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Greg Davis (50)
I am only giving ratings to those who stood out and deserved mentioning, there were more in the squad than this list but it is my list so it will have to do! Feel free to comment and rip my thoughts apart.
Ben Alexander- Not yet convince of his ability, but he is certainly streets ahead of Baxter and given time (only 25) will be better than average. 5/10
Al Baxter :baxter:- good bye, thanks for your help but you will never play again 2/10
Pek Cowan- interested to see how he will go if he converts to other places in the front row, he could not be worse at throwing! 4/10
Rocky Elsom :elsom:- Had moments where he was good, but not quite good enough 6/10
James Horwill- Where is the fighting spirit?? not one decent punch thrown, he seems to have lost his passion and mongrel which is desperately needed, the last test needed some punches thrown to change the way the game was flowing. very disappointing season from one of my favorites 3/10
Stephen Moore- no longer the number 1 pick at 2, looks like he needs a rest and time to get back his focus, needs to practice throwing a ball 4/10
Dean Mumm :mumm:- severely underused, still dont know why he did not get more game time
Wycliff Palu
alu:- needs to learn to take a tap! single handedly lost a test from a basic skill a 5 year old should have. owes a lot to the team before forgiveness, fitness was an issue, but unless he was playing while unfit, he just lacked any real aggression, too soft for such a big man 3/10
David Pocock- looks like he could become great (what were the Reds thinking?) better than I expected as I thought he was generally over rated 6/10
Tatafu Polota-Nau :nau:- was the standout hooker, but seriously only had 25 outstanding minutes and the odd good tackle, still cant throw a ball, I would prefer a hooker who can throw better 5/10
Benn Robinson :robinson:- one of my players of the year, great skills for a big man, and held his own in the scrum. very consistent 7/10
George Smith- another good year, but below normal superman expectations, no real support and does not seem to get to the ball as much while captaining, too interested in seeing how much his opponents are cheating and then complaining rather than doing his normal hard yards. IMO his worst season yet, but still my 2nd best player of the year 8/10
Adam Ashley-Cooper- My player of the year for the Wallabies, was always a threat, the only player who knows what leg drive is, he was the only one who when he is getting tackled continues to run and move his legs instead of lying down. great season and I think he is out of position 8.5/10
Berrick Barnes- I think his future will be a super sub at 9/10/15. I am not convinced he is truly world class at any position, but very close in a few, prefer him at fullback. 6/10
Luke Burgess :burgess:- needs a great S14 season to stay in the squad, all his hype over his darting runs amounted to nothing. I dont see him starting again barring injuries 2.5/10
Quade Cooper- very limited opportunities, should have played half of the last all black test to try to spark something. long term I think he will be a great 10 if Gits moves wider. Still has the best pass in world rugby 5/10
Will Genia- about time he got a chance, very impressed on first big season and as a starter 7/10
Matt Giteau- worst season in memory, he is starting to look out of place at 10, should look at 12 for a longer future. where was he on Saturday? it is hard to be a match winner every week but I think he would be disappointed in his year
Peter Hynes- Limited time on field, looked good at times and seemed to actually try compared to a lot of others who lacked this enthusiasm. Future on the bench covering wing and fullback 5/10
Drew Mitchell- Very disappointed I can think of no reason to keep picking him, especially when Ionne is back
James O'Connor- still a boy who looks scared of his opponents. 3 tries any international could have scored in one game does not equal a great player. he just looks out of his depth to me, he seems to show effort but at time just looks scared, he also looked close to crying on Saturday- my vote for over rated player of the year. Maybe a great in 5 years time when he has 70-80 Super games under his belt 3/10
Lachie Turner :turner:-Very disappointed, he has lost the ability to put you on the edge of your seat when he gets the ball 4/10
Robbie Deans- started off impressive until we played teams with talent and who had set combination's. He has turned from the messiah to a naughty boy in no time. He seems to not want to try things when the game is going bad, but will bring on every sub when we are winning, take Saturdays game as an example, the Wallabies never looked like scoring a try, and yet Hynes and Cooper were left on the bench, Cooper for all of his failings does have the ability to create something and it is not as if Gits was doing much.
