The Melbourne Rising has long been one of the stronger teams in the NRC, relying on the Rebels to provide most of their players. 2017 was a little different, and the results showed, with only one win for the season. With a new coaching team, and a very strong squad, can the Rising finally take home the magic toast rack in 2018?
The Coaching Staff
The Rising welcome a new head coach, Eoin Toolan. He replaces Craig McGrath, who has taken up a coaching role with Honda Heat. He is assisted by Pom Simona, former Harlequins first-grade captain, and now coach.
Your Coaches 2018 – Eoin and Pom
I must admit, I don’t have a read on Eoin as a coach, probably because I’ve never seen him in a coaching context. He’s worked with the IRFU as a performance analyst and is the current head performance analyst at the Melbourne Rebels, so he’s great experience in developing and tuning elite Rugby talent. How that translates to game day will be the challenge; he’s not exactly starting from scratch, but there is work to be done for Eoin to get the new team to gel. No doubt the experience of Pom will prove invaluable.
The Players
The team is best described as “a strong squad of professionals, with a nice smattering of local club talent”. About two-thirds of the Squad have Super Rugby experience, with the remainder either in super Squads, or knocking on the door for higher honours.
As it doesn’t appear flagged on anything official, I’ll take a stab at the designated Wallabies: include Jack Maddocks, Jermaine Ainsley, Sefa Naivalu, and Matt Philip.
The NRC will give players like Rob Leota and Trevor Hosea plenty of game time to show they’re recovered from long-term injuries. The Noa brothers, both members of the Melbourne Unicorns premiership site, get another crack at NRC football. Keep an eye out for Angelo Leaupepe, who also had a cracking season at flyhalf for the Unicorns. Keep an eye on the Hooker Feta Luamanu; from the limited clips I’ve seen of him on Youtube, he looks quite the hardball runner and will cause plenty of heads for opposition defenders.
This clip gives you just a small taste of what he can do.
There is one player I want to see have a big NRC: Sione Tuiupolotu. Although he did play against the Force, he’s had no Super Rugby game time this year, stuck in the midfield backlog. I feel this NRC is a perfect time to show what he can do, and hopefully push to take the midfield role at the Rebels in 2019.
I’m excited to see what the new Rebel talent, Isi and Mees, can bring to the side. I expect Isi will slot straight into the number eight role, while Mees will have a bit more competition on his hands at loosehead prop.
The team will be led by Angus Cottrell; an excellent selection IMO as I see him as a natural lead by example Captain.
Angus Cottrell – leading the Rising in 2018
Overall, thumbs up for me. A good looking mix in the squad.
Potential Starting Side
If I was picking a starting side, I’d go with:
- Ferti Sa’aga
- Anaru Ranga
- Jermaine Ainsley
- Matt Philip
- Esei Haanagana
- Angus Cottrell
- Richard Hardwick
- Isi Naisaran
- Michael Ruru
- Angelo Leaupepe (assume Maddocks on wallaby duty)
- Kiti Ratu
- Billy Meakes
- Sione Tuipolotu
- Sefa Naivalu
- Tom English
Angelo Leaupepe – likely to start at flyhalf.
Now, that’s a pretty good starting side! A good balance of professional experience (including Wallaby talent), and a sprinkle of new talent.
I think Angelo has a tough job ahead of him as he will be expected to act as the game manager. He’ll be competiting against some strong Super Rugby talent, but he’s shown his talent for the Melbourne Unicorns this year, so I think he will make the step up to NRC level.
The Draw
In a unique approach to local fan engagement, the Rising do not play any game in Melbourne. No, I’m not kidding; no games in Melbourne.
I think the Rising planned to play at least one game in Melbourne but were caught out with the GWS Rams culling (i.e losing a home match). The Rebels have a long-term agreement with SA Rugby and the Ballarat City Council, and I assume that involves playing an NRC fixture at their respective grounds. I’m guessing the Geelong match was locked in well before the NRC teams were announced, so they had no way of changing that fixture. So, if you’re Melbourne based, and wish to watch a live Melbourne Rising match, prepare to travel. to play a match in Ballarat, Adelaide, and I also assume Geelong.
If anyone’s to blame for the lack of matches in Melbourne, blame the NSWRU for culling an NRC team! For a Victorian, it’s much easier to just blame someone north of the Murray anyway (and much more fun).
The draw for the Rising:
Round 1 – versus Fiji Drua (away)
Round 2 – versus Queensland Country (away)
Round 3 – versus NSW Country (away, Mudgee)
Round 4 – versus Brisbane City (home, Adelaide, Bailey Reserve)
Round 5 – versus Canberra Vikings (away)
Round 6 – versus Western Force (Home, Geelong, GMHBA Stadium)
Round 7 – versus Sydney (Home, Ballarat, St Patrick’s College)
The full draw can be found on here.
Fearless prediction
I don’t expect to see the Rising hold the wooden spoon at the end of the season. Like any team, a combination of hard work and luck will win the competition. On paper, they can win anything, but so can the other teams.
They have a brutal travel schedule early in the season, so I expect this will hit them hard. If they can string some early wins away, they could et themselves up for a strong run in the back half of the season.
I’ll pick them to finish mid-table, probably in the top four.
Squad
Props
Fereti Sa’aga, Tom Moloney, Mees Erasmus, Laurie Weeks, Pone Fa’amausili, Jermaine Ainsley
Hooker
Anaru Rangi, Andrew Tuala, Feta Luamanu
Locks
Trevor Hosea, Esei Haangana, Matt Philip, Sakaria Noa
Back Row
Angus Cottrell, Richard Hardwick, Ikapote Tupai, George Noa, Rob Leota, Isi Naisarani
Halfbacks
Michael Ruru, Harrison Goddard, Archie King
Flyhalves
Jack Maddocks, Angelo Leaupepe
Centres
Sione Tui, Sione Tuipulotu, Billy Meakes, Fabian Goodall, Tom English
Outside Backs
Kiti Ratu, Sefa Naivalu, Justin Masters, Kemu Valetini
