Waratahs 2020

[fatprop]

And with those two, Godwin signing next year, and potentially Horwitz as well, we would have adequate coverage down to plan D

Harrison is doing enough to be first choice for a while, he does the extras around the field

A decent, experienced unit outside him will be helpful because Hunt hasn't looked anywhere near his best pre the zombie apocalypse and doesn't deserve a contract for next year

 

[Up the Guts]

Harrison wasn’t too far behind Lolesio pre-pandemic and he didn’t have the advantage of playing behind one of the best packs in the competition in the Brumbies. I’m not worried about the Tahs at 10, what we really need in the backline is a power runner that can get over the gain line. I hope Tepai gets a start as he could fill that role, I expect the time off will have helped his conditioning.

 

[Derpus]

Harrison is doing enough to be first choice for a while, he does the extras around the field

A decent, experienced unit outside him will be helpful because Hunt hasn't looked anywhere near his best pre the zombie apocalypse and doesn't deserve a contract for next year

We dont have any of those, though.

 

[KOB1987]

We dont have any of those, though.

Godwin fits the bill well enough.

 

[wamberal]

Godwin fits the bill well enough.

Let us pray.

 

[fatprop]

Harrison wasn’t too far behind Lolesio pre-pandemic and he didn’t have the advantage of playing behind one of the best packs in the competition in the Brumbies. I’m not worried about the Tahs at 10, what we really need in the backline is a power runner that can get over the gain line. I hope Tepai gets a start as he could fill that role, I expect the time off will have helped his conditioning.

Tepai should be the answer, we need that punch and someone who can take those "in the shit" hand offs from Harrison

 

[Brumby Runner]

Don't see Godwin as the answer to the need for a powerful runner to get over the gainline. He is more a sleight of hand, creative player who can set up a runner. Beyond that, he also adopts an expansive kicking game. Those are his strengths that I have seen him play at the Brumbies.

 

[eastman]

I don't think even Kyle Godwin would consider himself a 'power runner'

 

[eastman]

Although at the end of his tenure at the Western Force and time at the Brumbies, he never really showed the skills or vision expected from a former Australian schoolboy fly-half. I liken him slightly to Reece Hodge, both 'manufactured' flyhalves as juniors who never developed the vision/ skillset for that position.

 

[Finsbury Girl]

I fail to see how he has been 'treated spectacularly poorly' by the Waratahs- at the end of the day, they have paid him to train in a professional environment but play semi-professionally. The guy may have had 'limited' opportunities in Super Rugby but he has had played plenty of rugby in SS and has never consistently set the world on fire.

It may sound harsh but Mack has been lucky enough to get paid to play professional rugby over the last 3 years, while never really delivering on his promise and provided value in return. What more should the 'Tahs have done?

For a start they could've given him more game instead of dropping him in the deep end & expecting him to set the world on fire.

I'll repeat it, absolutely woeful development skills shown by the staff. It is certainly an aspect I'm sure that causes proud young NSWelshmen to drive for the ACT border when the opportunity presents itself. And I'm not excluding QLD from this criticism as well though I think it is well documented that we are doing far better than we have been in that regard.

 

[Up the Guts]

For a start they could've given him more game instead of dropping him in the deep end & expecting him to set the world on fire.

I'll repeat it, absolutely woeful development skills shown by the staff. It is certainly an aspect I'm sure that causes proud young NSWelshmen to drive for the ACT border when the opportunity presents itself. And I'm not excluding QLD from this criticism as well though I think it is well documented that we are doing far better than we have been in that regard.

They started him against the Sunwolves last year, basically as close to the shallow end as you can get.

He was also part of wider Wallaby training squads in his rookie season in 2017, seems to be a reasonable approach to development. Unfortunately for Mack, he’s been leapfrogged by some younger talent, not an uncommon occurrence in professional sport. By all reports he’s a great bloke so I hope he carves it up overseas but right now I don’t blame the Waratahs for releasing him.

 

[rugboy]

Tepai should be the answer, we need that punch and someone who can take those "in the shit" hand offs from Harrison

Agree. Hopefully Penney lets Tepai have a sustained go. He showed in a number of the "A" games he was very successful as a power runner in midfield.

 

[Silverado]

For a start they could've given him more game instead of dropping him in the deep end & expecting him to set the world on fire.

