngsters like Frost, Hosea, Ha'angana etc.

Some of them will be for sure, but there's a whole bunch who are reasonable candidates and they can't all be core Wallabies in the next few years.

 

[TSR]

First it was props, now it is locks where we have some genuine apparent talent emerging.

I’m not sure about a golden age, but it’s certainly gives me more optimism then I’ve had for some
time.