Internationals Anzac Test

[fanrrior]

1. Locke/Beale/Whare - whoever is performing best come the test match
2. Perret
3. SKD
4. Beale/Whare
5. Nightingale
6. Marshal
7. Foran
8. Bromwhich
9. Luke
10. JWH
11. SBW
12. Manu
13. Mannering

14. Leuluai/Johnson
15. Matulino
16. Eastwood
17. Glenn

Just for fun...

 

[OMG]

That honestly scares the shit out of me. I never want to see these two paired up. What would happen if they both chose the same game to go missing? I would play one of them with Foran, but never both together.

Sidenote: I think Fien has put his hand up in the last couple of games. He wasn't looking good, but from what I have seen and heard is really starting to do the business. I might be tempted to start Foran and Marshall in the halves and have Fien as our utility, if his form continues.

You have to take the risk and find out in World cup year IMO, No use losing the World cup and saying what if. They need to start sorting combinations now, Shaun Johnson & Foran might be ok, Shaun Johnson & Benji might be ok, Benji and Foran is not ok IMO. You have to start with what appears to be the best players in their best positions, Marshall ahead of Foran just, at 6, but Shaun Johnson is ahead of both at 7. Forans utility value could be priceless as providing an extra playmaker without sacrificing dummy half or halves and is a quality defensive option, his value from the bench far exceeds Shaun Johnson or Benji IMO. We won't beat Aussie by playing safe percentage football, it's got to be hard and fast styles taking advantage of broken play with the game breakers we do have, and I reckon it's the most game breakers the Kiwis have ever had, this team won't do conventional structure too well IMO. Which is the worry about SK.
Fien retired from rep footy last year, getting needled at the mo too.

 

[¿N. ig-mah¿]

Have you seen Fein's last 2 games? His last game was good but his first 3 were shocking. Anyway, he retired from International footy last year...

Saw bits of his last one, but only taking what I heard from a couple of other people about round 3. They reckoned he was fairly good in that one too. I knew he was pretty bad in rounds 1 and 2.

Didn't realize he had retired.

 

[Defence]

If I was coach kieran would be the first player picked

 

[OMG]

If I was coach kieran would be the first player picked

I know what your saying, but where do you go after that, do you leave out potential match winners and opt for safety by keeping the status quo, which hasn't been too flash so far, or give Shaun Johnson a go.
Kearney's on a bit of a hiding to nothing if he leaves one of them out and they get carved up or worse they defend really well but can't score, interesting decisions for Kearney to make, I believe the Pack was sorted by yesterday.

 

[Sup42]

An Argument could also be made along these lines.

Johnson is the same type of player as Marshall.

Marshall has kicked Johnsons ass when they played each other in opposing teams....

 

[InsideBall]

1. Kevin Locke
2. Jason Nightingale
3. Shaun Kenny-Dowall
4. Gerard Beale
5. Matt Duffie
6. Kieran Foran
7. Benji Marshall
8. Jared Waerea-Hargraves
9. Isaac Luke
10. Ben Matulino
11. Simon Mannering
12. Sonny Bill Williams
13. Jeremy Smith

14. Shaun Johnson
15. Jesse Bromwich
16. Greg Eastwood
17. Sam Rapira

My reasons:

Well, for mine Locke has been the most inform of the current Kiwi fullbacks PLAYING fullback. Beale has shown little spark there for me, Hoffman has been moved to the wing, and Whare has been largely ineffective for Penrith. Locke is a much better player than he is showing at present (though I don't think he has been anywhere near as bad as some suggest.) He has got an excellent passing game, and surprisingly to me, a great kicking game too. Could be a weapon for the Kiwis.

Nightingale is one of the first picked Kiwis, so he really needs no explaining. Duffie is for mine a forgotten man - he is easily one of the best wingers in the NRL in my opinion, and undoubtedly the best in the air by a long shot; the rate at which he comes down with the ball from the air is astonishing; he would be a major asset and 100% deserves his shot in the Kiwis.

Centre were the hardest positions for me to fill, especially now that Matai wants to play for Samoa. To be honest, I'm not totally happy with either of them, but I give them the benefit of the doubt, especially after Beale's magnificent performance there during the Townsville Test.

Kieran Foran is another first pick for mine, he has been in scintillating form for Manly, and seems to be getting better with every game. Marshall I place in there reluctantly, as, simply put, who else do we have? Moreover, we all know he will be picked anyway.

