Internationals Spoilers and Match Talk: Australia v New Zealand

[Joe 90_old]

Dominated up front. No forward made 100m. Turned in the tackle all night. Slow plays of the ball. No platform at all for our backs to work off. Made worse with basic errors and dodgy ref calls. Hope Kearney gives that forward pack an almight rev up.

Inu for Matai. if his injury is a liability then he needs to go.

Fien for Leuluai. Luke to hooker.

 

[NEWBIE_old]

does anyone have the posession and territory stats im sure it was probably at least 60 - 40 to the aussies in both posession and territory

 

[MiXmasterreece_old]

ok - well we didnt get a fair go from the start but thats no excuse:

* completely dominated up front - why is j cayless not there? blair and rapira are not ready yet
* for everything ropati does on attack, hes a complete liability on d
* matai is playing on borrowed time, clutching after every tackle
* Thommy....... waste of space in the black jersey.

 

[a.c.e_old]

What the hell!! Cant log on to WP for some reason Taj. those convicts must be thinking I took off when the going got tough!!

Anyways on the game:

Slater the wanker! Doing a Ridge again coming in with the leg, they should red card him.

 

[commonsense_old]

blame the selectors and ref all u want but we cannot play the aussies by giving up possession and giving away so many penalties. the mistackle count was very embarrassing. it was so hard to watch that game. mental strength is wat the team needs.

first and foremost we have to fix up our fundamentals. then should we worry about cutting the weak link players. even tho i said all that the reffing was indeed terrible. i hope bennett or kearney gets in future "neutral" refs ears b4 the games. u know ricky stuart always has his meetings with the refs b4 the game.

if i had to rate players.
i thought benji looked dangerous at times. the back 3 (hohaia, vatuvei, perrett) were solid. i love steve matai but he had a shocker. if he is injured he shouldnt be playing. when he is fit and healthy he definitely should be in the 17. our forwards got outmuscled but that was due to the uneven possession.

im looking at this 17 for the next match:
1. hohaia
2. perrett
3. sa
4. inu
5. vatuvei
6. marshall
7. fien
8. cayless
9. luke
10. blair
11. mannering
12. faalogo
13. smith

14. leuluai
15. eastwood
16. manu
17. rapira

 

[Kid-Dynamite_old]

We definitley need Issac Luke back, our play out of dummy half was weak!

 

[bigstuboy_old]

dont think it matter'd who you pick playing one out league is not gunna beat any national team on a dry field that was terrible why cant we move the ball wide like the aussies do and find the gaps all we did was runn straight up the guts that must be so hard to defend not. issac luke must come into the team benji and thomas need to take more control of the play do some set moves or something like the move that set up our first try

 

[bigstuboy_old]

and how couragous was steve matai he shoulda went off but he didn probably knew that would be his only game in the world cup cause he will be suspended and he needs surgery. Could he be any tougher wata legend !! could anyone tell me what happend to brent tate looked like he was knocked out but he didnt get a head knock ?

 

[daj3_old]

They'll stick with leuluai, but I reckon they've learnt their lesson with ropo and an injured matai.

Hohaia wasn't flash, positional play again shown up... yeah he needs to be on the park somewhere, but if he's gonna be fullback he needs to get the basics right.

 

[kingdamo_old]

Hohaia had a good running game, I didn't enjoy the game at all. Did anyone else?

I thought Fien had a schocker, and what a sight was it to see Manu run over Tate haha! I'm glad Tate is only concussed too, I was a bit worried when he went off injured..

 

[Viking_old]

They'll stick with leuluai, but I reckon they've learnt their lesson with ropo and an injured matai.

Hohaia wasn't flash, positional play again shown up... yeah he needs to be on the park somewhere, but if he's gonna be fullback he needs to get the basics right.

All true. Aussies centres are 6'5 and 105kgs, ours were 5'9 and 90kgs and one of them was defending with one arm.

