Oz Team of the Round (Rnd 1)

[RugbyReg]

My picks:

15 Sam Norton-Knight (TAHS) - thought he really controlled the play well. Looked very composed. Shepherd next, but still rusty.
14 Drew Mitchell (FORCE) - looked dangerous every time he touched the ball and again showed his surprising strength.
13 Rob Horne (TAHS) - finally starting to see those Horan-esque qualties Lee has talked about. Particularly SNK's try.
12 Stirling Mortlock (BRUMS) - 2 strong tries and a beutiful pass for another. Kicking wasn't too bad either.
11 Digby Ione (REDS) - fantastic game. Can't think of a single mistake. Dangerous everytime with the ball. Probably player of the round, with his only competition being Horne.
10 Matt Giteau (FORCE) - probably just from Beale due to Beale's unwillingness to tackle. Gits really controlled the game, probably more in the first half. Lovely break and pass in the lead up to the first try.
9 Will Genia (REDS) - wasn't blown away by any scrummie, and don't really like picking replacements. Burgess would probably be next. Thought his work defensively at the scrum base was first class.
8 Richard Brown (FORCE) - very prominant in attack, breaking the line, but a work horse around the park as well.
7 George Smith (BRUMS) - from Pocock. Smith still has that ability to amaze me with some of the stuff he does on the field. A great sign he can start off in this form.
6 Scott Higginbottham (REDS) - Very prominant around the field and showed some of his 7s skills. Still did the tight stuff as well, but probably needs to be a bit more of a presence at the ruck.
5 Dean Mumm (TAHS) - again showed the quality of the man. Wonderful player who seems always there. Able to continue that play as a lock and still do the required hard work.
4 Van Humphreys (REDS) - Did a lot of work and was all around the field. Surprisingly somewhat effective as a runner too, and off loader.
3 Al Baxter (TAHS) - the NSW scrum was very good so its fair to give spot to the NSW THP. Thought Shepherdson was pretty good as well and Danya worked hard at the scrum.
2 Tatafu Polata-Nau (TAHS) - Gee this guy is good. His tackling is just scary and he just pops up all around the field.
1 Benn Robinson (TAHS) - again, a strong scrum means the Tahs deserve to be represented up front. Plus he's the best LHP in Oz.

Tahs - 6
Brums - 2
Reds - 4
Force - 3

Too many Reds I guess. Probably not enough Brums. Perhaps Chis or Hand for Humphreys? Salvi was busy I guess. He could have been an option for 6.

 

[fatprop]

4 Van Humphreys (REDS) - Did a lot of work and was all around the field. Surprisingly somewhat effective as a runner too, and off loader.

He looked great in the ARC, running and offloading with great efficiency

 

[Pfitzy]

Yeah - why did the Tahs ever let Van go?

 

[Sully]

I agree almost completely except maybe for Van Humphrey's, But I'll be damned if I can think of someone who went better. the Reds got smashed in the ruck and he was supposed to be the main man in the tight according to the news papers!

The tahs frontrow picked themselves.
Horne and SNK were stand outs as well. McLindon certainly set the Reds back on fire when he came on but didn't really play for long enough to get the nod here.
Morty has to get the nod at 12 because everyone was shite there and at least he created some stuff. Barnes needs to run or pass a hell of a lot more and forget how to kick.
Genia well he's the last man standing isn't he. Lucas was crap and as a reds fan I hope it was just a bad game.
The back row again pick themselves. Did Braid even play? he was a real no where man. Pocock looked good. Higgenbotham was sensational in a losing pack.
That just leaves Mumm. Looks like Sharpe has had the tightness trained out of him, Pity he's a better player with head down a bum up.

 

[Scarfman]

I only saw Tahs and Brums, so can't file an official report.

- Smith was extraordinary
- Watching Mortlock and AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) lining up to score the next try brought back memories of the Brumbies at their best. I'd give it to both of them.
- I liked Phibbs. Am I strange?
- TPN threw straight, didn't he? That would normally make him player of the round, but I thought Moore played really well too.
- See my signature.

Raspberries:
- Fava
- Hoiles

 

[Ash]

Thought Phibbs went OK too. He's limited but he give his all.

I would baulk at selecting Mitchell because the guy couldn't tackle Blues. But geez, he looked so dangerous. To both teams, I guess.

Horne deservedly ahead of AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper). Actually, 3 of 4 Australian 13s went well. Fetoai was the odd one out, as expected.

Van Humphries would've been my pick of the Australian 2nd rowers too.

Moore was a bit disappointing for me, I expected a little bit more of him in the opening game.

 

[disco]

Horne & Digby were the standout players of the weekend.

15.SNK
14.Ioane
13.Horne
12.Mortlock
11.Tuqiri
10.Beale
9.Genia
8.Brown
7.Smith
6.Higginbotham
5.Chisolm
4.Mumm
3.Baxter
2.TPN
1.Robinson

 

[barbarian]

Horne & Digby were the standout players of the weekend.

15.SNK
14.Ioane
13.Horne
12.Mortlock
11.Tuqiri
10.Beale
9.Genia
8.Brown
7.Smith
6.Higginbotham
5.Chisolm
4.Mumm
3.Baxter
2.TPN
1.Robinson

Agreed.

