Brumbies 2018

[Slim 293]

I think we can rotate the squad ad nauseum and get the same result........

I have said before that the Brumbies need to follow what Thorn is doing at the Reds and start giving opportunities to those players who have impressed for the Vikings and Runners, but I'm not sure the current coaching setup can get the best out of them (remember the Vikings first season?) and it could more harm than good to the confidence of those younger players.

Having said that, it might improve McKellar's standings if those guys were to deliver results, but I'm skeptical.........

Anyways, I don't know why Banks was dropped in the first place, but we need to have him back in the starting team.

I've been a big cheerleader of Cusack going into the season, but I'm not sure if he's done enough to be elevated to the starting team - his NRC form was exceptional and he displayed good leadership so I think his time will come.

I don't know if dumping our Wallaby props is going to achieve much, considering how poor the scrum has been in the latter half of matches. But I would persist with Sione over Mayhew as he has a higher ceiling.

I think we need Carter back in the starting side, as the set piece has really struggled without him. Rory Arnold has been the best of a bad bunch and has added some much needed physicality at times, wheras Enever has been disappointing.

At halfback I would drop Lucas and give Lonergan a shot off the bench - he deserves it. Lucas has not impressed me at all throughout the trials and the season so far.

Despite Kuridrani's typical lethargic Super Rugby form, he was instrumental in a couple of the Brumbies best attacking moments on the weekend and is solid in defence.

As much as it sucks to say it......... the real weak link in the backline is still at 12.

 

[RoffsChoice]

Maybe don't do it all at once (I agree that it's over the top, I'm just angry), but there are a lot of people in the side who need to be reminded that they aren't safe just because they started last week. In particular, guys like Powell, Lealiifano, and Speight need to be reminded that starters shouldn't be slacking off before half time, or ten minutes after the half; if they can only manage half an hour, they can do that from the bench.

Likewise, Fainga'a and Abel need a kick up the ass to get their lineout throwing right; Slim is right that we miss Carter at the set piece, but he could only paper over the crack that is the wounded ducks thrown by Fainga'a and Abel. If McInerney can throw in the lineout and scrummage well, I would pick him, just to say to those guys that they have to be able to do their job before I care too much about what else they do on the field. How long did we rail against TPN being the Wallabies hooker because he couldn't throw a lineout, and now we're fine with it in our own house?

The guys who haven't really let us down are Sio, Ala'alatoa, Arnold, McCaffrey, Pocock, Naisarani, Hawera, and Kuridrani. That's not a proper spine of a team, but it's enough stability to get away with some wholesale changes.

 

[fatprop]

Brumbies really look like a team in transition, they looked nice early, but lost shape

 

[mst]

Like I posted in the game thread, both the Mst were taken back by the sentiments of a few of the Brumbies players post game. We have spoken to them many times after losing and we have never before encountered what we did. They simply don't have much optimism nor hope and are just frustrated and over it.

There is more to this and more and more it is pointing towards McKellar.

 

[mst]

Brumbies really look like a team in transition, they looked nice early, but lost shape

Yeah, until about the 1:20 mark. IIRC thats when the Tahs got the ball for the first time and went wide to Naiyaravoro.

 

[fatprop]

Yeah, until about the 1:20 mark. IIRC thats when the Tahs got the ball for the first time and went wide to Naiyaravoro.

Nah, the first try was well structured, with good intent to pass in contact and that was the 25th minute

 

[Tomikin]

Statistically, our attack is better than last year, but we certainly look less capable. And, talent wise, I'll say we're better everywhere but 6. But there's a complacency about the team. They need proper coaching, that's clear, but they also need to be shocked into fighting tooth and nail for their position.

To that end, I actually feel like I want to see basically complete rotation. Next week, pick this team:
Mayhew
McInerney
Erasmus
Enever
Swain
McCaffrey
Pocock
Naisarani
Lucas
Hawera
Dargaville
Smith (c)
Kuridrani
Muirhead
Banks

Fainga'a
Sio
Ala'alatoa
Rory Arnold
Cusack
Powell
Lealiifano
Peni

I know it looks insane. It feels a bit insane. But we're a failure as a team as is, so try something to fix it.

Shaggin is going kill you for no Verity-Am

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

 

[mst]

Nah, the first try was well structured, with good intent to pass in contact and that was the 25th minute

You mean the one where the Tahs missed at the breakdown and we got lucky with only Hawera getting to the breakdown and then a lucky kick was put through?

Exact same run on the exact same line from the exact same formation later in the game was turned over by Will Miller with again only Hawera in support but late.

 

[jimmydubs]

Shaggin is going kill you

I hope it’s shaggin that gets me in the end. Better than alternatives.

 

[cyclopath]

I hope it’s shaggin that gets me in the end. Better than alternatives.

If shaggin' gets you in your end, there are always antibiotics.

 

[Brumby Jack]

Folau Fainga'a signs a 2 year contract extension

 

[Brumby Jack]

Brumbies heading back to Tokyo in June to play Suntory in an exhibition match on the 17th

 

[RoffsChoice]

If it helps us keep some sharpness during the internationals, I'm fine with it. But please no injuries like losing Smiler in the 10s a few years ago.

 

[mst]

If Lilo leaves we may need to consider future options at 12. Depending on how unloved he actually is (yet to be determined), IMHO one player that could be a good one to target is Duncan Paia’aua.

I am still banging this drum! Paia'aua now dropped out of the Reds 23. I think he could be a good addition at 12 next season.

 

[tonydallas]

Maybe don't do it all at once (I agree that it's over the top, I'm just angry), but there are a lot of people in the side who need to be reminded that they aren't safe just because they started last week. In particular, guys like Powell, Lealiifano, and Speight need to be reminded that starters shouldn't be slacking off before half time, or ten minutes after the half; if they can only manage half an hour, they can do that from the bench.

