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Wallabies 2023

rugbyAU

rugbyAU

Bob Davidson (42)
RebelYell said:
White, 2 of Lonergan/Tate/Jake
Quade, Bernard
Ikitau, Samu, Foketi
Marika, Wright, Kellaway, Petaia, Nawaqanitawase, Hodge

Hard to see them going much outside of that. Gordon, Flook, Vunivalu, Paisami, Perese, JOC (James O'Connor) (James O'Connor), Pietsch only bolters I could envisage.
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Yes, I 100% agree with this for the backs, perfect number and players for each position, I think having Hodge who is highly versatile, experienced and a good kicking option is better than having a third specialist ten, I'd also lean towards having Tate and Jake as the other two halfbacks
 
Jimmy_Crouch

Jimmy_Crouch

Peter Johnson (47)
Dctarget said:
In this morning’s game Richie Arnold went off in quite a bit of discomfort clutching his knee
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This kinda thing is why they haven't yet changed the Giteau clause. We all know Eddie will get what he wants but rather than RA saying we backflipped let's just wait and see what he ends up going with.
 
stillmissit

stillmissit

Peter Johnson (47)
Braveheart81 said:
I think Hodge has been a very reliable test player.

I certainly don't think he's a starter now but I think it's highly likely he makes the RWC squad and he's a very strong chance to be in our best 23 precisely because he covers a bunch of positions well.

I think the 22 and 23 jersey largely come down to who provides the least downside across jerseys 10-15 in the event that they are required to play through injury. When Beale was available and a better player he was a great option for 23 because he had versatility as well as the ability to impact a game. It's hard to see another player we have that can play a similar role now.

As I said before, I agree Petaia has more upside for the back three but I think he's got significantly more downside in the centres.



He's quite likely second choice though particularly when the other option is uncapped and we have very few games to prepare and will want to get us many minutes into the first choice player as possible.
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I have been a fan of his bench roles and think the part about Hodge that many overlook is his defence. He has been solid for most of his career but I suspect this is his last year in the Wallabies I notice a bit of slowing down in his Rebels games.
 
Braveheart81

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
stillmissit said:
I have been a fan of his bench roles and think the part about Hodge that many overlook is his defence. He has been solid for most of his career but I suspect this is his last year in the Wallabies I notice a bit of slowing down in his Rebels games.
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I agree. He's going to France and I don't think he's overly likely to be brought back from overseas.

He's certainly further away from being a starting XV player than he has been for much of his test career but likewise I think we've got less versatility among some of our starting backs right now than we often have which makes his likely selection on the bench more likely.
 
stillmissit

stillmissit

Peter Johnson (47)
Members Section said:
We dont have a forward that can play in the back line like the boks do. 2 Injuries & we are completely stuffed.
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Agree Jimmy, Hooper used to be an option in his early days but never had much time in the backs -seem to remember him once in the centres.
I guess Brad Wilkin might in a pinch but he ain't no gimme to be on the bench.
 
Braveheart81

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
I don't think there's any forward who's a viable option in the backline in a big game. I don't think it is realistically a problem with a 6:2 bench. You can't really prepare for three backs getting injured and expect it not to be a debacle.

If you get two injuries then you end up with your half playing on the wing as we had with Gordon last year.

I feel like 6:2 splits won't be super likely because our best team with Cooper and Kerevi probably wants less restrictiveness on players playing 80 minutes.
 
stillmissit

stillmissit

Peter Johnson (47)
Gleeson went off with a knee injury in Tahs game last night so I don't think he'll be an option in early tests. Watched him fairly closely last night and stick by my current thoughts about him as a Wallaby for the RWC, too lazy off the ball.
 
stillmissit

stillmissit

Peter Johnson (47)
Braveheart81 said:
I don't think there's any forward who's a viable option in the backline in a big game. I don't think it is realistically a problem with a 6:2 bench. You can't really prepare for three backs getting injured and expect it not to be a debacle.

If you get two injuries then you end up with your half playing on the wing as we had with Gordon last year.

I feel like 6:2 splits won't be super likely because our best team with Cooper and Kerevi probably wants less restrictiveness on players playing 80 minutes.
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To misquote Oscar Wilde "To lose Cooper may be regarded as a misfortune but to lose Kerevi as well looks like carelessness.

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