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Wallaby 31 players for 2015 RWC

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fatprop

George Gregan (70)
Staff member
Does the fact Dave Dennis is in the Wallaby leadership group assure him a spot in the squad? Does his form support this? It was strong early on, but I didn't think he had sustained it.


Dennis will be deemed invisible by many, but he does the grunt work consistently, has the right attitude and could be a safe 5/6 option to have in the squad if no one better puts their hand up
 

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
Dennis will be deemed invisible by many, but he does the grunt work consistently, has the right attitude and could be a safe 5/6 option to have in the squad if no one better puts their hand up


I definitely think Dennis is up there with players like Luke Jones for that player who can cover a couple of positions including lock. Ultimately I don't think either will make the RWC squad but they're probably only an injury or two away.

Some of the uncapped players like Timani and Arnold who showed so much promise at the start of the season have dropped back a bit in terms of form and I think will be unlikely to figure in the final calculations.
 
T

TOCC

Guest
You could do worse then to have Dave Dennis in the squad, I really like his work ethic and thought his form has been good in the matches I've watched. I like the idea of Dennis in the squad as opposed to blooding a whole lot of new locks like Coleman and Arnold.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

BDA

Jim Lenehan (48)
Agree re Dennis. He's had a good season and is the type of no.6 that Cheika is looking for (i.e. big 110kg+ ball runner / workhorse / line-out option).

I'd suggest one of Jones, Dennis, Timani will be taken. I'd probably be leaning towards Jones at this stage. Unfortunately for Timani, he hasn't really shown he can be a reliable Line-out option this season, simply because the Rebels never seem to throw to him.
 

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
In regards to the captaincy decision, it isn't a great sign that Moore seeks Pocock's opinion when they win penalties and then the two of them keep turning down shots at goal to kick for the corner.

I still think Moore will probably be the Wallaby captain this year but he needs to stop making these poor decisions on the field. If you build up enough of a lead by taking the early penalties then you can think about kicking for the corner from attacking penalties.
 

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
If Lilo was kicking them from all over the field (rather than missing shots from dead in front) maybe it would have made Moore's decisions easier?


Probably, but there is still a tendency to turn down shots at goal early in the match to try and go for tries. It's just not the percentage play against good teams and can leave you liable to be embarrassed by bad teams.

You've got to back your kicker.
 

barbarian

Phil Kearns (64)
Staff member
That has been shitting me for weeks BH, across all the Aussie sides. Rebels and Tahs can be just as culpable, and it has definitely cost them in close games.
.
 
T

TOCC

Guest
In regards to the captaincy decision, it isn't a great sign that Moore seeks Pocock's opinion when they win penalties and then the two of them keep turning down shots at goal to kick for the corner.
.

Maybe he shouldn't, it was a massive mistake kicking to the corner in the Tahs game.. Even removing hindsight they should have realised a draw would have kept them ahead of the Tahs, it was a costly decision that could see them miss finals..


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BDA

Jim Lenehan (48)
To be fair to Moore, the decision to continually kick for the corner was extremely successful last week against Highlanders. Plus I think everyone expected their line-out to do better than it did. The decision to kick to the corners did result in the tahs going down to 14 men for a period, unfortunately their execution let them down. I think they should have taken the shot at goal right at the end though. 2 points was better than nothing.
 

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
To be fair to Moore, the decision to continually kick for the corner was extremely successful last week against Highlanders. Plus I think everyone expected their line-out to do better than it did. The decision to kick to the corners did result in the tahs going down to 14 men for a period, unfortunately their execution let them down. I think they should have taken the shot at goal right at the end though. 2 points was better than nothing.


Their rolling maul was excellent last week but that was a different game.

They should also know by now that the success of their rolling maul varies greatly from week to week. It's not like Pocock has multiple hattricks this year.

I think the criticism is warranted. He underestimated the difficulty his team would have to score tries and they lost the game despite having far more opportunities.
 

BDA

Jim Lenehan (48)
Look I think its a fair criticism. But at the same time, if they'd scored off one of those rolling mauls they would have won the game. In fact one could argue that the only reason they didn't score (when they looked certain to score on one occasion) was that Horne cynically took Pocock out at the back of the maul. If they didn't make the play I'd say the brumbies go over.

Hindsight is a bitch though. If Lilo had missed the kick from the sideline it would have released the pressure off the tahs and we might be sitting here saying they should have used their maul like they did last week
 

Scrubber2050

Mark Ella (57)
I feel sorry for Moore. Pocock likes to think he is captain. Its a bit like having a cuckoo in the nest.

For mine, Stephen should be the Wallaby captain and he needs to show some authority on the field. He should tell Poey to fuck off
 

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
I feel sorry for Moore. Pocock likes to think he is captain. Its a bit like having a cuckoo in the nest.

For mine, Stephen should be the Wallaby captain and he needs to show some authority on the field. He should tell Poey to fuck off

I think that's unfair on Pocock.

Moore has on several occasions this season approached Pocock and asked for his opinion on what he thinks they should do.

It isn't Pocock rushing up to Moore and getting in his ear.
 
T

TOCC

Guest
To be fair to Moore, the decision to continually kick for the corner was extremely successful last week against Highlanders. Plus I think everyone expected their line-out to do better than it did. The decision to kick to the corners did result in the tahs going down to 14 men for a period, unfortunately their execution let them down. I think they should have taken the shot at goal right at the end though. 2 points was better than nothing.


Yeah i was referring specifically to the decision at the end of the game to kick for the corner... As for the Highlanders game, well the Brumbies aren't competing with the Highlanders for a guaranteed finals position, now the Brumbies will potentially have to fight it out in the crowded part of the table vying for the 'wildcard' position, if they went for the draw they could have kept some breathing space between themselves and the Tahs.
 

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
From a gambling perspective, the last play decision to go for a lineout wasn't necessarily that bad especially as the kick was quite difficult.

If Lilo had kicked it, they get a draw which nets them one extra competition point and takes two away from the Tahs.

If they score the try they gain three competition points and take three away from the Tahs.

There is also the possibility that they could get another penalty after the lineout which would have been in an easier position and then could have made more sense to take.

I think it's the decision early in the game (around the 20 minute mark) which was a really poor one.
 

Scrubber2050

Mark Ella (57)
I think that's unfair on Pocock.

Moore has on several occasions this season approached Pocock and asked for his opinion on what he thinks they should do.

It isn't Pocock rushing up to Moore and getting in his ear.

Shit - if Moore cannot make a decision then he shouldn't be captain at all- at any level
 
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