Deans job is safe but if he was just another Aussie coach he would be gone by now, I hope he proves to be worth it. there is a limited time that you can use rebuilding as an excuse.
Ben Alexander- Not yet convince of his ability, but he is certainly streets ahead of Baxter and given time (only 25) will be better than average. 5/10
Al Baxter :baxter:- good bye, thanks for your help but you will never play again 2/10
Pek Cowan- interested to see how he will go if he converts to other places in the front row, he could not be worse at throwing! 4/10
Rocky Elsom :elsom:- Had moments where he was good, but not quite good enough 6/10
James Horwill- Where is the fighting spirit?? not one decent punch thrown, he seems to have lost his passion and mongrel which is desperately needed, the last test needed some punches thrown to change the way the game was flowing. very disappointing season from one of my favorites 3/10
Stephen Moore- no longer the number 1 pick at 2, looks like he needs a rest and time to get back his focus, needs to practice throwing a ball 4/10
Dean Mumm :mumm:- severely underused, still dont know why he did not get more game time
Wycliff Palu
alu:- needs to learn to take a tap! single handedly lost a test from a basic skill a 5 year old should have. owes a lot to the team before forgiveness, fitness was an issue, but unless he was playing while unfit, he just lacked any real aggression, too soft for such a big man 3/10David Pocock- looks like he could become great (what were the Reds thinking?) better than I expected as I thought he was generally over rated 6/10
Tatafu Polota-Nau :nau:- was the standout hooker, but seriously only had 25 outstanding minutes and the odd good tackle, still cant throw a ball, I would prefer a hooker who can throw better 5/10
Benn Robinson :robinson:- one of my players of the year, great skills for a big man, and held his own in the scrum. very consistent 7/10
George Smith- another good year, but below normal superman expectations, no real support and does not seem to get to the ball as much while captaining, too interested in seeing how much his opponents are cheating and then complaining rather than doing his normal hard yards. IMO his worst season yet, but still my 2nd best player of the year 8/10
Adam Ashley-Cooper- My player of the year for the Wallabies, was always a threat, the only player who knows what leg drive is, he was the only one who when he is getting tackled continues to run and move his legs instead of lying down. great season and I think he is out of position 8.5/10
Berrick Barnes- I think his future will be a super sub at 9/10/15. I am not convinced he is truly world class at any position, but very close in a few, prefer him at fullback. 6/10
Luke Burgess :burgess:- needs a great S14 season to stay in the squad, all his hype over his darting runs amounted to nothing. I dont see him starting again barring injuries 2.5/10
Quade Cooper- very limited opportunities, should have played half of the last all black test to try to spark something. long term I think he will be a great 10 if Gits moves wider. Still has the best pass in world rugby 5/10
Will Genia- about time he got a chance, very impressed on first big season and as a starter 7/10
Matt Giteau- worst season in memory, he is starting to look out of place at 10, should look at 12 for a longer future. where was he on Saturday? it is hard to be a match winner every week but I think he would be disappointed in his year
Peter Hynes- Limited time on field, looked good at times and seemed to actually try compared to a lot of others who lacked this enthusiasm. Future on the bench covering wing and fullback 5/10
Drew Mitchell- Very disappointed I can think of no reason to keep picking him, especially when Ionne is back
James O'Connor- still a boy who looks scared of his opponents. 3 tries any international could have scored in one game does not equal a great player. he just looks out of his depth to me, he seems to show effort but at time just looks scared, he also looked close to crying on Saturday- my vote for over rated player of the year. Maybe a great in 5 years time when he has 70-80 Super games under his belt 3/10
Lachie Turner :turner:-Very disappointed, he has lost the ability to put you on the edge of your seat when he gets the ball 4/10
Robbie Deans- started off impressive until we played teams with talent and who had set combination's. He has turned from the messiah to a naughty boy in no time. He seems to not want to try things when the game is going bad, but will bring on every sub when we are winning, take Saturdays game as an example, the Wallabies never looked like scoring a try, and yet Hynes and Cooper were left on the bench, Cooper for all of his failings does have the ability to create something and it is not as if Gits was doing much.
Deans job is safe but if he was just another Aussie coach he would be gone by now, I hope he proves to be worth it. there is a limited time that you can use rebuilding as an excuse.