You need a bigger defender on Inglis, he swats the small guys easy. Sa or Inu would've shut down at least two of the tries on that wing, Matai was arm tackling because he can't put a shoulder in, it's too painful for him, courageous effort from him but a poor option from the coaching staff. They could've had Sa on for him as soon as it was apparent he was struggling. They could've even had Mannering at centre on that side to contain Inglis.

Israel's first try was exactly like the one he put on Ropo and Manu in the Storms last loss against the Warriors. How many times was Manu caught trying to cover 3 attackers? I can only remember the ball getting out to Manu on the wing just twice and both times he made big metres. I hope they don't try to get the ball to him more often, he might score numerous tries like he does at the Warriors. That gameplan is so obvious it just might work!

There was NO leadership.

 

[hoanihorsfall_old]

NEGATIVES
*Matai was appalling and he shouldve been pulled ... lame taackling attempt were driving me crazy. (Saa or Inu please)
* slow play of the ball didnt help
* dummy half play and stupid mistakes. Why did Rapira go for the strip??
* Didnt use manu enough earlier on.
* Aus knew whowas going to kick (Benji) and always rushed up on him.
* Luleuai just past the ball all day and did nothing else. Fein to 1/2 and Luke to hooker.
* too many errors which let them off the hook.

POSITIVES
* I though our forwards played well.
* Benji was damgerous with the ball in hand
* Scrambling defense was more commited.

I think we will be better next match.

 

[Mangi-Maori_old]

I listened on the radio. The commentators gave Matai heaps when he hit Gallen high. "Matai you're an idiot" .... They also said if the Kiwis had Australia's halves they would of won.

 

[Northern_Union]

Funny how Thurston is half Maori.

 

[garyhobson_old]

blame the selectors and ref all u want but we cannot play the aussies by giving up possession and giving away so many penalties. the mistackle count was very embarrassing. it was so hard to watch that game. mental strength is wat the team needs.

first and foremost we have to fix up our fundamentals. then should we worry about cutting the weak link players. even tho i said all that the reffing was indeed terrible. i hope bennett or kearney gets in future "neutral" refs ears b4 the games. u know ricky stuart always has his meetings with the refs b4 the game.

if i had to rate players.
i thought benji looked dangerous at times. the back 3 (hohaia, vatuvei, perrett) were solid. i love steve matai but he had a shocker. if he is injured he shouldnt be playing. when he is fit and healthy he definitely should be in the 17. our forwards got outmuscled but that was due to the uneven possession.

im looking at this 17 for the next match:
1. hohaia
2. perrett
3. sa
4. inu
5. vatuvei
6. marshall
7. fien
8. cayless
9. luke
10. blair
11. mannering
12. faalogo
13. smith

14. leuluai
15. eastwood
16. manu
17. rapira

I still believe the Kiwis can win it. Krisnan Inu and Isaac Luke should have played last night, I have no idea what they were thinking when they left those two guys out, two of their best attacking players.

Stephen Kearney says he owes Thomas Leuluai for playing him with 2 days to train with the Kiwis before the anzac test, Stephen Kearney owes him nothing! Thomas has tried and failed against Australia. Time to move on, hes just a number, he provides nothing. Kiwis were better off playing Krisnan Inu or Isaac Luke at halfback than him.

Get our 1, 6, 7, and 9 sorted.

With the personel to pick from this is my team:

S.Perrett
K.Inu
S.Matai
J.Ropati
M.Vatuvei
S.Sa
B.Marshall
N.Cayless
I.Luke
A.Blair
S.Mannering
S.Manu
G.Eastwood

L.Hohaia
D.Fa'alogo
S.Rapira
J.Smith or E.Tuimvavave

 

[Iafeta_old]

A number of things from the game;

A) I thought it was supposed to be neutral refs? That was a joke, Ashley Klein MAY referee in the English Super League... but where is he from? He's an Australian. So it's only neutral refs when it suits the Austral.. I mean RLIF (as if there's any difference between the two). Klein was appallingingly one sided.

B) Ropati should have had a penalty try. Billy Slater was formally warned after the grand final about the kamikaze baseball stud dive. It seems everyone knew about it, except the officials (suprise surprise).

