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Wallabies 2023

Wallaby Man

Wallaby Man

Nev Cottrell (35)
Sword of Justice said:
Tupou's going to really struggle to find any way to show it though given he can't even run atm. A man of his physique can only get fit in so many ways.

Tupou's comments have been refreshingly honest about his chances. It's just an unfortunate situation and we will really miss him. His ceiling is so high that when he's not playing lights out we can be frustrated but realistically he is the player with the biggest gap from first to second choice.
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Probably wouldn’t be possible but I’d love to see an opportunity where Tupou, Leota, Rodda, Bell etc. could get a months worth of NPC before World Cup. Or a season worth if not included in the squad. Looks like it starts early August so wouldn’t clash
 
qwerty51

qwerty51

Stirling Mortlock (74)
Problem is those NPC teams probably don’t want to pay their insurance or even take them if they’ll piss off to the RWC and won’t be around for finals.
 
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Rugbyman2023

Peter Burge (5)
qwerty51 said:
Is Pone a lock for the 3rd prop (or even 2nd if Tupou can't regain form/fitness in time?). Who are the other options. I'd say next up is clearly HJH (Harry Johnson-Holmes) (Harry Johnson-Holmes) but after that, Talakai, Robertson at TH?, van Nek, left field option of Hoskins? It's pretty bare I think.

Good we've got Quade and Kerevi back playing. Next up would be Phillip who I keep hearing is due any week, assume Leota won't play Super. We've probably been lucky that no one is 100% ruled out of the RWC yet.
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Certainly there is still a few months out to RWC not no one is ruled out yet and a lot coming back at end of super season
I think this highlights how important club rugby will be for getting match fitness but particulary aus a games
some of these guys can get game time, especially coming back from injury can see Phillip and rodda returning through aus a games to try and get a shot later in the year
 
HogansHeros

HogansHeros

Dave Cowper (27)
If Tupou gets the green light from the Doc, itll be a shock that hes not in the squad. Esspecially if we go with a bigger is better approach .

Alwaya rated Tupou as a finisher in international rugby.
 
Mr Pilfer

Mr Pilfer

Alex Ross (28)
Tupou would be the one player I would leave until the last possible minute.
Eg you pick him in the World Cup squad and start him against Portugal, see how he goes and if good enough he plays quarter final. That Portugal game is 1st October so still over 4 months away.

Not saying that is ideal but that would be the last minute for me, and wouldn’t consider that for anyone else
 
N

Namerican

Bill Watson (15)
Mr Pilfer said:
Tupou would be the one player I would leave until the last possible minute.
Eg you pick him in the World Cup squad and start him against Portugal, see how he goes and if good enough he plays quarter final. That Portugal game is 1st October so still over 4 months away.

Not saying that is ideal but that would be the last minute for me, and wouldn’t consider that for anyone else
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AAA can reliably go for 55-60 minutes. So you'd think Tupou would at least have the fitness to go for 20 minutes depending on his rehab schedule. I guess the question is whether he can remember how to play Rugby that quickly and at an international standard. He isn't a rookie, but he's also not an old hand that can play Rugby with his eyes closed.

Lots of interesting decisions to be made by EJ (Eddie Jones). He's got some tough calls to make in many areas. I don't think I've been so unsure of a squad's makeup, overall quality, and the style of play so close to a RWC.

I could see them playing 10 man kick tennis, throwing around the ball around with an expansive game, beating France/Irealand/South Africa or losing to Wales/Scotland/Argentina.

There's very few players even guaranteed to be selected at this late stage.
 
Adam84

Adam84

Rod McCall (65)
You cant carry a player in the mathday 23 who can only go 20 minutes though

Whether Tupou makes the Wallabies is entirely up to him and his own discipline now, he needs to reign in his diet and do extras on fitness, he needs to drop almost 30kg over the next three of months. ‘If’ he is fit before the RWC then i’ve got no doubt he will pick up the necessary match-day nuances, my concern is whether he has the discipline to drop the weight in time and get the fitness up in time.
 
dru

dru

David Wilson (68)
Adam84 said:
Whether Tupou makes the Wallabies is entirely up to him and his own discipline now, he needs to reign in his diet and do extras on fitness, he needs to drop almost 30kg over the next three of months. ‘If’ he is fit before the RWC then i’ve got no doubt he will pick up the necessary match-day nuances, my concern is whether he has the discipline to drop the weight in time.
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Exactly what I was trying to say earlier. Tupou is the sort of player that EJ (Eddie Jones) may waive, or rework, some of the rules/constraints he has voiced. But Tupou is going to have to show something. Using the RWC to gain match fitness is one thing. Using it to get into basic shape is silly.
 
