Internationals Spoilers and match talk: Australia v New Zealand

[Northern_Union]

Hohaia and Leuluai should never be in a black jersey again. They are that bad.

We need to bite the bullet and get a hooker in. Masada Iosefa from Penrith or Fein. Luke to halfback. Webb to stand-off. Roberts is halves cover and if Ropati is selected he covers 6 and centre. We have wingers such as Nightingale and Vatuvei, and Inu and Perrett give us F/B cover it they don't push someone else out.

Plenty of options that don't involve using Roberts in the frontline, or the two muppets.

I was with you until you said

Ropati is selected he covers 6

.

So your going to have a bloke cover 6 for the Kiwis who was consistently the poorest regular 6 in the NRL?

 

[Mone_old]

Ahhh i think i see our problem, i'm talking attacking halves and your talking ball playing. My fault i used the term ball player in stead of attacking halves.

But i see no reason why we have to follow Australias lead and played the game down a 25 metre corridor in the middle of the park and turn a 5/8 into a another forward ALA, Bird.

Agreed, we dont have the pace to cover having a forward at 5/8 like the Aussies do.

 

[PB_old]

I was with you until you said .

So your going to have a bloke cover 6 for the Kiwis who was consistently the poorest regular 6 in the NRL?

No. I'm going to have everyone in the universe cover 6 over the muppets INCLUDING Ropati. Needless to say, the whole universe covers quite a few options.

 

[Mone_old]

Frank the tank was his usual lazy self and Lance covers everything.

Come on NU 112m in 33 minutes lazy?

 

[Northern_Union]

Those numbers aint that impressive.

 

[Mone_old]

Those numbers aint that impressive.

Are you having a larf then?
He was the 4th highest mtre gaining forward on the park counting both sides in only 33 minutes in'it.

 

[PB_old]

This is after the tinkering, NU. A space for Marshall in the squad, but a lot of water has to pass under the injury bridge before he gets near the field. Captaincy to Williams. VC to Mannering. Inu to kick goals.

1. Perrett
2. Nightingale
3. Inu
4. Soliola
5. Vatuvei
6. Webb
7. Luke
8. N.Cayless
9. Iosefa
10. Asotasi
11. Williams (c)
12. Blair
13. Mannering (vc)

14. J Cayless
15. Fa'alago
16. Lima
17. Fein

Extended Squad for WC

18. Pritchard
19. Smith (Melb)
20. Marshall
21. Sa

 

[Iafeta_old]

you only have to have a hand on Smith and it's a double movement.

You have to have some reasonable control of the attacking player. Luke had fallen off, try.

The strip, Paul Gallen stripped the ball fractionally before a second man came in. Play on.

 

[Iafeta_old]

Best backrower in the world and he's carting it up like a front rower. Yep that's what the Kiwi's really need.

Try assist? Please. Guess you could say Webb had a try assist too. He handled tha ball at some point in that half. Soliola made that try, doesn't matter who passed it to him - he made the space and beat the tackles.

Sonny Bill had a great game. Pity he had no assistance in creating plays from the 6 & 7.

Top game, SBW.

 

[Iafeta_old]

1 Inu
2 Perrett
3 Soliola
4 Ropati
5 Vatuvei
6 Marshall
7 Roberts
8 Lima
9 Luke
10 Asotasi
11 Mannering
12 Williams (captain)
13 Fa'alogo

Bench

N Cayless (I thought he played a good game)
Pritchard (Again, I thought he added a dynamic edge)
Halatau (I can't believe I'm saying this, but what a game out of dummy half)
Blair (Does need to work on his 1-1 defence though, soft try up the guts, but like his ball skills)

Extra players for consideration

Setaimata Sa has to be in the squad
Shaun Kenny-Dowell
Brent Webb
Jeremy Smith (hard decision that, I thought he too went well)
Jason Nightingale (Had a good test debut)
Sione Faumuina (Ha ha - just kidding)

Can't keep flogging a dead horse, Hohaia and Leuluai were not first grade halves and they're definitely not test quality halves. Most of the night I kept thinking, if Stacey Jones was out there kicking it around the Kiwis would be going very close here. The forwards were savage on Australia for the last 50 minutes, the outside backs showed they could rumble, we just couldn't put the two components together with our weak halves.

