Wallabies 31 Man Squad

[lewisr]

Been watching some Cummins highlights (footy not interviews, as brilliant as they are haha). He is a bloody good find and I hope we see heaps of him after Digby Leaves. As good as digby is, Nick seems to offer far more in the ball handling department whilst not losing too much in the ability to get over the gain line. He's good in the air as well, isn't he? Anyone know about kicking ability?

 

[Braveheart81]

Digby Ioane had an arthroscopy this morning and will be out for the next few weeks. He will definitely miss the next two Reds games and will be touch and go for the first Lions test.

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-new...in-doubt-for-lions-opener-20130522-2k0kp.html

You would think that would give Cummins and Tomane front running positions for the wing spots or alternatively make Folau a more likely wing option if Barnes is playing fullback.

 

[BDA]

Finally BDA the snide comment about "should we even bother to turn up" goes in the basket with the "just get behind the team and show some support". It is blind, unthinking patriotism only and comments such as that attempt to appeal to the base emotions of the reader to limit the debate and comment so that some hard truths are not spoken. I would direct you to the interview with Michael Chieka recently published, were he talks about many in Australian Rugby being unable to handle being told the truth, perhaps it is why so many of our good coaches and Rugby minds head overseas and do not coach here. Too much politically correct avoidance of giving offence by telling some uncomfortable truths.

I was simply making light of your comment which came across as defeatist. Not sure if that was by design or not, but that is certainly how I read your comment.

 

[Try-ranosaurus Rex]

Digby Ioane had an arthroscopy this morning and will be out for the next few weeks. He will definitely miss the next two Reds games and will be touch and go for the first Lions test.

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-new...in-doubt-for-lions-opener-20130522-2k0kp.html

You would think that would give Cummins and Tomane front running positions for the wing spots or alternatively make Folau a more likely wing option if Barnes is playing fullback.

It will be interesting to see how (or if at all) this impacts the composition of the final six added to the 25 man squad.

We could potentially see Mitchell or Mogg added to the squad as cover.

 

[Gnostic]

I was simply making light of your comment which came across as defeatist. Not sure if that was by design or not, but that is certainly how I read your comment.

Not defeatist at all. Redshappy's post yesterday sum up what I feel. In short we have some extremely talented players and really the makings of a side that could be as great as either the 1990-1994 or 1998-2002 sides. I do not believe that any of the players selected are bad players. I strongly believe that the reign of Deans has been a litany of mismanagement and wasted opportunities, much as the Tahs were up to this year. I will look forward to each game with the knowledge that the players really want to win and will give their all to do so and they will in so many cases be able to pull a game out of the fire through sheer guts and will. What I do doubt is the ability of Robbie Deans to give the side the tools to truly beat a good side through exciting adventurous play.

I am a rugby fanatic, that means I can see the beauty in a grinding game, a conservative field position game, the Boks up and under game of a few years ago as much as the ensemble play of the Randwick and Tahs sides of the late 80's early 90's. The key is the formation of the plan, selection of the players to play it by selecting for the correct skill sets in the proper positions and finally the execution by the players. What I cannot stand and despise is the waste and mismanagement of so much talent by playing half formed game plans and selecting players out of their positions for plans that are far removed from their skill set, before we even get to the players trying to execute a pile of S&^%.

Perhaps Deans has learnt a bit from the RWC where he selected Cooper to play a game he was totally unsuited for. If he has and that is the reason for his omission hooray!!!!, I could support such reasoning totally. It is however a lesson that a coach of his "standing" shouldn't have had to learn in a RWC semi final, and it seems to me that Deans has been learning these sort of lessons the hard way since arriving to coach a test side, with Giteau being the first.

Finally what I truly despise is a manager of any stripe abrogating his responsibilities and blaming underlings for plans that go awry and running their people into the ground while he continues on his merry way while he learns his lessons and never says well I learn something there, it is instead the fault of Giteau or Cooper or injuries (when he selected the players while injured in the first place).

I am not defeatist at all, I will not however sugar coat the truth as I see it.

 

[Ash]

There'll be plenty of penalties and free kicks if the Lineout is under the pressure I expect from the probable selection of Timani. The balance is just all wrong with regard to a holistic game plan. I honestly don't believe he would be getting the game time at the Tahs if there was another specialist lock at the Tahs this year for these very reasons, even so you will note that Timani is not used in the limited fashion for the Tahs that he has been employed in at the Wallabies. The selections have to be balanced with tactics.

Plus the people pushing for Timani are predicating it on Timani somehow magically changing the scrum from a basket case without him to solid with him.

If you watch Scott Allen's video, it doesn't matter who is behind Alexander when his back is bent and the LHP has worked him over.

I would say that the difference from a Timani - Horwill second row to a Timani - Douglas second row in the scrum is pretty damn minor, and not enough to go from a penalty-giving basket case to being solid.

