Wallabies 2023

[rodha]

1. Slipper
2. Porecki
3. Ala'alatoa
4. Rodda
5. Arnold
6. Frost
7. Hooper
8. Valetini
9. White
10. Cooper
11. Korobeite
12. Kerevi
13. Ikitau
14. Nawaqanitawase
15. Kellaway

16. BPA
17. Bell
18. Tupou
19. Skelton
20. Samu
21. McDermott/Finnes
22. Edmed
23. Petaia

 

[swingpass]

Rebels have a lack of centres so playing Hodge there might do him some benefit. He appears to not be the option for Rennie at 15. So despite what many say in nailing down a singular position, I actually think he should double down on his versatility and put hand up across the backline for rebels this year, specifically 12. That versatile 23 spot is essentially a necessary position in all teams now, perhaps been the most versatile is his best chance to rack up more caps. Would also allow Kellaway to play 15.

assuming fitness the Rebels centres will likely be Nu'u and Illi, Hodge very likely to be fullback

 

[Viking]

Agreed with Skelton, he was immense in the time he was given this tour.

Kellaway another lock in the team. Surprisingly has a lot of versatility as can play centres, wing and fullback. He was very good in the centres when pushed there against Ireland

Good point. I think Kellaway will be the fullback or bench option. I hope he plays a full season at fullback for the Rebs.

 

[Viking]

1. Slipper
2. Porecki
3. Ala'alatoa
4. Rodda
5. Arnold
6. Frost
7. Hooper
8. Valetini
9. White
10. Cooper
11. Korobeite
12. Kerevi
13. Ikitau
14. Nawaqanitawase
15. Kellaway

16. BPA
17. Bell
18. Tupou
19. Skelton
20. Samu
21. McDermott/Finnes
22. Edmed
23. Petaia

I don't understand what anyone sees in Porecki, especially after the last few matches.

I put my money on Lonegan continuing his form into next season and Latu having a redemption story.

 

[rodha]

I don't understand what anyone sees in Porecki, especially after the last few matches.

I put my money on Lonegan continuing his form into next season and Latu having a redemption story.

BPA is the best hooker, the impact of him & Tupou together off the bench last year was a game changer. See SA tests.

 

[Viking]

BPA is the best hooker, the impact of him & Tupou together off the bench last year was a game changer. See SA tests.

Can someone remind me where BPA is at these days? Injured or overseas.
Would be great to have him back.

 

[PhilClinton]

Those who think the floodgates will open up Rugby Australia scraps the rule are being a bit dramatic.

French clubs will think twice if their Australian player is now able to be rushed to the otherside of the world. Other nations are starting to restrict via quotas on how may foreigners can be part of a squad and the UK teams are all going under some financial squeeze.

The top talent like Skelton, Kerevi and Marika will still be getting poached, but that's to be expected no?

Yeh all the people who think the Aussies will leave in droves are kidding themselves.

1. As you mention, the half dozen top tier guys will always be poached, but the next tier down aren’t exactly world beaters. Euro/Japanese teams aren’t banging down the door to offer Jake Gordon or Hunter Paiasami $1M a year.

2. Where is all their money coming from? If you’re going to ship 5 Aussie players into your side, what about the other local players? The Aussies coming will be expecting big pay cheques to leave Super Rugby, I simply don’t think Euro or Japanese teams will pay overs for our blokes en masse.

3. Moving internationally isn’t something everyone just decides to do. I’m sure some of the older players with families etc wouldn’t just throw Super Rugby away and move the wife and kids across for a couple thousand more dollars.

 

[gel]

Losing slightly more than you win against top 10 sides with more of those games against top 5 sides puts you firmly in the middle of the top 10 though. A ranking or 5th or 6th is pretty accurate in my view.

 

[Wallaby Man]

Yeh all the people who think the Aussies will leave in droves are kidding themselves.

1. As you mention, the half dozen top tier guys will always be poached, but the next tier down aren’t exactly world beaters. Euro/Japanese teams aren’t banging down the door to offer Jake Gordon or Hunter Paiasami $1M a year.

2. Where is all their money coming from? If you’re going to ship 5 Aussie players into your side, what about the other local players? The Aussies coming will be expecting big pay cheques to leave Super Rugby, I simply don’t think Euro or Japanese teams will pay overs for our blokes en masse.

3. Moving internationally isn’t something everyone just decides to do. I’m sure some of the older players with families etc wouldn’t just throw Super Rugby away and move the wife and kids across for a couple thousand more dollars.

