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Rebels 2014

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Dumbledore

Dick Tooth (41)
Not being smug because we beat you, I expect you will return the favour later in the season. But I have been bewildered by the optimism from the Rebels supporters coming into this year. There is no way that I looked at this years list and thought it was an improvement on last years. I think maybe a bit of hype from the trial results carried over leading to unrealistic expectations.

It's a much better list than last year. A lot of deadwood cut. Nick Henderson was our starting LHP for all of last year FFS.

We were good all pre-season, good first round, then six changes were made for whatever reason and the wheels have fallen off.
 

oztimmay

Geoff Shaw (53)
Staff member
He will be behind Toby Smith for some time but I have hopes for him. The advantage we have with max is he can play both sides of the scrum fairly well. He may still be trying to adjust to the pace of the game if he's a bit slow around the paddock. That will come with more game time.
 

oztimmay

Geoff Shaw (53)
Staff member
It's a much better list than last year. A lot of deadwood cut. Nick Henderson was our starting LHP for all of last year FFS.

We were good all pre-season, good first round, then six changes were made for whatever reason and the wheels have fallen off.

As someone talked about before confidence goes a long way. Take that away with six unforced changes to a side and watch your confidence go.
 

FOTB

Frank Row (1)
Gents I only listened on line, read the posts and saw the highlights so can't comment too much on the game, i saw various comments on max and the other players must declare an interest as max's father . I usually don't respond partly coz this is your forum as the true fans of your club and also the players hate family comments, all i would say is that he sustained an open cut to his head which required dabbing throughout the match and stitching after, making contact and scrummaging a bit of an issue. This is part of the territory and what they are paid to do and I am sure that he was not alone on the pitch in carrying some pain. Nor would he want to use it as an excuse and will be unhappy that I mention it. The reason is not a defence of any of the players but just to say the boys go out every week to win, work as hard as they can and are gutted when they don't. As fans you have every right to criticise as you wish but sometimes there are things which are not apparent. I'll not intrude on your forum again, but obviously will be following the teams progress during the season .
 

Bruce Ross

Ken Catchpole (46)
Thanks for your input FOTB. I hope you continue to contribute. I know and have known enough professional players to realise that once a season has been underway for a few games it is more the norm than the exception for players to take the field or stay on the field with incapacitating injury. By the closing stages of a competition it would be very rare for a club to be able to field a team which is fully fit.
.
 

swingpass

Peter Sullivan (51)
dear max's dad, welcome.
i dont think anyone on the forum doubts the rebels commitment (this group or this year anyway) or the fact that most of them play banged up more often than not. nor do i concede that people are not allowed to have on off night, because they are, and its up to their team mates to step up for them.
what frustrates the rebels faithful and this gagger, is the repetitious nature of the mistakes they make as a team, lack of composure, poor option taking and poor execution. also coupled with what appears to be a game plan they are ill equipped to carry out and the mystifying selections. just very frustrating on what promised to be a breakout year.
ps i think max actually didnt do too badly on friday
 

Dumbledore

Dick Tooth (41)
Gents I only listened on line, read the posts and saw the highlights so can't comment too much on the game, i saw various comments on max and the other players must declare an interest as max's father . I usually don't respond partly coz this is your forum as the true fans of your club and also the players hate family comments, all i would say is that he sustained an open cut to his head which required dabbing throughout the match and stitching after, making contact and scrummaging a bit of an issue. This is part of the territory and what they are paid to do and I am sure that he was not alone on the pitch in carrying some pain. Nor would he want to use it as an excuse and will be unhappy that I mention it. The reason is not a defence of any of the players but just to say the boys go out every week to win, work as hard as they can and are gutted when they don't. As fans you have every right to criticise as you wish but sometimes there are things which are not apparent. I'll not intrude on your forum again, but obviously will be following the teams progress during the season .
Thanks for coming on board mate, an important reality check for those of us on here. Frankly we invest far too much of ourselves into the lives of these young men who are going out and putting their bodies on the line week-in, week-out. Frustrations might spill over sometimes, but we're well served to remember that they're real people, with real families, who are giving it everything they've got in the name of our entertainment
 