C) The Kiwis were outplayed in practically every position. Up front they were soft, Fien was atrociously laboured, Leuluai plays the game at 1/4 speed... there were three blokes who only who looked like they could split their line. Perrett, Adam Blair and Sika Manu. The rest were average to poor.

It really is a sad indictment to say this, but IMO international rugby league is largely dead and has been for probably 20 years. Every now and then there's a once off white flag wave of mercy but generally Australia kick everyone in the teeth. They say it, but I do believe it that they could have fielded a back up XIII and demolished New Zealand last night. Even forgetting those guys who are out injured...

1) Karmichael Hunt
2) Anthony Quinn
3) Colin Best
4) Jamie Lyon
5) Denan Kemp
6) Matt Orford
7) Scott Prince
8) Mark O'Meley
9) Michael Ennis
10) Jason Ryles
11) Nathan Hindmarsh
12) Anthony Watmough
13) Terry Campese

Bench

Ben Hannant
Lagi Setu
Braith Anasta
Heath L'Estrange

That's also not including some of the other good players like Michael Jennings who are playing for other countries but could easily play for Australia. That team would demolish New Zealand right now.

PS: Can someone please gag Graeme Lowe, it's bad enough losing, it's worse still to continually be reminded about something dumb he's said pre-game that is supposed to usher in the era. It will never happen, love the passion, need a reality check though.

Team to be fair dinkum for next match (oh and for christs sakes, go with a bit of variation, dummy half running was murdered because it was the same old same old)

1 Jason Nightingale
2 Sam Perrett
3 Krisnan Inu (Steve Matai looks a shot duck to me)
4 Jerome Ropati
5 Manu Vatuvei
6 Setamaita Sa
7 Benji Marshall
8 Nathan Cayless (c)
9 Isaac Luke
10 Adam Blair
11 Simon Mannering
12 Sika Manu
13 Jeremy Smith

Lance Hohaia
Sam Rapira
David Fa'alogo
Greg Eastwood

Leuluai and Fien must go.

 

[Tajhay_old]

1 Jason Nightingale
2 Sam Perrett
3 Krisnan Inu (Steve Matai looks a shot duck to me)
4 Jerome Ropati
5 Manu Vatuvei
6 Setamaita Sa
7 Benji Marshall
8 Nathan Cayless (c)
9 Isaac Luke
10 Adam Blair
11 Simon Mannering
12 Sika Manu
13 Jeremy Smith

Lance Hohaia
Sam Rapira
David Fa'alogo
Greg Eastwood

Leuluai and Fien must go.

like that team...id swap perrett and nightingale though.

i like the idea of using benji as a halfback and get him first receiver. sa would be a good choice at 5/8. he is a creative player and is solid on defence. we cannot afford to have benji and thomas as our halves as they miss around 10 tackles per game together as it is.

id be weary of moving hohaia as i think he was one of our few shining lights and looked good when he ran with the ball, but at the same time there is an opportunity for him to get closer to the action.

if we use the same team against the aussies again (semi or final) we will get whooped.

i personally thought that our go forward was extremely weak. blair didnt do much. cayless was fairly involved and had a good game but needed to take up the ball more often. mannering was disappointing. i thought that eastwood provided a bit of spark from the bench.

helatau is not upto nrl standard let alone intl.

 

[Viking_old]

I listened on the radio. The commentators gave Matai heaps when he hit Gallen high. "Matai you're an idiot" .... They also said if the Kiwis had Australia's halves they would of won.

It was a swinging arm but Gallen had a lie down trying to get Matai sent off again. He would've been under instructions from Stuart to do exactly that whenever Matai tackled him.

Just read on NRL.COM that Matai has copped a one game suspension.

Slater should get the rest of the year off IMO.

 

[Northern_Union]

Why would they ban Slater? He wears green and gold....wrong colors to be banned.

 

[Viking_old]

Why would they ban Slater? He wears green and gold....wrong colors to be banned.

Too true, lucky he's not a Kiwi eh, Melbourne would've booked him in for immediate unneccessary surgery if he wore a black jersey.