Your 3rd point rings true these days. Some players in the past left super rugby for the family element because they were sick of been away from the family on long tours, the current form of Super Rugby is more appeasing for people with families as you’re only away at most 2 nights a week and more often than not sleep in own bed and tuck children into bed every night.

 

[Drew]

Yeh all the people who think the Aussies will leave in droves are kidding themselves.

1. As you mention, the half dozen top tier guys will always be poached, but the next tier down aren’t exactly world beaters. Euro/Japanese teams aren’t banging down the door to offer Jake Gordon or Hunter Paiasami $1M a year.

2. Where is all their money coming from? If you’re going to ship 5 Aussie players into your side, what about the other local players? The Aussies coming will be expecting big pay cheques to leave Super Rugby, I simply don’t think Euro or Japanese teams will pay overs for our blokes en masse.

3. Moving internationally isn’t something everyone just decides to do. I’m sure some of the older players with families etc wouldn’t just throw Super Rugby away and move the wife and kids across for a couple thousand more dollars.

And possibly 4. If eligibility rules are relaxed, the money on offer wouldn’t be as good. Someone like Kerevi got big bucks as he hadn’t played 70 tests, so at the time wasn’t eligible. I also think the couple of clubs going bust in England might spook some players

 

[Doritos Day]

Yeh all the people who think the Aussies will leave in droves are kidding themselves.

1. As you mention, the half dozen top tier guys will always be poached, but the next tier down aren’t exactly world beaters. Euro/Japanese teams aren’t banging down the door to offer Jake Gordon or Hunter Paiasami $1M a year.

2. Where is all their money coming from? If you’re going to ship 5 Aussie players into your side, what about the other local players? The Aussies coming will be expecting big pay cheques to leave Super Rugby, I simply don’t think Euro or Japanese teams will pay overs for our blokes en masse.

3. Moving internationally isn’t something everyone just decides to do. I’m sure some of the older players with families etc wouldn’t just throw Super Rugby away and move the wife and kids across for a couple thousand more dollars.

To add on your second point - there is less money abroad than there was 3 years ago. Two prem clubs literally just folded and their salary cap is way below what it used to be. That leaves France and Japan; the former pays well but requires a massive lifestyle change (language) and playing 25+ times a year, the latter has a firm cap on international players which constrains how wide the clubs are going to look in this area

 

[fatprop]

Good point. I think Kellaway will be the fullback or bench option. I hope he plays a full season at fullback for the Rebs.

And Hodge at 12 all season

 

[Dctarget]

And Hodge at 12 all season

Speaking of ol' Hodgey, how do we think he went on the weekend? I thought he was reliable if unremarkable. 6/10, no Hodge fuck ups and filled in his 4th position of the season.

 

[Wilson]

Speaking of ol' Hodgey, how do we think he went on the weekend? I thought he was reliable if unremarkable. 6/10, no Hodge fuck ups and filled in his 4th position of the season.

Our midfield defence and it's connection to the back 3 was pretty broken, but I don't think that was necessarily a personal issue, just the reality of a slapped together backline.

 

[Braveheart81]

Is Nawaqanitawase the biggest bolter we've had in a while?

At the start of the year he wasn't in the Waratahs best 23. It wasn't until round 4 that he even got a go off the bench with four players playing on the wing before him. It wasn't until round 6 until he got a start.

Most saw him as a guy with plenty of attacking talent but terrible decision making in terms of when to push the offload and abysmal defence.

He's only played three tests but he could be the Wallabies rookie of the year in that short period of time. He's finished the year with a two try MOTM performance where he played a huge part in our comeback.

I'd imagine many of us think he's a good shout to be in our starting XV even when Koroibete returns on the other wing but certainly in a RWC squad with everyone available.

 

[fatprop]

Speaking of ol' Hodgey, how do we think he went on the weekend? I thought he was reliable if unremarkable. 6/10, no Hodge fuck ups and filled in his 4th position of the season.

You need some players to be that "rock" of reliability, Link described it as having players in the mix that you could reliably "banked" expect a certain level from week in, week out. We have had three players IMHO who consistently deliver at world class levels (Koro, Koroibete & Hooper with Ikitau showing the potential to be one)

They, the "rocks", allow others to flourish, I see Hodge, Foley, Phillips, Kellaway, Porecki & Losesi in the same vein (and now Cooper (since he pulled his head in))

The rest are roosters one moment and feather dusters the next

We can't have a team of units who are play at 100% flash one week and 30% flash the following week randomly

 

[Braveheart81]

So we've reached the end of 2022. We have four tests before a RWC squad is picked and five before the tournament begins.