8-13 Here is our real strength, and, on balance, I actually think our pack is stronger than theres. If these guys can dominate the middle, it gives us a real (and perhaps only) chance of winning the game.

Shaun is in there to add spark, which, when in form, I think he will.

15-17 Very powerful forwards bench here, will ensure there is no let up once the initial props come off.

All in all, I think this could be one if not the strongest team we've ever fielded, and I give us a real chance with this roster.

Looking forward to it.

 

[OMG]

An Argument could also be made along these lines.

Johnson is the same type of player as Marshall.

Marshall has kicked Johnsons ass when they played each other in opposing teams....

Marshall is not a very good 7, neither is Foran. Could be said Shaun Johnson has kicked Marshalls arse in a semi and he was pretty close on debut too.

 

[Danpatmac]

1. Kevin Locke
2. Jason Nightingale
3. Shaun Kenny-Dowall
4. Gerard Beale
5. Matt Duffie
6. Kieran Foran
7. Benji Marshall
8. Jared Waerea-Hargraves
9. Isaac Luke
10. Ben Matulino
11. Simon Mannering
12. Sonny Bill Williams
13. Jeremy Smith

14. Shaun Johnson
15. Jesse Bromwich
16. Greg Eastwood
17. Sam Rapira

My reasons:

Well, for mine Locke has been the most inform of the current Kiwi fullbacks PLAYING fullback. Beale has shown little spark there for me, Hoffman has been moved to the wing, and Whare has been largely ineffective for Penrith. Locke is a much better player than he is showing at present (though I don't think he has been anywhere near as bad as some suggest.) He has got an excellent passing game, and surprisingly to me, a great kicking game too. Could be a weapon for the Kiwis.

Nightingale is one of the first picked Kiwis, so he really needs no explaining. Duffie is for mine a forgotten man - he is easily one of the best wingers in the NRL in my opinion, and undoubtedly the best in the air by a long shot; the rate at which he comes down with the ball from the air is astonishing; he would be a major asset and 100% deserves his shot in the Kiwis.

Centre were the hardest positions for me to fill, especially now that Matai wants to play for Samoa. To be honest, I'm not totally happy with either of them, but I give them the benefit of the doubt, especially after Beale's magnificent performance there during the Townsville Test.

Kieran Foran is another first pick for mine, he has been in scintillating form for Manly, and seems to be getting better with every game. Marshall I place in there reluctantly, as, simply put, who else do we have? Moreover, we all know he will be picked anyway.

8-13 Here is our real strength, and, on balance, I actually think our pack is stronger than theres. If these guys can dominate the middle, it gives us a real (and perhaps only) chance of winning the game.

Shaun is in there to add spark, which, when in form, I think he will.

15-17 Very powerful forwards bench here, will ensure there is no let up once the initial props come off.

All in all, I think this could be one if not the strongest team we've ever fielded, and I give us a real chance with this roster.

Looking forward to it.

Wasn't that performance of Beale's on the wing with Whare having an equally impressive game inside him at centre?
I chose Whare as my centre based on his performance as a centre.

as for Duffie, he was found lacking in his test opportunity with a lack of physicality in his game at that level.

 

[mt.wellington]

Well, for mine Locke has been the most inform of the current Kiwi fullbacks PLAYING fullback. Beale has shown little spark there for me, Hoffman has been moved to the wing, and Whare has been largely ineffective for Penrith. Locke is a much better player than he is showing at present (though I don't think he has been anywhere near as bad as some suggest.) He has got an excellent passing game, and surprisingly to me, a great kicking game too. Could be a weapon for the Kiwis

Locke, Beale and Whare are the only players playing FB that are Kiwis. I cant go past Hoffman. He is a FB through and through and has only been put on the wing to make way for Norman. He's been playing really well and has 10 times the spark and energy that Locke has been showing lately...

 

[Sup42]

Marshall is not a very good 7, neither is Foran. Could be said Shaun Johnson has kicked Marshalls arse in a semi and he was pretty close on debut too.

For mine...and this is just personal opinion ...emotional reaction to the situation, you can't not pick Marshall after he set up the Tries in the World cup final , especially the last one.

