Wallabies 40 man squad

[Proud Pig]

Neville got turned over/lost the ball multiple times yesterday against the Canes.

No issue with seeing him selected because he is an exciting prospect, but he's not quite the finished article yet and "thoroughly deserved" is OTT for mine.

Jones looks like he may morph into a 6/4 type player, particularly while Pyle and Neville are locking for the Rebels. Still, he is another good prospect for the future.

I agree with you. I think Jones is more of a 6 than a true lock.
Neville is not yet ready but it is great experience to be in the training squad for these sorts of games and young guys like can learn a lot. It certainly can't do him any harm being in the squad and he will gain more from it than other more experienced players.

 

[kronic]

C Neville thuroughly deserved.
L Jones unlucky - interesting omission?

Jones picked a bad time to take a holiday also.

 

[Slim 293]

McCalman is the incumbent.
There are very few decent 8s.
And of those props you listed, Slipper, Alexander and Kepu are loosehead props who can play tighthead.
They are not tighthead props.

Id suggest that Saia Fa'ainga is the luckiest player picked. Hanson from QLD is better than him, and Nathan Charles is a tight playing hooker who we need, who IMO is the 3rd best hooker in the country.

Id rate Fa'ainga as maybe the 6th best.

Edit: And Elsom was possibly the best blindside in the world around 2005/6.
It was when he went to Ireland that he really went to pieces.

Id suggest he is one of the best blindsides the Wallabies have had in the pro era.

No, Kepu is a tighthead prop who can play loosehead...

He has been the form Australian tighthead prop for the past 2 years... 'twas silly of Deans to play him at loosehead last year...

Slipper has also played predominantly at tighthead for the Reds the past couple of years...

McCalman might be the incumbent (due to Palu's ongoing injuries), but he's done nothing of note to be in contention over far deserving players...

Especially when his form for the Wallabies was no good...

 

[farva]

No, Kepu is a tighthead prop who can play loosehead...

He has been the form Australian tighthead prop for the past 2 years... 'twas silly of Deans to play him at loosehead last year...

Slipper has also played predominantly at tighthead for the Reds the past couple of years...

McCalman might be the incumbent (due to Palu's ongoing injuries), but he's done nothing of note to be in contention over far deserving players...

Especially when his form for the Wallabies was no good...

We have had arguements over McCalman over 2 forums, fair enough, we dont agree.

And for what its worth, I dont think that Ma'afu should have been picked. We just really dont have any true tight heads (hopefully Palmer will be that).

Id have preferred to have seen a young prop bought into the squad - a Paul Alo-Emilie for instance, for experience as opposed to Ma'afu.

 

[Gnostic]

McCalman is the incumbent.
There are very few decent 8s.
And of those props you listed, Slipper, Alexander and Kepu are loosehead props who can play tighthead.
They are not tighthead props.

Id suggest that Saia Fa'ainga is the luckiest player picked. Hanson from QLD is better than him, and Nathan Charles is a tight playing hooker who we need, who IMO is the 3rd best hooker in the country.

Id rate Fa'ainga as maybe the 6th best.

Edit: And Elsom was possibly the best blindside in the world around 2005/6.
It was when he went to Ireland that he really went to pieces.

Id suggest he is one of the best blindsides the Wallabies have had in the pro era.

As Slim stated above, Kepu may have started at LHP but he is infinitely better at TH (indeed he may have only really been at LH as Baxter was the Tahs TH for many years. Slipper is a TH who plays loose and Alexander may be a backrower who plays prop (though he has been scrummaging much better this year under White)

Very few decent 8's? Vaea hasn't been given a go in a Wallabies squad, Mowen was a standout last year and is about the best this year. Fotu definitely deserves a chance. I would suggest that Mowen would also enhance the Walabies lineout out of sight. Imagine if you would two good second rowers, Higginbum/Denis at 6 and Mowen at 8. That is 4 genuine jumpers, something that Oz hasn't really had for many years and that would be a truly balanced backrow with Pocock. McCalman is the new Brown, impossible to move from the position even when others deserve the position much more by simple form and I would add potential.

I am not a fan of S. Fainga'a but you haven't been watching the games very closely if you think he's 6th best hooker in Oz. 4th I can see an argument, 3rd as current performance. Moore is so far ahead of the field it should be embarrassing the others.

The fact that you'd rate Elsom ahead of Cockbain and Melon Finnegan in the pro era says it all for me. Elsom would never have been rated above Juan Smith at any stage and there have been quite a few others who would have better better when he actually played well for Oz. It was in fact when he came back from Ireland that he never found form again and never deserved selection to be pedantic.

 

[fatprop]

I'm not surprised with either selection...

Douglas on the other hand...

Douglas has been playing pretty well and is one of the few real TH locks we have, especially with Horwill gone

 

[Braveheart81]

Douglas has been playing pretty well and is one of the few real TH locks we have, especially with Horwill gone

I agree. I think Douglas has had an excellent season.

