Canberra Vikings - Offical NRC Team Thread

[Slim 293]

No evidence of Tuggeranong bias is selections? Isaac Thompson played second grade, a second grade team who couldn't win the Comp yet got picked most weeks at nrc level! There were two colts players in the squad, again a Colts team that didn't even win the comp! Ask any observer of jid rugby from the past 5 years who would the best player in that time is and a fair few would say Penca, yet he gets 30 minutes all season! We have a dominant forward pack all season and Penca is the only one in the squad! Royals win the comp and have one player in it, really, should I continue?

Yeah, I saw the posts about Penca over Rowan Perry...........

Perry, who was considered a standout for the Vikings and was picked up by the Tahs..........

Isaac Thompson? The guy that made the NRC Barbarians?

And I don't think an entire colts team was selected?

I have yet to see any credible claims of bias from anyone who doesn't have a chip on their shoulder towards the Vikings...........

 

[Whitehead]

I agree with the complaints regarding selections and in such cases perception of bias can be as important as bias itself.

We all already know this has been solved and the Bramber assistant coach will coach the NRC Vikings this season. Will there be any strings being pulled in the background to produce further unfair selections? We can only wait and see but for now head coach being impartial was a crucial step. We don't need to keep relitigating it.

As for the jerseys, practicality does matter unfortunately and other NRC teams have unholy mismatched jersey/short/sock combinations trying to include all feeder clubs into their final outfits. Compared to Currie Cup or ITM Cup teams they look like technicolour dream coats some of them. The red of the Vikings is on this basis a legitimate color to include in the Jersey, even more so because other NRC teams don't have red. Other Canberra club colors could be included into socks or shorts. You just cannot have 12 colors on a jersey nor can every region be the same colour. 4-5 colors at most with 2 main ones and I suggest Red be one of them. Not anything to do with money but practicality, distinctiveness, style. How about Red+yellow or Red+black. Then you can take a look at the Canterbury Crusader jerseys. Try Red+grey that looks good. Socks and shorts can include other club colors or Canberra colors.



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Totally agree, I couldn't care less what colour jersey they wear! Blue and yellow is not an option for this competition! As long as McKellar is still involved in some capacity it will hard to get past the tuggers connection!

 

[Whitehead]

Yeah, I saw the posts about Penca over Rowan Perry.....

Perry, who was considered a standout for the Vikings and was picked up by the Tahs....

Isaac Thompson? The guy that made the NRC Barbarians?

And I don't think an entire colts team was selected?

I have yet to see any credible claims of bias from anyone who doesn't have a chip on their shoulder towards the Vikings.....

It doesn't appear to me that you will take anything as evidence! Oh yeah Thompson got picked in the barbarians, another team coached by the tuggers coach Harris, funny that, maybe it is just to keep him happy so he didn't leave Tuggeranong after a season where he was stuck in 2's after missing the first half of the season! If he was that good why wasn't he playing first grade? Liam McGrath was club captain of gungahlin, he left because he knew there was a better chance of him playing nrc as a Tuggeranong second grader, although this didn't happen, the bias must of been pretty evident to him.Most weeks the nrc squad had 8 club players in the match day 23, 7 of these being from Tuggeranong,I agree a fair chunk should be from tuggers, they are the best club in Canberra and have been the team to beat for the past 5 years, but 7 of 8, really? Imagine if chieka picked over 80% of his wallaby squad of Waratahs players, would that be seen as biased?

 

[No.8]

Yeah, I saw the posts about Penca over Rowan Perry.....

Perry, who was considered a standout for the Vikings and was picked up by the Tahs....

Isaac Thompson? The guy that made the NRC Barbarians?

And I don't think an entire colts team was selected?

I have yet to see any credible claims of bias from anyone who doesn't have a chip on their shoulder towards the Vikings.....

Perry wasn't picked up by the Tah's he was simply at pre-season training which is now finished and he is not part of the squad. Perry is a fantastic player and a big loss to Vikings and also the John I Dent cup because its good to have those high level players running around - brings the comp up....but if I was selecting a side Penca would be one of the 1st picked.

Thompson played mostly 2nd grade for Vikings all year and then was selected for NRC - you would think you would have to play a set time/number of games in 1st grade to be considered for NRC.

Would be fantastic to see some other players getting a look in - i.e not 2nd grade or colts players - but standout 1st graders who bust their gut every week to stay in 1st grade and are trying and push for an NRC spot...

If you wanting to grow the sport in the ACT then selecting 2nd grade players or colts players isn't going to make a great impression for 1st graders/up and comers who are not part of the Vikings Rugby Group - sort of sucks the drive out of wanting to step upto that next level....lets not forget Vikings did NOT win 1 grand final last year - meaning they DO NOT have the best players in the ACT....so why are they still being selected over better players....