But I can't stand the way he plays or the majority of the way Johnson plays, however Johnson I have a bit of hope will continue to kick 40/20's and keep that mindless bombing crap out of his game .....and kick for territory.....if he does that....he would be so much better in a team environment than Marhsall.

Both are naturally greedy little piggies.

Foran hardly ever gets good ball from Marshal , if you go with Johnson then the instruction has to be that Foran is the go to senior player or nothing changes.

If Johnson comes right sweet....if not we need another international quality halfback and Foran and Johnson can scrap over the 6.

I don't agree that we need more game breakers either.....the tests we win or come close to winning are the 12 / 10 scorelines.....anytime Aussie gets past eighteen points we're screwed.

You have to keep close to Australia and dominate / match them in the forwards , defensively the team has to be very good to cover their endless attacking width across the park.

Sharing possession and territory is key, you can't go back to back sets of six on the line against their fire power and survive.

Good tackle five options and you're in with a chance.

The poms always give Australia a good go when the Lions play....Big forward packs , low error count / low penalty count.

You're never going to out 'game break' the Australians when you line their side man for man up against any other 13 on the planet.

On paper they own the Mill

 

[Defence]

I know what your saying, but where do you go after that, do you leave out potential match winners and opt for safety by keeping the status quo, which hasn't been too flash so far, or give Shaun Johnson a go.
Kearney's on a bit of a hiding to nothing if he leaves one of them out and they get carved up or worse they defend really well but can't score, interesting decisions for Kearney to make, I believe the Pack was sorted by yesterday.

Tough team to pick for sure- it's good.
IMO kierens physicality ESP on defence sets him apart from the other two- they're both spot defenders. Has less errors in his game too. So its a straight choice between Shaun Johnson and Marshall hmmm normally I'd say Marshall but the fact that he and kieran don't Combine well makes it complicated. It may come down to who gets the fullback spot- if it's Locke it won't hurt johnsons case- as we all know combinations in the spine are crucial.
But then what if kieran and Shaun Johnson doesn't work do we go crawling back to Marshall? I hate it when selections get political but benji doesn't seem like the type to take getting dropped too well and it could cause some friction heading into the world cup. Also like u say if sk leaves Marshall out and we lose u can just see the headlines and for those reasons I'm expecting the Marshall/ foran combo to be named again. Hopefully Johnson can put in another mom performance this week- then the pressure would be mounting

 

[Timothy]

Neither does Fien bro! And he has brainfarts under heavy pressure.

TL usually does the black jersey proud doesn't he?


I don't get the love for this guy...but that's just me.

Isn't there anybody else?

Yeh SKD simply just can't tackle and with Matai going to Samoa the kiwis may look to forwards once again as cover, has SBW put on too much muscle too maybe go into the centres? Maybe give us a mouth watering contest by facing off with GI.

 

[Sup42]

Yeh SKD simply just can't tackle and with Matai going to Samoa the kiwis may look to forwards once again as cover, has SBW put on too much muscle too maybe go into the centres? Maybe give us a mouth watering contest by facing off with GI.

Hell if we can play Mannering in the Centers.....Williams is no slouch on defense , played center at the same build last year , looked as good as any other center going around for NZ

 

[Timothy]

For mine...and this is just personal opinion ...emotional reaction to the situation, you can't not pick Marshall after he set up the Tries in the World cup final , especially the last one.

But I can't stand the way he plays or the majority of the way Johnson plays, however Johnson I have a bit of hope will continue to kick 40/20's and keep that mindless bombing crap out of his game .....and kick for territory.....if he does that....he would be so much better in a team environment than Marhsall.

Both are naturally greedy little piggies.

Foran hardly ever gets good ball from Marshal , if you go with Johnson then the instruction has to be that Foran is the go to senior player or nothing changes.

If Johnson comes right sweet....if not we need another international quality halfback and Foran and Johnson can scrap over the 6.

I don't agree that we need more game breakers either.....the tests we win or come close to winning are the 12 / 10 scorelines.....anytime Aussie gets past eighteen points we're screwed.

You have to keep close to Australia and dominate / match them in the forwards , defensively the team has to be very good to cover their endless attacking width across the park.

Sharing possession and territory is key, you can't go back to back sets of six on the line against their fire power and survive.

Good tackle five options and you're in with a chance.

The poms always give Australia a good go when the Lions play....Big forward packs , low error count / low penalty count.

