Brumbies 2019

[Brumby Runner]

Roffy, I am probably the most vocal critic of smaller players who struggle at Super level because of their size, but I am a fan of Muirhead. He plays bigger than he might physically be. I do have a criticism in that because of his smaller size, he should not be trying to run the ball out from close to the tryline. He is easily pushed backwards in contact in those situations. But give him the ball in a bit of space and he will always take it forwards and infield away from the sideline.

Where he rates? I still have a soft spot for Henry and hope that he can recapture some of his best form in which case he will be a regular starter. Taliauli was showing form before being injured and will probably be the other starter on the wing. Muirhead would then be next off the rank and it is up to Pulu to change that order if he can. Not sure where to rate Peni - I wouldn't have been concerned if he'd been released after last year, but he showed good restraint and ability against the Chiefs. Again, up to him to force his way up the rankings.

Muihead's value is also in his ability to play 15 where he is excellent backup to Banks.

JJH is the new Robbie Coleman imo. Whether it's because of the positions he plays, but he can be exceptional at the level below Super, but at Super he is found out by being so small.

 

[LearningCurve]

I like the look of Muirhead and hope that he doesn't get overlooked due to size.

 

[Up the Guts]

Muirhead is the type of player that has made NZ Super Sides so dominant. Perhaps, he doesn’t have the physical attributes to book a spot at test level but he has great all round skills and a handy knack for being in the right place at the right time.

 

[Braveheart81]

I think the modern rugby side has one winger like Muirhead that is the second fullback role and one big winger that generally can't kick.

It is not like Muirhead is tiny and he plays above his size.

 

[Up the Guts]

I think the modern rugby side has one winger like Muirhead that is the second fullback role and one big winger that generally can't kick.

It is not like Muirhead is tiny and he plays above his size.

Except to make it at test level in the second fullback role you generally have to have some other athletic attribute like pace (e.g. Banks), evasiveness (e.g. Ben Smith) or be a good sideways mover (e.g. pre-injury Milner-Skudder). Murihead certainly has elements of all three but I don’t think he has the out and out pace or fast enough feet to be a consistent attacking threat at Test level.

 

[Braveheart81]

Except to make it at test level in the second fullback role you generally have to have some other athletic attribute like pace (e.g. Banks), evasiveness (e.g. Ben Smith) or be a good sideways mover (e.g. pre-injury Milner-Skudder). Murihead certainly has elements of all three but I don’t think he has the out and out pace or fast enough feet to be a consistent attacking threat at Test level.

Who said anything about making it at test level?

He's fighting to maintain a starting spot with the Brumbies.

 

[Up the Guts]

Who said anything about making it at test level?

He's fighting to maintain a starting spot with the Brumbies.

Fair enough, perhaps I misinterpreted your post. However, from what I've observed the second fullback role is a staple at test level because most top sides have the luxury of picking someone with all-round skills as well as some athletic x-factor. In Super it doesn't seem to be as much as a staple and teams will often pick their best two attacking threats.

 

[Brumby Runner]

I think the modern rugby side has one winger like Muirhead that is the second fullback role and one big winger that generally can't kick.

It is not like Muirhead is tiny and he plays above his size.

84 kg is not large BH. In this day and age, I'd suggest it is small for a rugby player, but I agree that he plays above his weight.

 

[RoffsChoice]

Where he rates? I still have a soft spot for Henry and hope that he can recapture some of his best form in which case he will be a regular starter.

Speight has definitely earned his reputation as a fan favourite. Many fans have strong memories of Speight making something from nothing in attack, and some truly spectacular finishes, but I was always just as impressed by his defence. When I said he was our best back in 2017, I said:

Best Back: Henry Speight. Speight barely pips Kuridrani, and I'll talk about both of them. After losing Lealiifano, Cubelli, To'omua, and Tomane, the backline needed Kuridrani and Speight to stand up as the calm heads, and they did. In the first half of the season, it seemed we were playmaking by committee, with Godwin and Toua touching the ball as often as Hawera. In this period, Speight and Kuridrani were the players to stop the overthinking and make something happen. Defensively, they were everywhere, constantly covering for their inside men. But as the season went on and the Powell-Hawera pairing started to work, Speight and Kuridrani visibly took over as the organisers who gave them something to work with, and often times simply became a safe pair of hands in some build up play. In a season where we really relied on superior play from the forwards, Speight and Kuridrani ensured the backs were not a liability.

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I stand by that assessment of Henry Speight from 2011 to 2017. Those moments of magic are the ones that stick out in the memory, but he brought the most value to the team through being a calm head who could change how he played to best suit the backline as a whole.​

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However, regardless of how the team was playing, he needed to defend well, and, until 2017, he did. I said several times last season that Speight's defensive errors felt more akin to systemic issues than individual problems:​

I hate to criticise Speight after he just put up his 100th for us, but how many times are we going to see him rush out of the line, miss his hit, and give the opposition 20m of width to play in? Speight has shown over the last seven years that he knows how to shut down an overlap and how to shepherd a player to the touchline, and I doubt he has just forgotten. Whatever this defensive system is, it's either instructing Speight to make terrible decisions, or forcing him to.

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We've since seen the system change several times, and yet the same problems remain. This was made perfectly clear with the Rebels' first try last week; he missed the initial tackle, wasted his ability to play a part in the cover-defending by tackling a player who was already tackled by Kuridrani and had offloaded the ball, and directed players away from useful defensive positions while retreating. This isn't a confidence problem either; he was making these mistakes during our tremendous run at the end of last season as well.​

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In short, Speight definitely holds a special place in my heart, but, if Muirhead, Simone, Peni, and Pulu all put in good performances, then there will be no way to justify starting him.​

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Taliauli was showing form before being injured and will probably be the other starter on the wing. Muirhead would then be next off the rank and it is up to Pulu to change that order if he can. Not sure where to rate Peni - I wouldn't have been concerned if he'd been released after last year, but he showed good restraint and ability against the Chiefs. Again, up to him to force his way up the rankings.

