Wallabies Watch

[thierry dusautoir]

1.Sio/Alexander
2.Moore
3.Palmer
4.Douglas
5.Horwill
6.MMM
7.Smith
8.Mowen
9.Genia
10.Cooper
11.Mafi
12.Lealifano
13.AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
14.Speight
15.Mogg
16.Sio/Alexander
17.Slipper
18. Hanson
19. Kimlin
20. Aulua
21. Godwin
22, JOC (James O'Connor)


lets get crazy

 

[Braveheart81]

I am getting sick of picking players for the wallabies that are out of position though. Barnes isn't going to play 15 for the Tahs with Folau there. Beale isn't going to play 15 for the Rebels (he might not play anything for the Rebels for a while). For mine we need to start sticking to picking players in the position they are accustomed to for their super teams, with the only exception being that a fullback could be selected for the wing.

So for mine it is down to Mogg, JOC (James O'Connor) and Folau for fullback. If we don't want a rookie then the spot is JOC (James O'Connor)'s.

And I'll add to that - say bye bye to counter attack if Barnes is at 15.

Is this letting the tail wag the dog though?

Super Rugby teams select what is best for them because of the players available to them. The Wallabies have all those players available to them.

Our counter attack is certainly going to be inferior with Barnes at 15 but his positional play and defence at 15 is the best we can select.

Anyway, it will be interesting to see what happens.

 

[BPC]

Early season form will count for little if they're not still dominating in the weeks leading up to the squad being picked.

Early season form will probably count for less than laqte season form when places in the finals are on the line and the pressure is more intense.

All this discussion is way premature. But then, what else would we have to wang on about for the next nine weeks?

 

[BPC]

And Mogg has the bigger boot as well.

I don't see what shoe size has to do with selection.

 

[thierry dusautoir]

on form barnes should not be near the 22

 

[DT86]

You said he had a weak long-passing game (which you are just outright wrong about) and he cited the most recent and relevant example. Just because he didn't go back and build you a fucking highlight reel of every long pass that Barnes has ever thrown does not mean it isn't the norm for that player and does anything to discredit his argument. Honestly if you think Barnes actually has a weak long pass you will probably find yourself in a pretty extreme minority.

All this talk of 'long passing game' in respect to the fly halves i think is nonsense. if there is any super rugby 10 out there who cant pass a long ball both ways at speed then he probably belongs in the northern hemisphere.

Jokes aside, its got less to do with the passing abilities as much as the vision of the 10 and also the vision of the outside backs to run the right lines and put yourself in the position to be given the long ball.

 

[Scotty]

Is this letting the tail wag the dog though?

Super Rugby teams select what is best for them because of the players available to them. The Wallabies have all those players available to them.

Our counter attack is certainly going to be inferior with Barnes at 15 but his positional play and defence at 15 is the best we can select.

Anyway, it will be interesting to see what happens.

I don't see the all blacks doing much of it!

In my opinion, these players are more likely to be picked in their 'best' position for the super team as they have less competition for that spot. It is hard enough to bring together players from 5 teams to work as a cohesive unit without making them change position first before trying to gel with players inside and outside of them and learning new calls and structures.

 

[Braveheart81]

Early season form will probably count for less than laqte season form when places in the finals are on the line and the pressure is more intense.

All this discussion is way premature. But then, what else would we have to wang on about for the next nine weeks?

Although we have to remember that Chris Hickey as coach of the Tahs considered bonus points near the end of the season to be more important than bonus points at the start of the season.

 

[Braveheart81]

I don't see the all blacks doing much of it!

In my opinion, these players are more likely to be picked in their 'best' position for the super team as they have less competition for that spot. It is hard enough to bring together players from 5 teams to work as a cohesive unit without making them change position first before trying to gel with players inside and outside of them and learning new calls and structures.

JOC (James O'Connor) would be the classic example. He has routinely been one of the best Wallabies in the last few years playing on the wing.

If he is playing 10 for the Rebels, is he only eligible for a bench spot if it is decided that Cooper is ahead of him for the 10 jersey?

I am all for keeping players in their favoured positions but the reality is that some players excell at multiple positions and when they play for the Wallabies they get to train where they are going to play for several weeks and are adept at playing that position already.

For all intents and purposes, given the amount Barnes played at fullback last year for the Wallabies, he and the players around him might be more familiar with him playing there when it comes to the Wallabies than if you selected him at 12 now (which is where he'd say his favourite position is).

