Slim 293
Stirling Mortlock (74)
Agreed, Maddocks showed promise and never really took on.... had some speed, but wasn't great in contact, and didn't really have the player smarts like the others (and yes, I'm going to include Wright in that).
Wallabies 2024
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Agreed, Maddocks showed promise and never really took on.... had some speed, but wasn't great in contact, and didn't really have the player smarts like the others (and yes, I'm going to include Wright in that).
You make zero. We are not buying and selling players. We are employing them for anywhere between one and five seasons at a time. Generally it's for one to three seasons.
If Jack Maddocks had stayed in Australia and improved to the same degree where he now is the cost of his next contract would be absolutely in line with what it would cost to lure him back to Australia from France.
I have zero issues with letting Maddocks leave. In his final season with the Waratahs his form was terrible, he had fallen out of contention of playing for the Wallabies and the cost to keep him playing for the Waratahs for the next season would have indicated he was one of their best players, not a player who was struggling to justify a spot in the starting side.
Again, where was the issue in identifying Maddocks? He was very clearly on the radar given he played for the Australian Under 20s.
The Ghost of Raelene
David Codey (61)
That's the problem with a 21 year old who wasn't ready. Wrights issue is he does the same dumb shit as a 26 year old as he always has. He'll be the Brumbies 15 as I don't think he has a challenger for it but he's not a top tier Fullback.
He also wasn't not ready. He'd produced play of sufficient quality and had obvious talent that warranted significant contracts.
He played 7 tests from what I can work out and 4 of them were off the bench. He predominantly got picked when players who were clearly ahead of him were out injured.
stillmissit
Peter Johnson (47)
So by your measuring glass, we should not have stuck with Beale, Giteau, and any other number of players who had off seasons - but we did.
The measure of success tends to reward those who pick and stick with talent rather than dump and buy again. That is because, assuming you judge their strengths well, you can build power into a team and not have a new team each season that has to introduce themselves to each other.
Tomthumb
Peter Fenwicke (45)
How many chances do we give players? Maddocks had 5 years and didn't really improve at all
stillmissit
Peter Johnson (47)
Not in my opinion - but you are welcome to yours.
How are those examples remotely similar? Where were the down seasons for those players? It certainly wasn't after they'd played a handful of tests and were still struggling to cement themselves as key players in Australian rugby.
It's essentially a zero sum game. If RA had committed the dollars to keep Maddocks in the country despite his lackluster form then someone else would have missed out on the contract necessary to keep them here.
When Maddocks left he was a Wallaby capped player who wasn't close to playing for the Wallabies again. How on earth do you think the Wallabies prioritize him to be re-signed over players who were currently first choice Wallabies?
It was absolutely clear that a Super Rugby only contract with the Waratahs wasn't enough money to keep him in Australia.
Brumby Runner
Jason Little (69)
IIRC Maddocks favoured the fullback spot but was being selected in the Wallabies as a winger. I think he moved to NSW for the opportunity to play more at fullback. Anyway, that's how I recall it.
Brumby Runner
Jason Little (69)
In whose opinion?
The Ghost of Raelene
David Codey (61)
Like BH said he was only picked for the Wallabies when better players were out and only started 3. The first few years of that he shouldn't have been there anyway and lets be honest he had to be at the Rebels when developing which is the stuff of nightmares back then and then the Tahs with Penney...
I think he's developed a lot since we saw him last.
stillmissit
Peter Johnson (47)
Mine and several others here who have seen him prove his lack of talent for the position. I suspect he will be on the wing if he comes back to the Wallabies.
Tomthumb
Peter Fenwicke (45)
Funny thing is he has shown a lot of talent for the position at Super Rugby level
If he went overseas for a couple of years we would all be talking about him as a star fullback
Tom Wright is the classic case where he's an elite Super Rugby player but is a bit too error prone to consistently perform well at test level where your mistakes are exploited more often and the explosive plays that you can achieve more frequently in Super Rugby are harder to pull off.
I expect he'll be there or there abouts again in 2024.
I expect he'll be there or there abouts again in 2024.
Highlander35
Steve Williams (59)
I think if Wright was playing for a team other than the Brumbies he'd be seen as a Jason Woodward type.
eastman
John Solomon (38)
I’d be pretty happy signing Tom Wright for the Waratahs as a starting wing/ general outside back- I think he‘s close to being an elite outside back in Super Rugby- Jason Woodward was never at that level.
Whereas say Kellaway just makes good decisions constantly at test level
Yep.
I'd argue that Tom Wright has more upside at Super Rugby level but it is a substantially worse test player than Kellaway.
Slim 293
Stirling Mortlock (74)
Hopefully another season at fullback in Super Rugby will sharpen his mindset, but even on the wing for the Wallabies he's going to create more good than bad...
He's such an excellent playmaker in the back 3 and sets up a lot of tries... just needs to rub out the poorly executed risky plays when the team comes under pressure.
He's such an excellent playmaker in the back 3 and sets up a lot of tries... just needs to rub out the poorly executed risky plays when the team comes under pressure.