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I truly believe that Taliauli can be better than Tomane ever was. He could be better than Gerrard or Rathbone. I don't think that of any other winger we have had in the last five years.​

I feel alone in how little I believe in Pulu. Yes, he's fast, and you don't get a spot in those NZ teams without some ability, but I see him as a depth option.​

Peni has done exactly as you've said in the end of the above quote: his performance against the Chiefs must force him up the rankings. Whether he stays there (and manages to avoid missing 30 weeks through suspension) is another story, but they believed in him enough to re-sign him, so I hope it pays off.​

 

[Slim 293]

Peni wasn’t re-signed...........

He’s on the final year of his contract.

 

[RoffsChoice]

Peni wasn’t re-signed.....
He’s on the final year of his contract.

I don't believe the announcement said this for no reason:

The Plus500 Brumbies have signed former Wests Tigers and Western Force winger Chance Peni on a one-year deal for the 2018 Super Rugby season.

Source: https://www.brumbies.com.au/2017/11/peni-wings-plus500-brumbies/

Maybe it had an option to extend? Maybe they made an ammendment during the season? I don't know and I don't care. The initial announcement was for a year, and that wasn't for no reason.

I love pedantry as much as the next guy, so I welcome a discussion about whether an option to extend, or an ammendment, or w/e is the same as "re-signing", but it's pretty clear he wasn't initially meant to be here for more than 12 months.

 

[Slim 293]

Depends on which “initial announcement” you read............

Brumbies TV:

Chance Peni has signed a two-year deal with the Plus500 Brumbies.

But he was signed on a two year deal, which is why he wasn’t cut at the end of last year........

 

[RoffsChoice]

Initial as in 22 November 2017, as in before 26 November 2017.

Again, whatever. The deal, in some way, went from one year to two years. Not going to say don't respond, but I think my point here is pretty clear.

 

[Slim 293]

Initial as in 22 November 2017, as in before 26 November 2017.

Again, whatever. The deal, in some way, went from one year to two years. Not going to say don't respond, but I think my point here is pretty clear.

The point being he was signed on a two year deal?

Let’s just leave it at that.............

 

[The Honey Badger]

The Brumby Runners are playing Friday v some Auckland team.

Vunipola FIFITA
Connal MCINERNEY
Tom ROSS
Darcy SWAIN
Murray DOUGLAS
Lachlan OSBORNE
Jack FARRELL
Jahrome BROWN
Ryan LONERGAN
Noah LOLESIO
Mack HANSEN
Bayley KUENZLE
Len IKITAU
Lincoln SMITH
Jordan JACKSON-HOPE
REPLACEMENTS
Fred KAIHEA
TP LUTERU
Angus WAGNER
Ben LOVE
Rory SCOTT
Seamus SMITH
Will GODDARD
Brendan JIMENEZ
Billy CARBERRY

Game was apparently played last Friday. I can't find a word written about it anywhere.

Does anyone know the result and any commentary?

Auckland Contenders to play Emerging Tahs tomorrow at Daceyville tomorrow.

 

[The Honey Badger]

I found it, Brumbies Runners 49 def Auckland Contenders 14.

Hansen and Brown scoring 2 tries each.

 

[RoffsChoice]

Brumbies Runners won 49 (T: Hansen (2), Brown (2), Douglas, Farrell, Scott; C: Lonergan (6), Goddard) to 14 (T: Dabeck, Latu; C: Polson (2)). Had a little bit of everything: pushover try for Scott, good linebreaks and speed making the tries for Scott, Farrell, and Brown's second, Douglas just showed brute force from close range, and Lolesio showed good range of passing to give Hansen his two tries.

Good news was that our scrum was brilliant and we had some good enterprise in attack. Bad news is that a team that otherwise showed no chance of scoring got two tries because of poor Runners defence.

I didn't know why the 10-12 was in that order, and thought it should have been reversed, but Lolesio was on fire and really showed his credentials. Kuenzle played 12 in a way that made me think of 2013 Lealiifano, which is some comfort about his ability but still leads me to believe he should be a 10.

Happy to comment further on individual players if people weren't able to watch.

 

[Tomikin]

Brumbies Runners won 49 (T: Hansen (2), Brown (2), Douglas, Farrell, Scott; C: Lonergan (6), Goddard) to 14 (T: Dabeck, Latu; C: Polson (2)). Had a little bit of everything: pushover try for Scott, good linebreaks and speed making the tries for Scott, Farrell, and Brown's second, Douglas just showed brute force from close range, and Lolesio showed good range of passing to give Hansen his two tries.

Good news was that our scrum was brilliant and we had some good enterprise in attack. Bad news is that a team that otherwise showed no chance of scoring got two tries because of poor Runners defence.

I didn't know why the 10-12 was in that order, and thought it should have been reversed, but Lolesio was on fire and really showed his credentials. Kuenzle played 12 in a way that made me think of 2013 Lealiifano, which is some comfort about his ability but still leads me to believe he should be a 10.

Happy to comment further on individual players if people weren't able to watch.

Where did you see the game ? is it online..

 

[RoffsChoice]

I went out to clangers to watch it, I haven't seen enough of some of our youngsters and was interested by the names I didn't know.

Sadly, the names that aren't associated with the Brumbies are noticably a class below.

 

[Brumby Runner]

https://www.brumbies.com.au/2019/02/brumbies-runners-win-big-in-queanbeyan/