You're never going to out 'game break' the Australians when you line their side man for man up against any other 13 on the planet.

On paper they own the Mill

What do you mean Foran gets bad ball from Marshall? that dickhead Kiwi coach keeps putting Foran at 7 and Marshall at 6 we should nearly start another forum and find out why Kearney keeps putting one of the games best running and defensive halves at 7

 

[Sup42]

What do you mean Foran gets bad ball from Marshall? that dickhead Kiwi coach keeps putting Foran at 7 and Marshall at 6 we should nearly start another forum and find out why Kearney keeps putting one of the games best running and defensive halves at 7

Sorry not that Marshall gives bad ball to Marshall , he almost never brings Foran into the structure of the play because there is no structure , no one knows where Benji's going....where the balls going....he's just like Johnson a one man Circus.

Totally agree swap them around....thing is Marshall will still be Marshall

 

[Timothy]

For mine...and this is just personal opinion ...emotional reaction to the situation, you can't not pick Marshall after he set up the Tries in the World cup final , especially the last one.

But I can't stand the way he plays or the majority of the way Johnson plays, however Johnson I have a bit of hope will continue to kick 40/20's and keep that mindless bombing crap out of his game .....and kick for territory.....if he does that....he would be so much better in a team environment than Marhsall.

Both are naturally greedy little piggies.

Foran hardly ever gets good ball from Marshal , if you go with Johnson then the instruction has to be that Foran is the go to senior player or nothing changes.

If Johnson comes right sweet....if not we need another international quality halfback and Foran and Johnson can scrap over the 6.

I don't agree that we need more game breakers either.....the tests we win or come close to winning are the 12 / 10 scorelines.....anytime Aussie gets past eighteen points we're screwed.

You have to keep close to Australia and dominate / match them in the forwards , defensively the team has to be very good to cover their endless attacking width across the park.

Sharing possession and territory is key, you can't go back to back sets of six on the line against their fire power and survive.

Good tackle five options and you're in with a chance.

The poms always give Australia a good go when the Lions play....Big forward packs , low error count / low penalty count.

You're never going to out 'game break' the Australians when you line their side man for man up against any other 13 on the planet.

On paper they own the Mill

You gotta stop listening to the Aussie press! everytime someone plays against Australia you could be mistaken for thinking you're taking on an immortals 13. There's a reason they got Uate to change allegencies and that's because they don't have 13 players who are going to scare you off the pitch. Smith, Thurston, Gallen, Tamou and Inglis are definately serious players but the rest don't really scare me. You could argue slater but he realy doesn't turn it on against the Kiwis or warriors, you only need to kick to him early in the tackle count and isolate him and then hammer him twice and he seems to go wayward.

 

[OMG]

Probable Aussie team IMO

1.Slater
2.Uate
3.Inglis
4.Hodges
5.Boyd/Merrit
6. Thurston
7. Cronk
8.Tamou
9.Smith
10.Scott
11.Bird
12.Gallen
13.Myles

14.Fafita
15.Merrin
16.Thaiday
17.Cherry Evans

 

[Danpatmac]

Probable Aussie team IMO

1.Slater
2.Uate
3.Inglis
4.Hodges
5.Boyd/Merrit
6. Thurston
7. Cronk
8.Tamou
9.Smith
10.Scott
11.Bird
12.Gallen
13.Myles

14.Fafita
15.Merrin
16.Thaiday
17.Cherry Evans

Close, but this is probably more likely

1. Cheat
2. Fijian
3. Arsehole
4. Arsehole
5. Arsehole
6. Crybaby
7. Arsehole
8. Maori
9. cu**
10. Arsehole
11. cu**
12. cu**
13. Shithead

14. Arsehole
15, Arsehole
16. cu**
17. Arsehole

 

[Defence]

Probable Aussie team IMO

1.Slater
2.Uate
3.Inglis
4.Hodges
5.Boyd/Merrit
6. Thurston
7. Cronk
8.Tamou
9.Smith
10.Scott
11.Bird
12.Gallen
13.Myles

14.Fafita
15.Merrin
16.Thaiday
17.Cherry Evans

Is Morris injured? I'd be suprised if he wasn't on the wing or tho it would be great to see Merritt get a go- how he's never played for nsw is beyond me. Fafita and merrin would be shock selections too- I hope they don't pick them coz they're both in mean form