Likewise, Fainga'a and Abel need a kick up the ass to get their lineout throwing right; Slim is right that we miss Carter at the set piece, but he could only paper over the crack that is the wounded ducks thrown by Fainga'a and Abel. If McInerney can throw in the lineout and scrummage well, I would pick him, just to say to those guys that they have to be able to do their job before I care too much about what else they do on the field. How long did we rail against TPN being the Wallabies hooker because he couldn't throw a lineout, and now we're fine with it in our own house?

The guys who haven't really let us down are Sio, Ala'alatoa, Arnold, McCaffrey, Pocock, Naisarani, Hawera, and Kuridrani. That's not a proper spine of a team, but it's enough stability to get away with some wholesale changes.

I think Fainga'a has a bright future , seen him in NRC and shute shield , probably the best hooker in both comps. I think hes done well when given his chances . McInnery on the other hand is ass . Abel is a decent back up

 

[RoffsChoice]

McInnery on the other hand is ass

The kid's only had 2 minutes, let's not write him off just yet!
Mann-Rea is a real miss because he is a strong scrummager, throws the ball well in a lineout, and is good around the park. Both Abel and Fainga'a are generally better around the field, but Abel's lineout work is average-at-best, and Fainga'a are awful. Likewise, we're quite vulnerable to a big hit from the opposition when Abel is on.

My point with considering McInerney was that we haven't seen him in a scrum or lineout yet, and, if he's better at those than Abel and Fainga'a, give him a run.

 

[MarkJ]

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/rug...-struggling-act-brumbies-20180403-h0yasg.html

I think the article should have been dated 1 April

 

[Brumby Jack]

Michael Oakman-Hunt on a short term deal with McCaffrey out 4-6 weeks.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/rug...o-after-mccaffrey-injury-20180408-p4z8e9.html

 

[Brumbieman]

Is it time the ACT Brumbies made a deal with the devil and signed Quade Cooper?
The Queensland Reds outcast represents one of the most dumbfounding predicaments in Australian rugby history as the highest-paid park footballer in the country.


Cooper was lured back from the riches of Europe on a lucrative three-year deal but is now playing Brisbane club rugby for Souths on $750,000 per season.


The Reds came to Canberra this week without their much-maligned star after first-year coach Brad Thorn sensationally discarded the 70-Test Wallaby for cultural reasons.
Cooper has 18 months remaining on his Rugby Australia-topped contract and he'll need to find a new Super Rugby home if he wants to play in a third Rugby World Cup next year.

The playmaker could be the secret to unlocking the Brumbies languishing attack and Cooper still has some good years ahead of him after turning 30 on Thursday.
Cooper signing with the Brumbies makes sense for a host of reasons.
He's a bargain
Rugby Australia cops the brunt of Cooper's wages, but the Reds are still out of pocket around $250,000 - $300,000.
The Reds haven't made a profit in years and their recent losses have run into the millions. They're in no position to knock back money for a player their coach refuses to use.
The Brumbies should offer to pay half his contract and snap up the man with a 66 per cent winning record as a Wallabies starter for the basement bargain price of $150,000.
Rugby Australia want Cooper playing Super Rugby and Wallabies coach Michael Cheika hasn't ruled out using him at the World Cup in Japan as originally planned.
It might sound preposterous to pay someone to play against you but it's not uncommon, the Canberra Raiders paid Shaun Fensom to play for the Cowboys in the NRL grand final last year.
He's got the style
The Brumbies have doggedly tried to implement a new style under first-year coach Dan McKellar of "playing what's in front of you" this season.
This is the only way Cooper has ever known.
It's an approach New Zealand teams have taken for years and McKellar believes, rightly so, it's the only way to break the Kiwi curse - which stands at 33 consecutive losses.
The game plan is struggling to take hold in the capital, partly because it differs so greatly from the Brumbies' conservative style in recent years, but mainly because they don't have a bona fide risk-it-all playmaker in their ranks.

The knock on Cooper over the years has been nobody knows - teammates included - what he's going to do next because the talisman doesn't know himself.
But if you study Cooper at his devastating best - when he guided the Reds to a maiden Super Rugby title in 2011 - the players around him embraced his unpredictability and the team flourished.
McKellar is trying to hammer home the ethos of expect anything and nothing will surprise you.
Add Cooper to that recipe and you have a winning formula.
McKellar and Cooper share grassroot links
The Brumbies have a renown culture of signing not only good players, but good people.
A sticking point for Brumbies fans will be the fact Thorn doesn't even want Cooper training with his team for cultural reasons.
Cooper is guilty of some well-publicised indiscretions in the past, but those around him say he's matured significantly in recent years.
McKellar and Cooper hail from the same club in Brisbane and maybe their grassroots connection could pave the way for his Super Rugby redemption.
With Kyle Godwin Europe-bound the Brumbies have a spot on their roster for an inside back.
Just imagine the possibilities of Cooper linking with Christian Lealiifano and the pair unleashing almost 100 Tests of experience on opposition back lines.
The Brumbies are looking to avoid five straight Australian derby losses for the first time in club history on Saturday.
Something has to give.
Could it be giving Cooper a contract?

Do it. DO IIIITTT

 

[lex]

This is nothing to do with the rugby, but I have just emailed the Brumbies to tell them that we will not be renewing our memberships next year if they continue to play very loud music during the breaks in play (and sometimes during play). It makes conversation impossible and it is noticeable that the usually vocal Brumbies fans have become disengaged and silent. We go to watch a rugby game, not a bloody disco.