Higgers has been playing 8 for the Rebels but he and the rest of the Wallaby pack would be more accustomed to having him playing at 6 when wearing Gold.

 

[USARugger]

All this talk of 'long passing game' in respect to the fly halves i think is nonsense. if there is any super rugby 10 out there who cant pass a long ball both ways at speed then he probably belongs in the northern hemisphere.

Jokes aside, its got less to do with the passing abilities as much as the vision of the 10 and also the vision of the outside backs to run the right lines and put yourself in the position to be given the long ball.

Players like Quade and Genia quite literally pass the ball flatter and with higher velocity over longer distances than other players can, that is a fact. Even at the international level there are still tiers of ability in that regard. To think that everyone even at the professional level will have world-class freak talent is a little silly. Barnes, who has a solid long passing game couldn't hold a candle to Quade when he is playing well. Pretty sure there actually isn't a single person in Australia right now outside of QC (Quade Cooper) who can throw a 25m flick pass running at pace. World-class ability still stands out even at Super Rugby level.

 

[Braveheart81]

Players like Quade and Genia quite literally pass the ball flatter and with higher velocity over longer distances than other players can, that is a fact.

Judging from McKibbin's pass he would kick Genia's ass in a boomerang throwing contest.

 

[thierry dusautoir]

I dont think JOC (James O'Connor) has excelled in a long time....his development has really suffered due to his versatility. But at the same time you would have him on the bench cause he can fill X amount of positions.

JOC (James O'Connor) is goign down the pathway of suffering AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)-itis

 

[Braveheart81]

I dont think JOC (James O'Connor) has excelled in a long time..his development has really suffered due to his versatility. But at the same time you would have him on the bench cause he can fill X amount of positions.

JOC (James O'Connor) is goign down the pathway of suffering AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)-itis

Huh? He was injured for pretty much the entirety of 2012. Along with Pocock he was in our best two players at the 2011 RWC.

I think he should be a certainty in our 2013 Wallaby 23 if healthy and probably starting on the right wing.

 

[BPC]

Although we have to remember that Chris Hickey as coach of the Tahs considered bonus points near the end of the season to be more important than bonus points at the start of the season.

He devised a subtle formula for the value of bonus points based on the number of weeks left in the season, the number of teams with more points, the number of injured players, the height of the goalposts and the air speed of an unladen swallow. It would have worked if he had used the African swallow rather than the European swallow.

 

[thierry dusautoir]

He was the amongst a handful of players ay RWC that played well in a poor wallaby team. He is in our 22 cause he is solid in all backline positions but he is not the best in any and even at the RWC he would have been in the comps top five performing wingers.

jack of all trade master of none.......not to say he won't be one day but his lack of stability in one postion retards the ability for him to pick up the finer nuances of it.

 

[Richo]

on form barnes should not be near the 22

What form? He's got a broken hand and has barely played this season.

 

[thierry dusautoir]

What form? He's got a broken hand and has barely played this season.

exactly he has no form nor will have any by the time the squad will be selected

 

[Braveheart81]

He was the amongst a handful of players ay RWC that played well in a poor wallaby team. He is in our 22 cause he is solid in all backline positions but he is not the best in any and even at the RWC he would have been in the comps top five performing wingers.

jack of all trade master of none...not to say he won't be one day but his lack of stability in one postion retards the ability for him to pick up the finer nuances of it.

We came third.

He must have played really well if the team was that poor.

Doing a bit of googling, JOC (James O'Connor) featured reasonably well in the various media publications teams of the tournament. Corey Jane, George North, Vincent Clerc and Alesana Tuilagi also featured. JOC (James O'Connor) was probably third most prolific from the ones I found after Jane and North.

I think you are perhaps being a little unfair on JOC (James O'Connor)'s performance. Aside from a couple of his early tests at fullback it's hard to find games where he hasn't been one of our better players.

 

[Braveheart81]

exactly he has no form nor will have any by the time the squad will be selected

Barnes could easily play 5 games before the squad is announced. If he plays well enough when he comes back, missing the first half of the season through injury will be ignored.

Unlike players like Lealiifano and Mogg, Barnes has vast test experience and was a form player on the EOYT which was the most recent Wallaby team assembled.

 

[Scoey]

I think that's his point Richo. He has zero form. I could be wrong though.