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Wallaby Outside Centre

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The_Brown_Hornet

The_Brown_Hornet

John Eales (66)
darkhorse said:
I really like Horne but come on, how can we talk about him playing at the world cup?

Comparing Hynes and Horne is easy. Hynes is a proven international, Horne isn't. Horne has great potential, but atm that is all it is potential. He tackles well, puts his body on the line in a way that you can't help but respect him, yet he still lacks something in attack. He didn't set the world on fire in his debut tests and they were against weak opposition.

Half of you seem to want a centre combo of barnes and horne. Great defence but what do they offer on attack? Nothing... well little compared to AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) and JOC (James O'Connor).

World cups may be won on defence, but you must be able to score to even be considered. AND we don't have a reliable goal-kicker nor the forward pack to play any other way than with a fully attacking backline.
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I thought our best midfield combo last year was in the last couple of tests on tour: Cooper - Barnes - AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper). That's what we should go with for the warm up test and the 3N and see how it pans out.
 
Viking

Viking

Mark Ella (57)
@Darkhouse.. I would argue that Horne would actually fit into the backline better on attack then AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper). Sure AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) is a proven player to break the line or get over the advantage line consistently but he is also a ball hog. Horne also has the ability to get over the gain line but he has one thing AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) doesn't, he is great at offloading the ball and setting up his outside men and with a back 3 of Mitchell/JOC (James O'Connor), Beale, Digby you NEED to give them the ball as much as possible. Each back 3 player is a game-breaker and if AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) doesnt give them the ball then he is limiting our attack.

If Horne can stay fit I'm certain he will be the future wallaby 13. But Im also certain he will not be able to get enough game time to prove himself before RWC, and yes I believe he still needs to prove himself.
 
Bruwheresmycar

Bruwheresmycar

Nicholas Shehadie (39)
Last season i would be picking Horne, but seeing as he hasn't had much game time this season we might need to be looking at 2nd and 3rd choice. AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) executed the role brilliantly last season, i'd support him to take it on again.

13 is about the only position we have real depth in (relative to SA and NZ).
 
Proud Pig

Proud Pig

Charlie Fox (21)
I think the choice of 13 comes down to the opposition.
If we are up against England for example the perfect player in that position is Gerrard as the game will be won by defense and field position.
He is probably the best field kick in Australia certainly he is the biggest boot. He can also offload which with a back three of Digby, JOC (James O'Connor) and Beale is a must to bring the game breakers into the game.

However against a NZ or SA side where field position is less of a factor AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) is probably the best choice.
Barnes must play at 12 as his defense will be needed with QC (Quade Cooper) at 10.

So for me its a backline of: 9. Genia 10. QC (Quade Cooper) 11. Digby 12. Barnes 13. Gerrard/AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) 14. JOC (James O'Connor) 15. Beale
 
Ash

Ash

Michael Lynagh (62)
Not really sure we have much alternative, really. Doubt Horne can make it back to a suitable level in time, and no other option has stood up in any of our five teams. Gotta agree it's the biggest selection hole currently for the Wallabies.
 
Viking

Viking

Mark Ella (57)
Yeh deep down we all know its AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) but still he's not a very good answer if its 24 pages and still going. What happens if AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) gets injured?
 
Lee Grant

Lee Grant

John Eales (66)
As estimable as Gerrard is, and a Rat, I don't think he should play for the Wallabies again. His lack of speed was shown up again last weekend, running back too slowly on defence. By all means have him in a squad, literally for a rainy day to take advantage of his booming boot, but never play him until that happens.

The real question about the Wallaby outside centre position is: who should have the position if AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) is injured and Horne can't be considered because his recovery is not proven?

Can we afford to ignore the aged Mortlock, if fit at the time?

Incidentally we should feel grateful for the emergence of Beale as a fullback which allowed AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) to move to 13, which itself was needed because of the injury to Horne. Had AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) not had to switch in the first place how different would this thread be now? We'd be talking about trying Beale at 15 so AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) could switch, but would be a bit nervous about it at the 3N or RWC level.

An interesting subject for a new thread: which injury to a current Wallaby would have the worst impact? Cooper and Genia would come to mind, but AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) would get a mention.
 
Brumbies Guy

Brumbies Guy

John Solomon (38)
Seb V said:
If you can ignore Gerrard for being slow then u can ignore Mortlock too!
Click to expand...

Absolutely, especially after sighting last weekends performance. Can't fault his commitment, but half the Cheetahs trys last weekend were running straight past Mortlock who seemed to be running on the spot.
 
Joe Mac

Joe Mac

Arch Winning (36)
On that note LG, I think the biggest problem would not be Genia or Cooper, it would be Pocock. I know Beau has shown amazing form this year but Pocock is a once in a generation talent.
 
Scotty

Scotty

David Codey (61)
Lee Grant said:
Can we afford to ignore the aged Mortlock, if fit at the time?

Incidentally we should feel grateful for the emergence of Beale as a fullback which allowed AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) to move to 13, which itself was needed because of the injury to Horne. Had AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) not had to switch in the first place how different would this thread be now? We'd be talking about trying Beale at 15 so AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) could switch, but would be a bit nervous about it at the 3N or RWC level.

An interesting subject for a new thread: which injury to a current Wallaby would have the worst impact? Cooper and Genia would come to mind, but AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) would get a mention.
Click to expand...

I think Mortlock should be in the squad. I think he should get some game time in the 3N to see if he is up to the pace. If he is, then he is surely the best option for either 12 or 13. We don't really need a ball player at 12 when Cooper has got such a long cut out. You could argue a ball player at 13 is more important (although Beale can provide this role from fullback).

From a defensive standpoint Mortlock is much better than Gerrard, who IMO falls off too many tackles. It is hard to argue against Mortlock being included from a defensive standpoint alone.

Most missed due to injury? Three spring to mind - Sharpe (shock horror), Pocock, Genia
 
Scotty

Scotty

David Codey (61)
I wonder if Deans will try and 'hide' Cooper in defense?

You could see a cyclic rotation happening if that was the case:

Attack - 10 Cooper, 11 Ioane, 12 JOC (James O'Connor), 13 Mortock, 14 AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), 15 Beale

Defense - 10 JOC (James O'Connor), 11 Ioane, 12 Mortlock, 13 AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), 14 Beale, 15 Cooper

The defense structure allows for a playmaker to still stand at 10 if their is turnover ball (and you would argue JOC (James O'Connor) would be the best in the tight in a turnover situation), while Cooper is just as good (if not better) than Beale at fielding high kicks from fullback, and his long pass will be able to put Beale into space for a counter attack.
 
Joe Mac

Joe Mac

Arch Winning (36)
I agree with everything there Scotty, except in defence, I would still prefer Beale to be in 15. Cooper as the last line of defence scares the shit out of me! beale can also step into the play making role easily if required (probably just use JOV for that) in a turnover situation...
 
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