I'll repeat it, absolutely woeful development skills shown by the staff. It is certainly an aspect I'm sure that causes proud young NSWelshmen to drive for the ACT border when the opportunity presents itself. And I'm not excluding QLD from this criticism as well though I think it is well documented that we are doing far better than we have been in that regard.

I see your point about game time, but that can only happen if you have a substantial lead or if the team is out of finals contention and youre looking at next season.The Tahs rarely had the luxury of either scenario, so they had to keep their best 15 on the field. I feel for him and he is a nice bloke, but he's now been overtaken by others when he finally got out from behind Foley. That's sport

 

[molman]

Agree. Hopefully Penney lets Tepai have a sustained go. He showed in a number of the "A" games he was very successful as a power runner in midfield.

He was ok. He has some of the raw attributes we need and did show some decent direct carrys in the A's games but had the look of a player having to think a little too much about what he's doing. Felt there were a few times where he lacked a little instinct to see some of the opportunites, but then I guess that could be as much about building those partnerships, getting a feel for the boys around him.

Great thing about the SuperRugby AU coming up is we will have a great opportunity to really compare and see that the AU players are in comparison to each other, seeing them against other AU teams each week. It's almost like one big extended Wallabies Trial

 

[Pass it to Dunning!]

For a start they could've given him more game instead of dropping him in the deep end & expecting him to set the world on fire.

I'll repeat it, absolutely woeful development skills shown by the staff. It is certainly an aspect I'm sure that causes proud young NSWelshmen to drive for the ACT border when the opportunity presents itself. And I'm not excluding QLD from this criticism as well though I think it is well documented that we are doing far better than we have been in that regard.

The Tahs aren't a charity. Mason had multiple chances and he was a dud. Harrison was dropped in the deep end and did much better.

 

[pnut]

Don’t think Harrison is the real solution though. Anointed from a young age yes

 

[KOB1987]

Don't see Godwin as the answer to the need for a powerful runner to get over the gainline. He is more a sleight of hand, creative player who can set up a runner. Beyond that, he also adopts an expansive kicking game. Those are his strengths that I have seen him play at the Brumbies.

I don’t disagree with that but you’re combining two mutually exclusive posts - I threw Godwin out there in response to FP saying that Harrison needed an experienced unit outside him. FP then responded to UTG with the suggestion that Tepai could be the answer for a big runner that can get over the gain line.

That said a centre pairing of Tepai & Godwin wouldn’t be silly, in either order. Although this is a discussion for the Tahs 2021 thread.

 

[barbarian]

I'll repeat it, absolutely woeful development skills shown by the staff. It is certainly an aspect I'm sure that causes proud young NSWelshmen to drive for the ACT border when the opportunity presents itself. And I'm not excluding QLD from this criticism as well though I think it is well documented that we are doing far better than we have been in that regard.

I struggle with the idea of blaming coaches when a player like Mason fails to fire.

There's an implication that anyone could become a Wallaby star with the right support, and the impetus is on coaches to extract the ability out of the player.

I don't think that is the case. Mason failed to fire for a number of reasons, a central one being I'm not sure he's quite good enough for Super Rugby. Give him all the minutes you want and I don't think that changes.

Harrison has come in and looked far better than Mason ever did. He's only played a handful of games behind a struggling pack and he is already making clear steps forward. The last game he played against the Brumbies (a distant memory), he was outstanding.

Mason is still young and I hope he finds an opportunity somewhere else. But I don't think it made much sense for the Tahs to keep him.

 

[Braveheart81]

Don’t think Harrison is the real solution though. Anointed from a young age yes

I think he is. He looks like he is definitely up to this level and his improvement from when he first appeared in the NRC is staggering.

In my opinion he's one of the few bright spots on what was a terrible season so far.

 

[Braveheart81]

One thing people keep overlooking is that being the best player in your position at under 20s level doesn't go close to meaning you have a strong professional career ahead of you.

Super Rugby has always been a very strong competition. If the average Super Rugby career of a solid player is 8-10 years and we have four teams then a pretty small fraction of under 20s players are going to end up having that sort of career.

Out of each under 20s squad maybe half will get a full Super Rugby contract at any point and 7 or 8 would be regular Super Rugby matchday players.