I'd pick him in a matchday 22 in the upcoming four tests before I'd pick Timani. Timani did play well last night though (and picked up 2 tries), but so did Douglas. Overall I think Douglas has had a really strong season and has pretty of mongrel. He is a good replacement for Horwill and offers some of the same aggression that Vickerman used to.

 

[Bowside]

Is this shit for real. He picked fucking Ma'afu, McCalman and Vuna.

Yet Mowen, Aulea, Cowan, Hanson, Holmes, Cummins dont get picked?

 

[tigerland12]

Mowen, Cowan, Cummins and Holmes must be wondering what more they have to do. Typical Deans making some really shit choices. Next minute it'll be McCabe and Fainga'a in the centers again.

 

[Slim 293]

Well, McCabe is the best Australian inside centre this year...

Fainga'a on the other hand...

 

[ChargerWA]

Seriously? Ma'afu. Fuck.

Deans tenure is 4 years of our life we will never get back. Gutted.

 

[en_force_er]

I think someone mentioned above, and I agree, that Neville is nowhere near ready for this level of rugby but he is incredibly promising.

His ability to find opportunities out wider whilst still keeping up his work rate in the tight is remarkable and he has one of those "born to play second row" physiques (big, tall, fast considering he's big/tall, ect).

Good call in putting him into the squad, this is the kind of decision we usually would only see on the Spring tour and that's the strength that this type of test season offers (a split between inbound tests and Rugby Championship), a chance for a 2nd spring tour type development period where we can give blokes a crack without fear that in a couple of weeks we need to have them ready for the All Blacks.

 

[RedsHappy]

I'm sorry, I just must come back to Mowen's exclusion. Contrasted with the inclusion of the just-started-in-SupeRugby Mogg who plainly has talent, but is also just finding his feet at this level and is far from error-free.

I know there's a positional quota issue with 15 cover in terms of depth and so on, but I cannot, just cannot, make sense of some of the highly contrasting - indeed inexplicable - criteria at work in some of this selection thinking.

 

[Bowside]

Well, McCabe is the best Australian inside centre this year...

Fainga'a on the other hand...

Until McCabe learns how to throw a long pass he will not be anything but 'serviceable' for the wallabies.

That's not to say he hasn't been the best Australian player in his position, but it is what separates guys like Nonu and SBW from him.

 

[barbarian]

Mowen, Cowan, Cummins and Holmes must be wondering what more they have to do. Typical Deans making some really shit choices. Next minute it'll be McCabe and Fainga'a in the centers again.

Jeez, it isn't like those 4 have been tournament standouts. I would argue Mowen is the only one with a conceivable shot at the Wallaby 22, and thus can consider himself unlucky. But even he hasn't been setting the world alight, and has been noticeably quiet in the Brumbies past few games. Again I would have picked him but certainly the four people you mentioned could have done more.

 

[GaffaCHinO]

Jeez, it isn't like those 4 have been tournament standouts. I would argue Mowen is the only one with a conceivable shot at the Wallaby 22, and thus can consider himself unlucky. But even he hasn't been setting the world alight, and has been noticeably quiet in the Brumbies past few games. Again I would have picked him but certainly the four people you mentioned could have done more.

I think the work that Cowan has been doing in a struggling team is being underrated. If you look at the stats on the front page in every stat he out performs all others. I dare say the rep the force have this year hindered his chance at getting a call. Very disappointed for the bloke especially as the bloke he has to cover every week meaning he has ti work twice as hard Is there.


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[barbarian]

Look I don't doubt he has been playing well, but he would still be ranked behind Alexander, Slipper and Robinson on the loosehead side. So while he had claims to be in the wider squad he wouldn't get near a match 22.

 

[Slim 293]

Until McCabe learns how to throw a long pass he will not be anything but 'serviceable' for the wallabies.

That's not to say he hasn't been the best Australian player in his position, but it is what separates guys like Nonu and SBW from him.

I'd like to hope he's separated from Nonu on current form...

 

[en_force_er]

Look I don't doubt he has been playing well, but he would still be ranked behind Alexander, Slipper and Robinson on the loosehead side. So while he had claims to be in the wider squad he wouldn't get near a match 22.

I could be incorrect here, but to me Slipper just doesn't seem that great.

Sure, he's a decent Super rugby starter but in my mind nothing beyond that. Now, he's still young to evolve into an impressive prop but to me his scrum work is decent, without being outstanding, and his work around the part is good in the loose (for a prop), passable in the tight.

I'm sure they since he's gotten so many caps in his young life that there'd be stats to prove me wrong. But yeah, I don't see it.

 

[Brumbies Guy]

I think the work that Cowan has been doing in a struggling team is being underrated. If you look at the stats on the front page in every stat he out performs all others. I dare say the rep the force have this year hindered his chance at getting a call. Very disappointed for the bloke especially as the bloke he has to cover every week meaning he has ti work twice as hard Is there.


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Their rep has been no different for years, and it hasn't stopped Ma'afu from getting in this year..