Wallabies Watch

[qwerty51]

How is Folau a Qlder?

 

[Scotty]

Pretty sure he has represented Qld at something. Don't quote me though.

 

[qwerty51]

Born in NSW and went to school in NSW

 

[Scotty]

High school in Qld. Those are the school years that people remember the most.

 

[Scoey]

Loig for QLD?

 

[Slim 293]

I find it surprising that there are people prepared to promote Fotu as an option, but also write off Timani. If Palu isnt available then Timani is our wrecking ball imo. He has the experience and has proven he makes an impact at test level. Fotu needs to do much more to warrant selection.

Timani doesn't play no 8.........

 

[p.Tah]

High school in Qld. Those are the school years that people remember the most.

He went to Westfield Sports High until he was 15, before moving to QLD. He then moved to Melbourne before going to the Broncos. So out of his 24 years he has only spent 5 years in QLD but 17 in NSW. That's why he belongs at the Tahs!

 

[Joe Blow]

Who is going to be the goal kicker?

They will likely have JOC (James O'Connor), Lilo and Quade in the starting side. That would be the order of preference.

 

[Bairdy]

I think the trouble with bringing in the form backline players like Mogg, Folau and Lealiifano into the Wallabies is finding the balance between starting proven test players and some debutants in red hot form.
That is why I believe only two of those 3 should debut, though you could argue 2 is too many.

My backline:
Genia, Cooper, Ioane, Lealiifano, AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), Mogg, JOC (James O'Connor). Bench: White, Tapuai, Folau

 

[Sully]

He went to Westfield Sports High until he was 15, before moving to QLD. He then moved to Melbourne before going to the Broncos. So out of his 24 years he has only spent 5 years in QLD but 17 in NSW. That's why he belongs at the Tahs!

Being a Queenslander isn't about how much time you spend here. It's an attitude towards life and a disrespect for things down south. I can't imagine Folau playing the Banjo so you can have him.

 

[qwerty51]

Mogg is a waste on the wing, he should play fullback. I don't think he'd go as well on the wing as say Folau would.

 

[BDA]

Timani doesn't play no 8...

No shit. I'm not suggesting he does. I'm saying we're better off playing Timani at lock (with an extra line-out option in the backrow, higgers or mowen) than Fotu at 8. Timani can make more of a physical impact than Fotu can and you don't lose anything at line-out time.

 

[Sully]

General warning. We've had enough of the petty sniping in these threads. There are mod about to start handing points! So clean up your acts and stop the smarmy comments and the name calling.

 

[BDA]

Its hard to stay civil when you're on to your 5th whiskey

 

[Slim 293]

Just to elaborate, I believe that their situations are mutually exclusive, and part of that relates to the positions they play.........

So, I don't think people calling for Fotu being in the squad comes at the expense of Timani.........

 

[qwerty51]

Timani will only come into contention if the scrum is getting smashed

 

[BDA]

see i dont think you could play both, together. I think we need a minimum of 3 strong lineout options. I'd consider neither a strong lineout option. I consider Palu in the same boat.

 

[Slim 293]

I probably wouldn't have either in the 23 anyways, unless Palu was out.........

 

[Groucho]

Yeah Braveheart I agree the last 2 weeks Taps has been quiet. It seems like we having been giving the centres too much ball really. Gill was a bit quiet last night too.

Groucho how does he need to defend in the line? O'Conner doesn't even need to play 10 to be an option there apparently. Barnes also.

Any flyhalf needs to defend in the line, not just Quade. The reason other teams don't switch the flyhalf and fullback in attack and defence is they don't need to. It's a substantial added complexity and an obvious impediment to fast realignment. If JOC (James O'Connor) was playing 10 he'd defend there, as would Barnes, and every other flyhalf in the country.

Quade isn't defending at the back to unleash his attacking potential. He's there because he's a liability in the 10 channel. That's obvious. You don't see Dan Carter defending at the back. He's in the thick of it to make the most of turnover ball which is the best counter-attacking opportunity of all.

That's what Deans means when he says there's nowhere to hide in test rugby.

And it's O'Connor.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

Any flyhalf needs to defend in the line, not just Quade. The reason other teams don't switch the flyhalf and fullback in attack and defence is they don't need to. It's a substantial added complexity and an obvious impediment to fast realignment. If JOC (James O'Connor) was playing 10 he'd defend there, as would Barnes, and every other flyhalf in the country.

Quade isn't defending at the back to unleash his attacking potential. He's there because he's a liability in the 10 channel. That's obvious. You don't see Dan Carter defending at the back. He's in the thick of it to make the most of turnover ball which is the best counter-attacking opportunity of all.

That's what Deans means when he says there's nowhere to hide in test rugby.

And it's O'Connor.

Just leaving aside the QC (Quade Cooper) defence issue itself - I was interested to watch 2 highly rated Kiwi 10's defensive patterns this weekend.
Cruden is a very poor tackler - unless he has a right shoulder injury there was no excuse for his failure to offer a shoulder, when someone stepped back inside him, in the course of a try being scored.
Barrett regularly drops back to run the ball back - this makes sense to me as your best passer/reader of the game is a big asset back there to organise 11, 14 and 15. Most of the time he defends in the line.
QC (Quade Cooper) put a big hit on Rene Ranger - which looked no arms from some angles but was, in fact, a damned good tackle. Better men than QC (Quade Cooper) have been swamped by Ranger this season. QC (Quade Cooper) deserves some credit for this.