ACT Brumbies v NSW Waratahs, GIO Stadium 31 March

[TSR]

Bit of trivia from kick & chase, Simmons got the Tahs player of the match. Phipps said it was as much about his work before the game in sorting out their defensive lineout

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Nah - that can’t be right. He’s shit. Don’t the players know anything.

Must have been professional courtesy.

 

[Silverado]

Nah - that can’t be right. He’s shit. Don’t the players know anything.

Must have been professional courtesy.

He wasn't so shit when he stole the line out with a minute to go. He might lack in general play, but at the set piece he's very good


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[Braveheart81]

He wasn't so shit when he stole the line out with a minute to go. He might lack in general play, but at the set piece he's very good

I think you missed the sarcasm that was positively dripping off that post.

 

[Pfitzy]

He wasn't so shit when he stole the line out with a minute to go. He might lack in general play, but at the set piece he's very good

If he could kick that habit of grabbing people in the air once per game, he'd be better.

 

[Silverado]

I think you missed the sarcasm that was positively dripping off that post.

Sorry, my bad


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[cyclopath]

I think you missed the sarcasm that was positively dripping off that post.

It exuded sarcasm.
I only posted because I like the word "exude".

 

[Up the Guts]

If he could kick that habit of grabbing people in the air once per game, he'd be better.

I see a lot of players doing it nowadays not just Simmons (although he is a repeat offender) and I'm starting to think players test out the ref early in the game to see if they pick it up with the view that if the ref misses it they can use it as a tactic to sack a maul.

 

[Brumby Runner]

Evidence last week that it might be rubbing off onto Hanigan as well. Or is that just the manifestation of the pre-match defensive lineout training undertaken, according to Phipps, by Simmo?

 

[cyclopath]

I see a lot of players doing it nowadays not just Simmons (although he is a repeat offender) and I'm starting to think players test out the ref early in the game to see if they pick it up with the view that if the ref misses it they can use it as a tactic to sack a maul.

If a lock goes for a play like the one Simmons did late in the game, he only needs to get it slightly wrong to incur a penalty. He has one arm reaching over trying to tip the ball back - if he connects more with the opponent's arm than the ball, it will be playing the jumper in the air. It's a high risk / high reward play (certainly in that situation). Maybe why so many teams compete very little on opponents' ball.

 

[Derpus]

It exuded sarcasm.
I only posted because I like the word "exude".

exude
ɪɡˈzjuːd,ɛɡˈzjuːd/Submit
verb
1.
(with reference to moisture or a smell) discharge or be discharged slowly and steadily.
"the beetle exudes a caustic liquid"

How fuckin grot is the first definition tho.

 

[TSR]

Yes - definitely sarcasm on my part.

The whole grabbing people in the air happens all the time. Like a lot of things, refs often let it go and sometimes pick up the smallest infraction. But Simmons is often careless when he does it and makes it easy for the refs to pin him.

 

[Lindommer]

Simmons seems to be programmed to commit one brain fart per march; to be penalised for an interference in the air's about as good as it gets for Rob. BUT, in this match I'm going to stick up for the former Queenslander: the throw wasn't straight (check a replay) and Simmons had to reach so far over to the Brumbies side his jump got all out of shape resulting in him scraping the Brumby jumper on the way down. Basically, Rob was robbed.......

 

[Hawko]

Simmons seems to be programmed to commit one brain fart per march; to be penalised for an interference in the air's about as good as it gets for Rob. BUT, in this match I'm going to stick up for the former Queenslander: the throw hasn't straight (check a replay) and Simmons had to reach so far over to the Brumbies side his jump got all out of shape resulting in him scraping the Brumby jumper on the way down. Basically, Rob was robbed...

If that was the only one I'd give the refs the benefit of the doubt. But after pulling it up twice in the first 20, the ref tore that page out of his rule book and forgot about it. The Brumbies thereafter threw to the right shoulder all night, except for one that the hooker threw straight by mistake and Simmons pinched it.

 

[Brumby Runner]

If that was the only one I'd give the refs the benefit of the doubt. But after pulling it up twice in the first 20, the ref tore that page out of his rule book and forgot about it. The Brumbies thereafter threw to the right shoulder all night, except for one that the hooker threw straight by mistake and Simmons pinched it.

Funny thing, that. Lineouts are different in many respects to scrums, and one of those aspects is that the inside shoulder will be either the right or left depending on which side of the field the lineout occurs. So, if they did indeed throw to the RH shoulder all night, then probably roughly half of them would have been on the Tahs' side of the line. But I'm certain you know all that and was just using hyperbole to illustrate a point.

However, to my eyes there was little difference in the straightness of the throws by both teams, and as I mentioned earlier, I have seen games where the throws have been much more crooked than in this one.

Nic Berry is not what I'd call a fully competent referee and he made some poor decisions in both this game and yesterday's game between the Canes and Sharks. He needs to have a long, enforced rest.

 

[dru]

If he could kick that habit of grabbing people in the air once per game, he'd be better.

Yeah, a little bit. He is attacking the opposition throw, it's a risk. The upside is his occasional win against the throw. Also in the last game at lest one "grab in the air" was the result of the lifters pushing across the tunnel. Might have been a bit of a Simmo issue too, if he jumped that way chasing a skewed throw.

And while I understand that fans see the fluff impact, they should still check his stats. Final, that last game (one swallow does not a summer make, but it is still heartening) he worked in tight with determination to be at the ruck. Very pleasing to see his peers recognise him.

Plenty of good locks coming through, but on form right now I'm not convinced you could place Coleman, Arnold, Douglas or Carter much higher than Simmo. He can certainly be vexing for fans, and he can be just as poor as his critics claim. But he can be good too. Like his last game.

 

[Brumby Runner]

Yeah, a little bit. He is attacking the opposition throw, it's a risk. The upside is his occasional win against the throw. Also in the last game at lest one "grab in the air" was the result of the lifters pushing across the tunnel. Might have been a bit of a Simmo issue too, if he jumped that way chasing a skewed throw.

And while I understand that fans see the fluff impact, they should still check his stats. Final, that last game (one swallow does not a summer make, but it is still heartening) he worked in tight with determination to be at the ruck. Very pleasing to see his peers recognise him.

Plenty of good locks coming through, but on form right now I'm not convinced you could place Coleman, Arnold, Douglas or Carter much higher than Simmo. He can certainly be vexing for fans, and he can be just as poor as his critics claim. But he can be good too. Like his last game.

Too few and far between. It is instructive that his fans still hark back to his game at No 6 a couple of years ago to claim he is a quality player.

 

[dru]

Too few and far between. It is instructive that his fans still hark back to his game at No 6 a couple of years ago to claim he is a quality player.

You might be right. For now he is 1 from 1.