Dctarget

Dctarget

Tim Horan (67)
Adam84 said:
You cant carry a player in the mathday 23 who can only go 20 minutes though

Whether Tupou makes the Wallabies is entirely up to him and his own discipline now, he needs to reign in his diet and do extras on fitness, he needs to drop almost 30kg over the next three of months. ‘If’ he is fit before the RWC then i’ve got no doubt he will pick up the necessary match-day nuances, my concern is whether he has the discipline to drop the weight in time and get the fitness up in time.
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No chance in hell he's dropping 2 kgs a week. But I doubt he needs to drop 30 to begin with. He can comfortably operate at 130 I reckon.
 
upthereds#!

upthereds#!

Peter Johnson (47)
qwerty51 said:
Is Pone a lock for the 3rd prop (or even 2nd if Tupou can't regain form/fitness in time?). Who are the other options. I'd say next up is clearly HJH (Harry Johnson-Holmes) (Harry Johnson-Holmes) but after that, Talakai, Robertson at TH?, van Nek, left field option of Hoskins? It's pretty bare I think.

Good we've got Quade and Kerevi back playing. Next up would be Phillip who I keep hearing is due any week, assume Leota won't play Super. We've probably been lucky that no one is 100% ruled out of the RWC yet.
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If Tupou CAN'T go - then HJH (Harry Johnson-Holmes) goes. Do well at THP and can play LHP.
If Bell CAN'T go - then Robertson goes. Ok LHP and can squeeze THP at a pinch against minnows.

Slipper, Bell, Ala'alatoa, Pone, HJH (Harry Johnson-Holmes)
 
Dctarget

Dctarget

Tim Horan (67)
upthereds#! said:
Article read said HJH (Harry Johnson-Holmes) (Harry Johnson-Holmes) did a number on him.
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A different article:
The Waratahs impressively absorbed all that was thrown at them, before Jed Hollaway began to terrorise both Jordan Uelese and Alex Mafi at the lineout, and their scrum began to dominate; albeit helped by an assistant referee who must have been the only person in the stadium who couldn’t see how fatigued and unwilling to hold up his side of the scrum, Harry Johnson-Holmes had become.
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www.theroar.com.au

The Wrap: Super Rugby goes 'old school' as Reds and Crusaders back their defence to deliver them victory

The early years of Super Rugby were marked by the sport's transition into high scoring; a phenomenon the game had never seen before on…
www.theroar.com.au
 
Dctarget

Dctarget

Tim Horan (67)
I think this year is too early for Carter Gordon. I have a sneaking suspicion that Foley will actually be our starting 10 at the pointy end of the RWC through form or injury.

But Carter is tackling at 90%! He's laid 30 more tackles than the next 10 in the competition. He's To'omua if he could set up an attack. He's Cooper if he could tackle.
 
qwerty51

qwerty51

Stirling Mortlock (74)
Dctarget said:
I think this year is too early for Carter Gordon. I have a sneaking suspicion that Foley will actually be our starting 10 at the pointy end of the RWC through form or injury.

But Carter is tackling at 90%! He's laid 30 more tackles than the next 10 in the competition. He's To'omua if he could set up an attack. He's Cooper if he could tackle.
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He should spend the off-season honing his goalkicking. It could seriously be a career-breaker.
 
LeCheese

LeCheese

Greg Davis (50)
qwerty51 said:
He should spend the off-season honing his goalkicking. It could seriously be a career-breaker.
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If he has been operating with a banged up knee all season, as has been suggested, then I imagine that could have a pretty significant impact on his placekicking.

I'm not across his kicking form historically, though.
 
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