 

[Kav_old]

Hohaia and Leuluai should never be in a black jersey again. They are that bad.

We need to bite the bullet and get a hooker in. Masada Iosefa from Penrith or Fein. Luke to halfback. Webb to stand-off. Roberts is halves cover and if Ropati is selected he covers 6 and centre. We have wingers such as Nightingale and Vatuvei, and Inu and Perrett give us F/B cover it they don't push someone else out.

Plenty of options that don't involve using Roberts in the frontline, or the two muppets.

Iceman, you're starting to talk my language again; particularly Luke at half and Perrett at fullback. Your choice of Webb at stand off is interesting! I always saw him as more suited to that position and his poor performance in the test means I would not have him at the back again. A fully fit and confident Benji must be first choice but Brent would be my next choice.

Kav

 

[Kav_old]

wonder if bennet will help out for the World Cup.

It was mentioned somewhere that he was only available for this test.

Kav

 

[Iafeta_old]

At this stage, Kav, Kearney is keen for him to stick around, I don't think we've seen the last of Wayne I'd imagine him masterminding a NZ World Cup win to give the international game a leg up would be something to drive him.

 

[Kav_old]

Sa's aggression and enthusiasm was the shining light in the first half, how can he not get a spot somewhere.

Put him on the bench - he can cover the backs and second row. Who do you then leave out? Probably Fa'alogo and promote Jeremy Smith to start.

Kav

 

[Kav_old]

At this stage, Kav, Kearney is keen for him to stick around, I don't think we've seen the last of Wayne I'd imagine him masterminding a NZ World Cup win to give the international game a leg up would be something to drive him.

Here's hoping Feka - his half time "chat" seemed to work okay.

Kav

 

[Iafeta_old]

Did anyone read the sign on the wall? I thought it was terrific

"How do we want to be remembered?"

And on that were words like

80 Minutes - well we played the full 80
Disciplined - I think we won the penalty count

I couldn't read the rest, but that stood out. Apparently a lot of the players were in awe of Bennett early in the week and he just told them a lot about the history of the centenary test, and they lapped it up. Great bloke, some in the Australian media give him a bad wrap, but he's a player's mentor first and foremost and damn successful at building a culture.

 

[Iafeta_old]

One really, really, really ordinary moment in that test... the minutes silence for the greatest coach of them all, Jack Gibson, and some pathetic human beings use the minutes silence to shout out things like

"Give it to them Kiwis!"
"Come on Webby"

I mean seriously, Jack Gibson transcends rugby league. Those blokes, whoever they were are a bunch of moronic cowards.

 

[Mone_old]

One really, really, really ordinary moment in that test... the minutes silence for the greatest coach of them all, Jack Gibson, and some pathetic human beings use the minutes silence to shout out things like

"Give it to them Kiwis!"
"Come on Webby"

I mean seriously, Jack Gibson transcends rugby league. Those blokes, whoever they were are a bunch of moronic cowards.

Yeah I thought those guys really let us down, it was embarasing.

 

[PB_old]

Iceman, you're starting to talk my language again; particularly Luke at half and Perrett at fullback. Your choice of Webb at stand off is interesting! I always saw him as more suited to that position and his poor performance in the test means I would not have him at the back again. A fully fit and confident Benji must be first choice but Brent would be my next choice.

Kav

Always thought you talking about Webb at standoff was on the right track, Kav, but there was no one adequate to cover. Moving him would have made another weakness. There are replacements now, so he's best to be involved as much as possible. Genius spotting of you, may I say?

Benji would be my first choice also. But he must be, as you say, "fully fit and confident". Any doubt at all means he must be left out of a top XVII. Any. We can't afford to include him and have him break down.

 

[Northern_Union]

You have to have some reasonable control of the attacking player. Luke had fallen off, try.

The strip, Paul Gallen stripped the ball fractionally before a second man came in. Play on.

I'll shout you a trip to the optometrist.