Also to add to that what is the draw for interstate/overseas players to come to teams other than Vikings like Qbn, Wests whoever it may be - if they can see 2nd grade and colts players are being picked up for NRC before week in week out 1st graders...

 

[Ozee316]

If we talk about policy selections. To be selected into an ITM Cup team you must be playing premier grade rugby week in and out no exceptions. If you cannot crack a top club side there is no way the ITM coaching team looks at you. Players are therefore forced to move clubs to get playing time if their club is well stocked in a position. So they should.

It's a logical policy that means NRC players are spread around clubs and are battle hardened having experienced the highest level of club footy.

If the NRC coach works closely with John Dent premier coaches there are also other options. The first NRC preliminary training group of 45 odd players could include players recommended by the coaches of each club. This system is used in New Zealand for clubs to recommend age grade players to initial regional training camps for the reason that it's early in the season and the club coaches know their players better.

From there the second wider training group could be chosen more directly by the NRC coaching team after they've had time to watch teams.

The benefits of an initial invitation NRC training group is enourmous in terms of club buy in and player buy in. It could be done in the first half of the season whilst the second NRC coach chosen group could be held closer to the end of the season.



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[Slim 293]

Imagine if chieka picked over 80% of his wallaby squad of Waratahs players, would that be seen as biased?

If the Waratahs didn't share Tuggeranong's dominance, then yes it would be seen as biased...........

Perry wasn't picked up by the Tah's he was simply at pre-season training which is now finished and he is not part of the squad. Perry is a fantastic player and a big loss to Vikings and also the John I Dent cup because its good to have those high level players running around - brings the comp up..but if I was selecting a side Penca would be one of the 1st picked.

With all this talk about bias, I hope the irony is not lost here..............

lets not forget Vikings did NOT win 1 grand final last year - meaning they DO NOT have the best players in the ACT..so why are they still being selected over better players..

You're right - only Royals players should be selected...............

 

[mst]

It doesn't appear to me that you will take anything as evidence! Oh yeah Thompson got picked in the barbarians, another team coached by the tuggers coach Harris, funny that, maybe it is just to keep him happy so he didn't leave Tuggeranong after a season where he was stuck in 2's after missing the first half of the season! If he was that good why wasn't he playing first grade? Liam McGrath was club captain of gungahlin, he left because he knew there was a better chance of him playing nrc as a Tuggeranong second grader, although this didn't happen, the bias must of been pretty evident to him.Most weeks the nrc squad had 8 club players in the match day 23, 7 of these being from Tuggeranong,I agree a fair chunk should be from tuggers, they are the best club in Canberra and have been the team to beat for the past 5 years, but 7 of 8, really? Imagine if chieka picked over 80% of his wallaby squad of Waratahs players, would that be seen as biased?

Couple of points to consider:

I believe in the early days of Cheika the Wallabies were referred to the Wallitahs - the evidence was also there to be seen and well discussed and argued.

Key reason Vikings head coach is involved so heavily is they (Vikings) pay the wage bill and he is fulltime (professional).

Any chance of a coincidence that Laim McGrath's decision to leave Gungahlin was linked in anyway to the key anti-Vikings and Anti-red jersey campaign emanating from the club? This should have been the wake up call that players will avoid / move away from the whining anti-NRC clubs (and supporters) to help their chances. This does including going to Sydney if that is the next best option.

The Vikings are not in the NRC to lose so its unlikely they will snub local talent at the expense of their successful reputation.

Love them or hate them, most competitions would love to have "that club" with the money and resources. A hell of a lot of the NRC and club teams would love to have the ground, resource and infrastructure at their disposal, even if it does nothing but offset their own expenses. The ground alone is a draw card.

 

[Ozee316]

At an early season wider training session where players are recommended by club coaches rather than NRC coaches it is a time for mingling between NRC coaches and sharing of information and raising trust.

Real rough diamond players can be uncovered in such ways. Of course coaches need to be honest and nominate only players of sufficient calibre.

The training sessions themselves can be high level with input from NRC coaches, multiple Dent Trophy coaches and Brambies players. Culminating in a contested game. Such a session is invaluable to players and really raises the standards.

The same thing repeated later in the season but with a wider training squad more directly closen by the NRC coaching team could undergoe the same input before being reduced to the competition squad.

In the Waikato ITM Cup squads the start early in the club season with squads greater than 40 players and start holding weekly trainings from halfway through the club season with the extended training squad.

It's only close to the season start that the final few players are cut.

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[Ozee316]

According to what I read in the paper the Brumbies have already formally lodged to change to a new name for this year's NRC. So it will no longer be called the Vikings and the playing strip will change. Jones the CEO mentioned Kookaburra or Griffins or a naming competition.

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[mst]

According to what I read in the paper the Brumbies have already formally lodged to change to a new name for this year's NRC. So it will no longer be called the Vikings and the playing strip will change. Jones the CEO mentioned Kookaburra or Griffins or a naming competition.

