• Welcome to the forums of Green & Gold Rugby.
    We have recently made some changes to the amount of discussions boards on the forum.
    Over the coming months we will continue to make more changes to make the forum more user friendly for all to use.
    Thanks, Admin.

Waratahs 2025

cyclopath

George Smith (75)
Staff member
The Tahs 2025 squad is finally starting to take shape. Not sure who else has been missed - I feel like someone in the outside backs?!

Dan The Man McKellar – Head Coach
Mike Catt – Assistant Coach (attack)
Lachie McCaffrey – Assistant Coach (defence)
Dan Palmer – Assistant Coach (set piece)

Hooker:
Dave Porecki
Julian Heaven
Ethan Dobbins
Mahe Vailanu - ????

Prop:
Angus Bell
Hayden Thomson-Stringer
Isaac Kailea
Taniela Tupou
Siosifa Amone
Dan Botha - ????
Tom Lambert - ????

Lock:
Miles Amatosero
Fergus Lee-Warner
Hugh Sinclair
Ben Grant
Angelo Smith

Backrow:
Langi Gleeson
Charlie Gamble
Rob Leota
Leafi Talataina
Ned Slack-Smith - ????

Scrumhalf:
Jake Gordon
Teddy Wilson
Jack Grant

Flyhalf:
Tane Edmed
Jack Bowen

Centre:
Lalakai Foketi
Joseph Sua'ali'i
Joey Walton - ????
Henry O'Donnell

Wing:
Dylan Pietsch
Darby Lancaster
Triston Reilly - ????

Fullback:
Max Jorgensen
Andrew Kellaway
As ever, looks good enough on paper...
 

Brumby Runner

Jason Little (69)
By my count, that is 9 ex-Rebels at the Tahs next year along with the 6 Million dollar man from League and Henry O'Donnel ex-Force. Well done the RATahs. Doesn't look like RA is quite so concerned about keeping their other Super Rugby team competitive. Two ex-Rebels only so far announced for the RABrumbies. Centralisation looks to be an avenue for further supporting the chosen side in light blue.

Am I pissed. Sure thing.
 

Jimmyjam

Watty Friend (18)
Discussion that Lawson Creighton had signed, also they had archie Saunders from Aus U20s in the wider squad from memory
 

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
By my count, that is 9 ex-Rebels at the Tahs next year along with the 6 Million dollar man from League and Henry O'Donnel ex-Force. Well done the RATahs. Doesn't look like RA is quite so concerned about keeping their other Super Rugby team competitive. Two ex-Rebels only so far announced for the RABrumbies. Centralisation looks to be an avenue for further supporting the chosen side in light blue.

Am I pissed. Sure thing.

How many players were the Waratahs not able to re-sign because RA had to make room for players that they were already on the hook to pay?

I agree that the Waratahs have a stronger squad for 2025 than they had for 2024 but they also had to let a whole lot of long term players leave such as Harry Johnson-Holmes, Jed Holloway, Ned Hanigan, Lachie Swinton, Will Harrison, Mark Nawaqanitawase, Izaia Perese and others.

They literally gutted half the squad to make space for players that RA had a commitment to.
 

KOB1987

John Eales (66)
By my count, that is 9 ex-Rebels at the Tahs next year along with the 6 Million dollar man from League and Henry O'Donnel ex-Force. Well done the RATahs. Doesn't look like RA is quite so concerned about keeping their other Super Rugby team competitive. Two ex-Rebels only so far announced for the RABrumbies. Centralisation looks to be an avenue for further supporting the chosen side in light blue.

Am I pissed. Sure thing.
As previously advised RA had taken on the Tahs and Rebels, the latter ceased to exist so RA had to move some Tahs players on to accomodate the contractual obligations of quite a few ex-Rebels players. The Brumbies came to the table a fair bit bit later in the process but presumably they were part of the conversation with regards to the discarded players e.g. Archer Holz announced the other day, and presumably they didn't want them. I think RA are doing all they can for the coming season to place the players as best they can, I'm also assuming the players have some say in which city they would prefer to live.
 

Jimmyjam

Watty Friend (18)
By my count, that is 9 ex-Rebels at the Tahs next year along with the 6 Million dollar man from League and Henry O'Donnel ex-Force. Well done the RATahs. Doesn't look like RA is quite so concerned about keeping their other Super Rugby team competitive. Two ex-Rebels only so far announced for the RABrumbies. Centralisation looks to be an avenue for further supporting the chosen side in light blue.

Am I pissed. Sure thing.
Don't remember the complaining when Brumbies had 4 wallaby locks...... (sadly only 3 now...) 3 Wallaby props, 3 wallaby hookers etc etc...

FYI The tahs have just lost 6 wallabies who I would have been very happy to retain... Swinton, Hanigan, HJH (Harry Johnson-Holmes), Holloway, Perese , Mark the Rooster + Tuipuloto, Will Harrison, Holz and not mentioning the crew who were signed previously by the Force... Beale, Donaldson, Harris.

Not too sure how many vacant roster spots the Brumbies had, but couldn't have been too many.....................
 

The Honey Badger

Jim Lenehan (48)
The Tahs 2025 squad is finally starting to take shape. Not sure who else has been missed - I feel like someone in the outside backs?!

Dan The Man McKellar – Head Coach
Mike Catt – Assistant Coach (attack)
Lachie McCaffrey – Assistant Coach (defence)
Dan Palmer – Assistant Coach (set piece)

Hooker:
Dave Porecki
Julian Heaven
Ethan Dobbins
Mahe Vailanu - ????

