Waratahs 2025

[Hogan]

Starting XV?

1. Bell
2. Porecki
3. Tupou
4. Lee-Warner
5. ?
6. Leota
7. Gamble
8. Gleeson
9. Gordon
10. Edmed
11. Lancaster
12. Foketi
13. Sua'ali'i
14. Jorgenson
15. Kellaway

Anyone agree or disagree? Who's most likely to fill the other spot in the 2nd row?

Not a bad lineup at all.

I think Jorgensen will be the 15 with Kellaway on the wing. And I wouldn’t be surprised if Creighton ends up with 10 jersey. He finished off the season this year with the Reds in great form. A really solid player who I think will suit McKellar’s game plan.

 

[Dctarget]

And I wouldn’t be surprised if Creighton ends up with 10 jersey. He finished off the season this year with the Reds in great form. A really solid player who I think will suit McKellar’s game plan.

No chance, if 'Tahs wanna go deep they need an exceptional flyhalf, Creighton ain't that. Need to roll the dice on either Bowen or Edmed.

 

[KentwellCup>ShuteShield]

If NSW Rugby and Sydney Rugby Union want to be smart about it, they should make JAS sign for the two blues...

 

[Jimmyjam]

I don't expect FLW (Fergus Lee-Warner) to start, more likely to see 2 of Ben Grant, Miles Amatosero or Angelo Smith starting as locks with FLW (Fergus Lee-Warner) as a hybrid bench option.

I expect the bench to look something like this


Isaac Kailea
Vailanu/Heaven
Sio Amone
Angelo Smith
FLW (Fergus Lee-Warner)/Sinclair
Teddy Wilson
Crichton/Bowen
Walton/O'Donnell

 

[KentwellCup>ShuteShield]

I rate Vailanu hard, one the best Australian hookers in his running game.

 

[Braveheart81]

If NSW Rugby and Sydney Rugby Union want to be smart about it, they should make JAS sign for the two blues...

I think this is overblown. He's almost certainly never going to play a Shute Shield game and might not even make an appearance at a club on a Saturday.

In terms of negotiating with a star player and their agent are you really going to burn some of your bargaining power about what Shute Shield club the player has listed next to their name on a Waratahs teamsheet?

If he wants to name the Two Blues as his team that's great but I certainly wouldn't be going to any effort to try and dissuade him from picking whatever other club he wants (assuming it isn't already decided). If he's got old school mates playing somewhere and that makes him more likely to make an appearance then that is way better than pushing him somewhere he's got no connection with and is never going to go to.

 

[Pass it to Dunning!]

Starting XV?

1. Bell
2. Porecki
3. Tupou
4. Lee-Warner
5. ?
6. Leota
7. Gamble
8. Gleeson
9. Gordon
10. Edmed
11. Lancaster
12. Foketi
13. Sua'ali'i
14. Jorgenson
15. Kellaway

Anyone agree or disagree? Who's most likely to fill the other spot in the 2nd row?

Not a bad lineup at all.

Second row is the weakest position. Probably Sinclair, but maybe Amatosero or Smith pan out.

 

[KentwellCup>ShuteShield]

I think this is overblown. He's almost certainly never going to play a Shute Shield game and might not even make an appearance at a club on a Saturday.

In terms of negotiating with a star player and their agent are you really going to burn some of your bargaining power about what Shute Shield club the player has listed next to their name on a Waratahs teamsheet?

If he wants to name the Two Blues as his team that's great but I certainly wouldn't be going to any effort to try and dissuade him from picking whatever other club he wants (assuming it isn't already decided). If he's got old school mates playing somewhere and that makes him more likely to make an appearance then that is way better than pushing him somewhere he's got no connection with and is never going to go to.

I agree, he is likely never going to play a game of SS.

I just think its the smartest option, if we want to take a holistic view of the whole situation.

 

[Dctarget]

I reckon Angelo Smith will be your starting lock, he's a gun.

 

[barbarian]

What a team.

Frankly I can't see how the Lions get within 15 of us. They will fare better against the Wallabies.

 

[Braveheart81]

What a team.

Frankly I can't see how the Lions get within 15 of us. They will fare better against the Wallabies.

This is almost as bad as bumping the Quade vs Kurtley thread.

 

[Derpus]

I rate Vailanu hard, one the best Australian hookers in his running game.

Not Aussie, is he?

 

[Pfitzy]

What a team.

Frankly I can't see how the Lions get within 15 of us. They will fare better against the Wallabies.

Been in the catnip again?

 

[barbarian]

This is almost as bad as bumping the Quade vs Kurtley thread.

Nostalgia pays. I'm resurrecting old threads like they resurrect TV franchises from the 90s. Watch the numbers boom.

 

[fatprop]

Always the best time to be the Waratahs supporter (before game day reality returns)

 

[KentwellCup>ShuteShield]

Not Aussie, is he?

not sure if he was born here or grew up here but im fairly sure hes aussie qualified.

EDIT: on closer inspection it seems that he won the Dewar Shield in Melbourne in 2017, so I think that makes him Australian qualified.

 

[Brumby Runner]

This is almost as bad as bumping the Quade vs Kurtley thread.

Or bumping Sua'ali'i to the SS.

 

[Wilson]

not sure if he was born here or grew up here but im fairly sure hes aussie qualified.

EDIT: on closer inspection it seems that he won the Dewar Shield in Melbourne in 2017, so I think that makes him Australian qualified.

Unfortunately for Mahe (and probably Victorian rugby in general) winning the Dewar Shield does not automatically qualify you for the Wallabies. Leaving to play for Panasonic (2019) and then the Giltinis (2021) will have reset his eligibility.

 

[KentwellCup>ShuteShield]

Oh right wasn't completely aware of how eligibility worked.

 

[Wilson]

Oh right wasn't completely aware of how eligibility worked.

I've been making an effort to track it here the last few years:

Wallaby Eligibility

With the focus on Wallaby eligible players in the TotW and the good performance of various ineligible players recently I figured it was worth tracking the eligibility of players somewhere. This my attempt at that, based on World Rugby regulation 8 (not Giteau law), broken down into different...

www.greenandgoldrugby.com

With the squads now released I'll probably look to update it for 2025 sometime soon.