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Yeah, it will be interesting to see what happens.

I will be interested to see if there is any backlash. If there is it will be silent - people disenfranchised and tuning out and the numbers will tell the story.

Sadly my prediction is this will no be a positive move or welcomed in the community (by the non-club rusted) and hurt all levels of ACT rugby. People don't like egos and powers games in sport.

 

[Ozee316]

Jones the new CEO is a shrewd operator and has already done a great job in the backroom at ACT rugby. I expect his influence on the Vikings will be equally as impressive. The article also mentioned getting more clubs involved. Whether this means moving the games around we can wait and see. Also a new link being explored with ANU is one of the many things upsetting Canberra University. He seems to be getting more broad support behind the team and that could mean more sponsors and moving games around too to go with a possible new name and strip. I'd also still prefer they stay called the Vikings.

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[Hugh Jarse]

<snip>...if chieka picked over 80% of his wallaby squad of Waratahs players, would that be seen as biased?

Some from North of the Tweed may have an issue with this, but then they would also have issues with simple concepts like Daylight Savings, and open and transparent government.

Many enlightened folk have no problem with the 80% of the Wobs being Waratahs. Some of the extremists would question why the figure was so low.

 

[Slim 293]

There were two colts players in the squad, again a Colts team that didn't even win the comp!

Weren't both of those Colts players Aus Under 20's reps, with one recently signed by the Brumbies on a development contract?

Is Bernie in on the conspiracy?

 

[Caputo]

As long as McKellar is still involved in some capacity it will hard to get past the tuggers connection!

Disappointing post as McKellar had moved on from Vikings to Brumbies. Was to have coached UC Canberra Vikings as part of input from Brumbies. Larkham's call up to Wallabies affected this as McKellar's role changed to incorporate bigger picture and Brumbies Interests. Brad Harris as coach not a conspiracy but 2014 JID premiership coach.
Hoping for Wayne Southwell's input as Snr Asst Coach to Brumbies nomination.

 

[Caputo]

No evidence of Tuggeranong bias is selections? Isaac Thompson played second grade, a second grade team who couldn't win the Comp yet got picked most weeks at nrc level! There were two colts players in the squad, again a Colts team that didn't even win the comp! Royals win the comp and have one player in it, really, should I continue?

Back off on the bias - disagree with this as Isaac Thompson. Good pedigree from NZ. Stuck locally in NZ behind Aaron Cruden. Injuries at wrong times. Now 28 and time running out to make as Super Rugby or higher level. JID Grand Final behind Rod Iona who was at time contracted Brumby.

I do not believe there was a better alternative in the ACT to Isaac Thompson.
Noting that Canberra Vikings had Mitch Third down from QLD.

 

[Whitehead]

Back off on the bias - disagree with this as Isaac Thompson. Good pedigree from NZ. Stuck locally in NZ behind Aaron Cruden. Injuries at wrong times. Now 28 and time running out to make as Super Rugby or higher level. JID Grand Final behind Rod Iona who was at time contracted Brumby.

I do not believe there was a better alternative in the ACT to Isaac Thompson.
Noting that Canberra Vikings had Mitch Third down from QLD.

I probably actually agree, he is an outstanding 10, and take out contracted players is the best in town! My issue is him getting picked out of second grade and the message it sends. Actually one of the two colts players picked played under 20's for Aus and has been picked up by the brumbies, but again why isn't he playing first grade if he is that good? And the other was an Aus schoolboy the year before but if being an Aus schoolboy gives you automatic selection then we have a couple of boys at QBN that should feel entitled to a spot!

 

[Whitehead]

Disappointing post as McKellar had moved on from Vikings to Brumbies. Was to have coached UC Canberra Vikings as part of input from Brumbies. Larkham's call up to Wallabies affected this as McKellar's role changed to incorporate bigger picture and Brumbies Interests. Brad Harris as coach not a conspiracy but 2014 JID premiership coach.
Hoping for Wayne Southwell's input as Snr Asst Coach to Brumbies nomination.

Didn't say anything about there being a conspiracy about them being involved, I'm saying their roles with Tuggeranong could influence some of their decisions once involved with Tuggeranong!

 

[TOCC]

Many enlightened folk have no problem with the 80% of the Wobs being Waratahs. Some of the extremists would question why the figure was so low.

With all this creative accounting at the Tahs in 2016, sorry I mean 'EPS contracts' been handed out it won't be long before the Tahs do have 80% of the Wallaby squad.

What was it last time, ground hire fees?


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[Brumby Jack]

Anyway, back to the Vikings..

 

[mst]

According to what I read in the paper the Brumbies have already formally lodged to change to a new name for this year's NRC. So it will no longer be called the Vikings and the playing strip will change

Anyway, back to the Vikings..

Sorry, back to who? Can you provide a description of what they are wearing?

I'll shut the door.