Prop:
Angus Bell
Hayden Thomson-Stringer
Isaac Kailea
Taniela Tupou
Siosifa Amone
Dan Botha - ????
Tom Lambert - ????

Lock:
Miles Amatosero
Fergus Lee-Warner
Hugh Sinclair
Ben Grant
Angelo Smith

Backrow:
Langi Gleeson
Charlie Gamble
Rob Leota
Leafi Talataina
Ned Slack-Smith - ????

Scrumhalf:
Jake Gordon
Teddy Wilson
Jack Grant

Flyhalf:
Tane Edmed
Jack Bowen

Centre:
Lalakai Foketi
Joseph Sua'ali'i
Joey Walton - ????
Henry O'Donnell

Wing:
Dylan Pietsch
Darby Lancaster
Triston Reilly - ????

Fullback:
Max Jorgensen
Andrew Kellaway
Slack-smith is out -
 

Adam84

Rod McCall (65)
Well, you can take everything so literally. In a perfect world all the 120 players should play NPC but that's not gonna cause due to budget and cause NZRU showed that they are not supportive enough of Australian rugby.

All, almost all, most, half, many of them or a handful, would be good for Australian rugby. 120 players are almost 7/8 teams and I can't see the Kiwis allowing that but if 30 Aussie Super Rugby players play NPC, they could raise the standard level of Aussie Super Rugby players

sure, I apologise for interpreting the comment “All the Aussie Super Rugby players should play the NPC” too literally and thinking it meant all Aus Super Rugby players should play NPC.

But yes I agree it’s a fanciful idea that would not only cost too much money, does nothing to actually improve the pathways, we’re just paying to use someone else’s. That’s not a sustainable model either.
 

Adam84

Rod McCall (65)
By my count, that is 9 ex-Rebels at the Tahs next year along with the 6 Million dollar man from League and Henry O'Donnel ex-Force. Well done the RATahs. Doesn't look like RA is quite so concerned about keeping their other Super Rugby team competitive. Two ex-Rebels only so far announced for the RABrumbies. Centralisation looks to be an avenue for further supporting the chosen side in light blue.

Am I pissed. Sure thing.

Are RA now at fault for the Brumbies recruitment?
 

Froggy

Nicholas Shehadie (39)
9 ex Rebels to the Tahs, although only 5 of them (Tupou, Kailea, Leota, Kellaway, Lancaster) Wallabies. Considering the Tahs have lost 6 Wallabies (Holloway, Hanigan, Swinton, HJH (Harry Johnson-Holmes), Perese, Marky Mark (Nawaqanitawase)) probably not a big gain. Considering they finished stoney last in 2024, I wouldn't be too concerned if I was you BR. I would be more worried about the Reds, the 2nd top Aus side, who have picked up Gibbon, Canham, LSL (Lukhan Salakaia-Loto) and Daugunu.
The reality is every year players move about (yes, the end of the Rebels inflated that), and the moajorityof players originate from either NSW or Qld.
If you look at the Force, the majority started in another franchise. The Tahs alone have supplied Robertson, Horton, Williams, Tizano (I know he's from thee west, but commenced his pro rugby with the Tahs), Harris and Donaldson.
I'm not an RA apologist by any means, and they certainly brought about the Rebells demise, but I don't think they can be blamed for the movement of players.
 

rugbyAU

Dick Tooth (41)
9 ex Rebels to the Tahs, although only 5 of them (Tupou, Kailea, Leota, Kellaway, Lancaster) Wallabies. Considering the Tahs have lost 6 Wallabies (Holloway, Hanigan, Swinton, HJH (Harry Johnson-Holmes) (Harry Johnson-Holmes), Perese, Marky Mark (Nawaqanitawase) (Nawaqanitawase)) probably not a big gain.

NO!

The incoming Wallabies from the rebels have a combined 114 tests whilst the departing Wallabies from the Tahs have a combined 70 tests
 

Mr Pilfer

Dave Cowper (27)
9 ex Rebels to the Tahs, although only 5 of them (Tupou, Kailea, Leota, Kellaway, Lancaster) Wallabies. Considering the Tahs have lost 6 Wallabies (Holloway, Hanigan, Swinton, HJH (Harry Johnson-Holmes) (Harry Johnson-Holmes), Perese, Marky Mark (Nawaqanitawase) (Nawaqanitawase)) probably not a big gain. Considering they finished stoney last in 2024, I wouldn't be too concerned if I was you BR. I would be more worried about the Reds, the 2nd top Aus side, who have picked up Gibbon, Canham, LSL (Lukhan Salakaia-Loto) (Lukhan Salakaia-Loto) and Daugunu.
The reality is every year players move about (yes, the end of the Rebels inflated that), and the moajorityof players originate from either NSW or Qld.
If you look at the Force, the majority started in another franchise. The Tahs alone have supplied Robertson, Horton, Williams, Tizano (I know he's from thee west, but commenced his pro rugby with the Tahs), Harris and Donaldson.
I'm not an RA apologist by any means, and they certainly brought about the Rebells demise, but I don't think they can be blamed for the movement of players.
Haha this really takes the cake counting Tizzano as a tahs product

Phil Waugh has done everything possible to try and get the tahs up the ladder to the detriment of all the other Aussie sides and everyone knows it.
 
Top