 

[naza]

Moore was a bit disappointing for me, I expected a little bit more of him in the opening game.

Some people are hard to please. Moore was outstanding, a much more clinical performance than TPN's.

 

[Ash]

Moore was a bit disappointing for me, I expected a little bit more of him in the opening game.

Some people are hard to please. Moore was outstanding, a much more clinical performance than TPN's.

I would disagree. Moore had a few poor throws and some wobbles with the lineout. The scrum unit he was a part of was beaten on points. TPN was in a solid scrummaging unit and got his throws right.

Moore was dynamic around the park, but TPN was slightly more so. Tarnishing Moore was that he was the player run around for the first try though before the player outside him (Lealiifano?) came in and put in a lazy one armed attempt at a tackle.

Picking Moore over TPN for the week is just Moore bias.

Moore was my pick to come in and fix the Brumbies poor set peices from last year. He hasn't as yet, hence my disappointment.

 

[naza]

Wow, his throwing was terrific. And that pack isn't built to scrum, you can hardly blame Moore. He doesn't have a magic wand. Moore's work around the park was superior. He took care of the ball, stood in the tackle. And his discipline was perfect. TPN gave away free kicks & threw the ball out the back when tackled. Deadset miles behind Moore in class, I'm flabbergasted by those who don't see the obvious.

 

[barbarian]

Thought they were about even for the week- Moore benefitted from his side having a large amount of ball, while TPN was dogged in defence with very little chance with the ball in hand. Both had pretty much flawless games at the set piece.

Lean to TPN, purely on Tah bias. BUt in reality it was dead even.

 

[Pfitzy]

And that pack isn't built to scrum, you can hardly blame Moore. He doesn't have a magic wand.

Rot. That pack has two Wallabies in the front row and one in the second row, an Australia "A" prop at loosehead and another "A" player as the other starting lock. Throw in another Wallaby to come on at loosehead and they should be able to scrum a bit - especially as the worst prop in the team (Henderson) was up against the worst prop the Blues have got (Afoa).

If putting Moore into the Brumbies scrum doesn't make it competitive, can you please stop blowing smoke up his arse every chance you get?

 

[naza]

If Polota-Nau joined the Brumbies, would he fix the 'set piece woes' ? Yes, I guffawed when I thought of it that way too.

Lineout was not a problem.
Scrum is a problem due to the Brumbies style & culture. They haven't been serious about scrummaging since '96-'97. Henderson is a lightweight, a deadset oxygen thief. Alexander has been corrupted. Chisholm is a seagull. Hand is softer than sorbent. Salvi & Hoiles hardly provide any grunt. Moore helps their scrummaging and tight work immensely but it doesn't come down to just one man.

 

[Ash]

Here's Growden's and Guinness' team of the week,, with the usual Tahs bias, of course:

15 Sam Norton-Knight (NSW) (1)
14 Digby Ioane(Qld) (1)
13 Rob Horne (NSW) (1)
12 Stirling Mortlock (ACT) (1)
11 Lote Tuqiri(NSW) (1)
10 Christian Lealiifano (ACT) (1)
9 Patrick Phibbs (ACT) (1)
8 Leroy Houston(Qld) (1)
7 Phil Waugh (NSW) (1)
6 Julian Salvi (ACT) (1)
5 Dean Mumm (NSW) (1)
4 Mark Chisholm(ACT) (1)
3 Al Baxter (NSW) (1)
2 Tatafu Polota-Nau (NSW) (1)
1 Benn Robinson (NSW) (1)

 

[Ash]

Naza, I recalled several overthrows from Moore vs the Highlanders. It's been a few days since the game so my memory has almost already faded, but I am sure the Brumbies got a few throws wrong.

 

[fatprop]

They are very different players, but both are great. Moore is a true tradesman and very very good, Nau is more dynamic but also more error prone.

 

[Pfitzy]

And I should correct my statement - Henderson was up against the Highlanders, not the Blues. Still, the Clan have simply put two big lumps up front and expected they could do the job. Experienced they are not. Henderson has had his head shoved up his arse enough times to learn a bit.

 

[en_force_er]

van humprhries is constistantly terrific. how old is he? young enough to be a world cup prospect?
i assume age is why he hasnt had a decent crack.

i dont know when the hell brumbies were doing with there pack selection. why were kimlin and alexander benched?
alexander obviously because henderson is in the leadership squad... but why is henderson in the leadership squad? he seems so stoic.

 

[Scarfman]

15 Sam Norton-Knight (NSW) (1)
14 Digby Ioane(Qld) (1)
13 Rob Horne (NSW) (1)
12 Stirling Mortlock (ACT) (1)
11 Lote Tuqiri(NSW) (1)
10 Christian Lealiifano (ACT) (1)
9 Patrick Phibbs (ACT) (1)
8 Leroy Houston(Qld) (1)
7 Phil Waugh (NSW) (1)
6 Julian Salvi (ACT) (1)
5 Dean Mumm (NSW) (1)
4 Mark Chisholm(ACT) (1)
3 Al Baxter (NSW) (1)
2 Tatafu Polota-Nau (NSW) (1)
1 Benn Robinson (NSW) (1)

Waugh over Smith? :tard