Wallabies v Wales Game 2 Sat 13 July Melbourne

[Maulalltheway]

why arent you the head coach with your vast knowledge?

 

[stillmissit]

TT, I suspect he is working (as Rennie did) on local suggestions prior to getting a better understanding of what he has.

 

[A mutterer]

Agree, so start with Noah and have Donaldson on the bench this week.

It's also about blooding Lynagh appropriately I think - he had a solid debut, was not blown away defensively and demonstrated he was prepared to do the hard yards.

If I were Joe I'd be happy that he's shown a readiness for more, and then probably give him some more time against the Georgians.

Noah did some good stuff, made some mistakes but stuck with it. Not droppable, but certainly didn't close the door on the competition. We might even see Hairy Mcclary start with noah off the bench.

 

[Brumby Runner]

So, the consensus seems to be that Joe is still getting to know the three No10s in the squad and is therefore likely to rotate them until he settles on the favoured combination of starter and benchie. Wonder if that will mean rotating No9s at the same time?

 

[KOB1987]

My guess is Gordon will start but White will be on the bench. Gordon brings the kicking & running game he wants from a 9 but needs to work out who plan B is.

 

[House is on Fire]

Wales this weekend: Gordon starting, White on the bench
Georgia: White starting, Gordon off the bench, McDermott released to play for the Reds Vs Wales.

I think Gordon perfectly suits Joe's current thinking, McDermott is best when he's pushing the tempo which isn't prioritised right now.

 

[Sword of Justice]

BR, I think it won't just be the halves. His comments about not knowing his best team for a while and the captaincy likely being a one week thing seems to me to be preparing punters for absolute mass rotations.

As a fan, that makes me nervous and I'd really prefer we run it back same teams given we seemed to unlock Wales at will during the first and last quarter of the game with a period of little cohesiveness in the middle that you'd hope we could iron out with time.

In saying that, I really liked how the subs were made last weekend. They seemed to follow a plan, as opposed to what Eddie did last year, which was to overbake players in tight games and then dump them at 76 mins when they were too far gone and making mistakes. So perhaps we just need to trust that each player in the squad is adequately prepared, something we as Wallabies fans have not been able to do for a long time, frankly.

 

[Joe Blow]

If you look at the RWC games last year, Donaldson is very deep and almost always we get caught way behind the advantage line. At the Force this year he played not quite as deep, but still deeper than the Reds or Brumbies, and tended to kick or go wide very early. Most of the play from the breakdown was off Nick White giving short passes to forwards coming fast and flat.
On the weekend we played very flat and we had no room. As said, the ref was very generous with the offside line for Wales initially and then less so for both sides as the game wore on.

 

[eastman]

To play where? blindside wing? We can assume Kellaway & Wright are bolted on, Daugunu did rather well and has a strong work rate and Marika is the goat

Petaia is good enough that he can play both roles. Daugunu played well but he isn’t a great kicker and isn’t fast enough. If we want a world class back three we should be looking for a little more; Petaia has a huge boot and solid top end speed.
Sometimes you need a little more than work rate fp.

 

[Mr Pilfer]

So Wales vs Qld is the day before Wallabies vs Georgia. The Qld players should be able to back up both wales games if necessary, but looking ahead to next week it also gives Schmidt a chance to play a team vs Georgia without most of the Qld players and release them to run an almost full strength side against wales.

That way he can get a better look at more players in test match conditions. That’s how I would do it anyway

 

[eastman]

I'm confused, Donaldson plays flat at the advantage line while also playing deeper than the other two. Which is it? Or is it both? Does he vary his game more than the other two perhaps playing what's in front of him? One thing I'm confident of is that he breaks the defensive line more frequently than both of the other two.

Look as one of the few people on this forum who actually understands this sport I will explain (and never trust anything from fatprop when it comes back to the backs).

Donaldson doesn’t (or hardly) plays flat. When he’s in distribution mode he plays deep and essentially looks to shovel it. However he does on occasion take the ball to the line when he’s looking to run the ball l and can be quite dangerous. Noah and Lynagh play ‘flatter’ but don’t have the same running threat that limits their effectiveness, so defenders can drift on to the passing options.

 

[rugbyAU]

yep I'd keep Faessler, McReight at least

 

[LeCheese]

So Wales vs Qld is the day before Wallabies vs Georgia. The Qld players should be able to back up both wales games if necessary,

I don't think this is realistic.

 

[Maulalltheway]

it amazes me how many blokes here act like they've got a direct line to Joe. hahaha

Joe wants this, Joe thinks this..... spare me

None of you have any bloody idea and are finding confirmation bias to suit your preconceived perceptions.

Keep guessing

 

[stillmissit]

Eastman, as an old lock backs aerial manoeuvres confuse me but are you suggesting that 10's play deep or flat by their own preference? I thought the coach had a lot to say about that.

 

[stillmissit]

It's a bloody opinion site what did you expect? It would be dead if we all awaited the thoughts from those on high. I love the guesswork and would love to have the patience to go back and point out the contradictions inc mine!

 

[rugbyAU]

"Wales also have concerns over full-back Liam Williams, prop Gareth Thomas and wing Josh Hathaway, while prop Dillon Lewis and lock Ben Carter are battling to be fit after missing the the game in Sydney."

Australia v Wales: Aaron Wainwright major doubt for Melbourne

Number eight Aaron Wainwright is a major doubt for the second Test against Australia in Melbourne but Wales say they have not officially ruled him out.

www.bbc.com

 

[Sword of Justice]

Keep guessing

Will do. Thanks!

 

[hawko07]

Assuming we'll see the team announced tomorrow? Likewise can we expect Doran to 'leak' the team today?

 

[Strewthcobber]

Keep checking the Roar