The squad size is increased to 33 under the guise of improved player welfare (particularly with the 12 day stand down for concussion). I'd expect that this will certainly mean that no squads punt on taking only two hookers or halfbacks.

These are my locks (if healthy). I have included Leota here because I expect him to have plenty of time to return. I have excluded Tupou because I think time is against him.

Props: Slipper, Bell, Ala'alatoa
Hookers: Porecki, Fainga'a
Locks: Frost, Skelton
6: Holloway, Leota
7: Hooper
8: Valetini, Samu

That is 12 players. Expect 3 more props, 1 more hooker, 2 more locks, 1 more backrower

That leaves 14 spots for backs and I am expecting Cooper to recover in time.

Halfback: White
Fly half: Cooper
Centre: Kerevi, Ikitau,
Wing: Koroibete, Nawaqanitawase, Kellaway
Fullback:

Expect 2 more halfbacks, 1 more fly half, 2 more centres, 2 more fullbacks

The backs are really wide open.

McDermott, Gordon, Lonergan are probably the leading chances at halfback. Gordon has been poor, McDermott has been mediocre and Rennie clearly isn't a fan and Lonergan is arguably the next in line. Wide open there.

Foley and Lolesio are the frontrunners at 10. Donaldson, Edmed, Harrison are outside chances.

Paisami, Foketi and maybe Perese are the best chances for the centres.

Wright, Hodge, Petaia, Campbell, Banks and Beale are probably the best chances for wing/fullback.

 

[Micheal]

Is Nawaqanitawase the biggest bolter we've had in a while?

At the start of the year he wasn't in the Waratahs best 23. It wasn't until round 4 that he even got a go off the bench with four players playing on the wing before him. It wasn't until round 6 until he got a start.

Most saw him as a guy with plenty of attacking talent but terrible decision making in terms of when to push the offload and abysmal defence.

He's only played three tests but he could be the Wallabies rookie of the year in that short period of time. He's finished the year with a two try MOTM performance where he played a huge part in our comeback.

I'd imagine many of us think he's a good shout to be in our starting XV even when Koroibete returns on the other wing but certainly in a RWC squad with everyone available.

One thing I'm really impressed with is his conditioning. Size isn't everything, but a great big player beats a great small player 99% of the time. If I saw someone like Tom Banks on the street in Sydney, I wouldn't even know that he was a professional rugby player, let alone a Wallaby.

Mark N (Nawaqanitawase) was quite a scrawny kid when he entered the Waratahs fold, but he's put on a huge amount of lean muscle in the last 18 months, which if nothing else is a testament to his work ethic. He really looks the part, and adds a physical threat to our backline, which is often lacking when Kerevi and Koroibete aren't there.

It seems that its given him a bit more confidence, particularly in defence, where he's no longer the liability that he was.

 

[PhilClinton]

Is Nawaqanitawase the biggest bolter we've had in a while?

At the start of the year he wasn't in the Waratahs best 23. It wasn't until round 4 that he even got a go off the bench with four players playing on the wing before him. It wasn't until round 6 until he got a start.

Most saw him as a guy with plenty of attacking talent but terrible decision making in terms of when to push the offload and abysmal defence.

He's only played three tests but he could be the Wallabies rookie of the year in that short period of time. He's finished the year with a two try MOTM performance where he played a huge part in our comeback.

I'd imagine many of us think he's a good shout to be in our starting XV even when Koroibete returns on the other wing but certainly in a RWC squad with everyone available.

He seems to be the inverse of Daugunu.

Filipo had a proper breakout Super Rugby season back in 2020 and was anointed a Wallabies winger based on that cracking form, he's since fizzled.

Nawaqantiawase had a slower start in Super Rugby and really only got his chance with the Wallabies because Koro was unavailable and there were a few injuries (Perese) and form dives (Vunivalu). He's excelled in Gold.

I hope he keeps the form going and doesn't get too much second year syndrome.

 

[Braveheart81]

He's 6'4 and he's clearly got some Fijian DNA in him. I am sure he's put in a lot of work but he also clearly has the body type that can add bulk effectively in a pretty short period of time.