 

[Gnostic]

Ash, I have no doubt at all the scrum is more solid with Timani. I do not know if it would be just as solid or not with Douglas in his place. The idea that Timani is this HUGE freak in size is just ignoring the fact that Douglas is taller and just as heavy. I wouldn't be surprised if Pyle is the same size as well.

I personally do not accept that the scrum will concede more points or be more important than the lineout to sacrifice one or the other.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

Maybe you were traumatised by TPN's floppy forearm.

and the morbid commentary about seeing it bend

 

[Inside Shoulder]

He misses more tackles due to his positioning before contact than anything IMO.
The one last week against the 9 being a good example.Had he tracked on a flatter line, he would have removed the step inside as an option for the 9. And he would not have needed to hit the brakes at all.
He's not the only one, KB (Kurtley Beale) does not position the ball carrier where he wants him to be at contact either.

i dont think he needed to hit the brakes - that bloke could never have beaten him on the inside - he had him at the perfect angle but seemed not to want to just hit him: it could have been a very effective tackle if he had been prepared to get lower but he prefers to hit them upright and/or cuddle them

 

[Kevinsons]

Digby Ioane had an arthroscopy this morning and will be out for the next few weeks. He will definitely miss the next two Reds games and will be touch and go for the first Lions test.

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-new...in-doubt-for-lions-opener-20130522-2k0kp.html

You would think that would give Cummins and Tomane front running positions for the wing spots or alternatively make Folau a more likely wing option if Barnes is playing fullback.

I was just watching Cummins' highlight package from that test against QLD Maroons the Poms last year and he absolutely dominated. I hope he gets a start, because he will lift the entire team.

 

[qwerty51]

I would hate to see both Higgers and Palu start also. Both want to run with the ball and that's fine - but on together, don't like it

Palu is the defensive workhorse of the pack, they complement each other well.

 

[jay-c]

I was just watching Cummins' highlight package from that test against QLD Maroons the Poms last year and he absolutely dominated. I hope he gets a start, because he will lift the entire team.

that last run for cummins is exactly what our backs need (especially if ioane is out)

 

[Braveheart81]

Palu is the defensive workhorse of the pack, they complement each other well.

I agree.

I think people misrepresent what Palu does on the field. I think people see a big Tongan guy and expect his game to be based entirely around ball running and big tackles.

Whilst he is a perfectly decent ball runner his biggest strength is that he makes a lot of tackles and is heavily involved in the ruck. He is always one of the hardest workers in the Wallaby pack and complements players like Higginbotham and Hooper who look for ball running in space and Timani who is being picked to crash the ball up in midfield and potentially offload.

 

[Ash]

i dont think he needed to hit the brakes - that bloke could never have beaten him on the inside - he had him at the perfect angle but seemed not to want to just hit him: it could have been a very effective tackle if he had been prepared to get lower but he prefers to hit them upright and/or cuddle them

I don't know about not wanting the contact; Cooper has done plenty of leg tackles in cover from the side. He did a couple in the second half, one on Strauss and another on a prop - both were big guys and both were running.

To me he just botched it - Cooper thought that van Zyl was trying to step on the inside and tried to check his run and ended up on his ass as the ground came out from under him. Ioane did the same thing for van Zyl's second try.

 

[qwerty51]

Spot on, Palu's game last year was tackling and dominant tackling at that. Also safe ball carrying and offloading option but not linebreaking ability, that's Higgers.

 

[fatprop]

I don't think we need Timani and Palu on the field at the same time.

Timani was stuck out in the 10/12 channel for most of last season off lineouts. But with Palu back, that is his job to me.

when we had a backrow of Dave Dennis, David Pocock & Scott Higginbotham I saw the point of Timani

 

[qwerty51]

Higgers is better out wide than Palu. Palu's running game is tight, not wide. He'll run off the back of scrums ans one off from rucks. But I expect Timani out wide, he needs to work on offloads because they'll try to hold him up but if he draws 2-3 defenders and gets the ball away..

 

[Try-ranosaurus Rex]

I don't think we need Timani and Palu on the field at the same time.

This is exactly the point Braveheart was making. People misrepresent what Palu does on the field. Timani and Palu are very much two different players, dispite both being large lumps of grade A Tongan beef.

 

[BPC]

THIS is the openside breakaway's bread and butter. Backrowers scoring tries is the cream and jam.

What is the back-rower's scone? You don't put cream and jam on bread and butter.

 

[ACT Crusader]

I agree.

I think people misrepresent what Palu does on the field. I think people see a big Tongan guy and expect his game to be based entirely around ball running and big tackles.

Whilst he is a perfectly decent ball runner his biggest strength is that he makes a lot of tackles and is heavily involved in the ruck. He is always one of the hardest workers in the Wallaby pack and complements players like Higginbotham and Hooper who look for ball running in space and Timani who is being picked to crash the ball up in midfield and potentially offload.

I don't agree with that analysis of Palu. I see him leaning on rucks rather than really shifting bodies, which is what someone like Mowen and Douglas do very well IMO.