swingpass

Peter Sullivan (51)
i have now had a chance to look again at a replay of friday nights game. cooler headed and with slow mo replays and the wisdom of greater sobriety.
the rebels actually played pretty good rugby especially in the first half. the waratahs defence was in hindsight, very good and this i think made the rebels attack look pedestrian and disjointed.
in the second half the rebels could not build any sustained momentum because of their high error rate in attack. as i keep saying, some poor options, soft turnovers and a lot of execution errors, quite a few unforced. at least two clear try scoring opportunities went begging because of a poor pass or poor kick.
the positives were a lot less kicking, mcmahon (again), jones, inman and ellison in the centres.
the negatives, burgo had his worst defensive game, badly reading the play on two occasions, the forward runners were often static, angus roberts just not up to sup 15 standard i am afraid.
there is plenty to work with and on, i wonder whether totality tony is up to the task
 
T

Train Without a Station

Guest
Team theme song, "The Rising" by Bruce Springsteen. Boom. Genius.
 

Tex

Greg Davis (50)
I've been out of radio contact for a while so I'll start back at the Crusaders match.

Specific details are hazy but I felt it was a fairly even contest, and that in the end the better team won. Goal kicking was a let down and allowed them to build a bit of a buffer. As a spectacle it was a fairly disappointing event.

Missed the Tahs match so thankfully didn't have to watch KB (Kurtley Beale) slicing us up.

Melbourne Rising? Not the greatest name, but then again I probably wouldn't have said that the 'Rebels' was the classiest option. I'm with oztimmay - Melbourne Mexicans has a great ring to it.

I plan on actively supporting them where possible. If risky ventures like this are to become successful then they need the public to take that step and get involved. I hope other fans at Rebels games feel the same way and a good portion of them get behind the feeder club.

FOTB, stick around mate. We're usually a relaxed bunch and don't have any issues with input from the other side of the fence, so to speak.
 

FiveStarStu

Bill McLean (32)
Gents I only listened on line, read the posts and saw the highlights so can't comment too much on the game, i saw various comments on max and the other players must declare an interest as max's father . I usually don't respond partly coz this is your forum as the true fans of your club and also the players hate family comments, all i would say is that he sustained an open cut to his head which required dabbing throughout the match and stitching after, making contact and scrummaging a bit of an issue. This is part of the territory and what they are paid to do and I am sure that he was not alone on the pitch in carrying some pain. Nor would he want to use it as an excuse and will be unhappy that I mention it. The reason is not a defence of any of the players but just to say the boys go out every week to win, work as hard as they can and are gutted when they don't. As fans you have every right to criticise as you wish but sometimes there are things which are not apparent. I'll not intrude on your forum again, but obviously will be following the teams progress during the season .


Thanks for joining in, @FOTB (which I sincerely hope stands for Father Of The Beef) and please stick around as your input will be more than valuable.

I don't feel frustration towards individual players so much, I know the guys, they are professional, and they care about why they are there.

What frustrates me personally, as @swingpass mentioned, is that decision making seems to have regressed since the trials, and they are reverting to a now-traditionally-Melbourne method of kicking the ball away under pressure. Giving up possession in your own half, for some faint hope of trying to force an error and end up where you started, does not a match win.

That in itself is not necessarily frustrating as a lot of players are new. What is, though, is that after four years and three coaches, that's still our plan B. That's bizarre.

Anyway, please don't take these comments as doubting the professionalism and intent of your son or any other player. Melbourne fans especially know the difference between a player having an off day, and a player being unprofessional and taking advantage of us.
 

Dumbledore

Dick Tooth (41)
Top post, Stu.

On the whole NRC business, Rising isn't too surprising given the whole Rebel Rising thing. It's a bit meh, but not the end of the world. I just hope the uniform is good.
 

KevinO

Geoff Shaw (53)
Injury report. Bad news for Lachie, all the best for a speedy recovery. Looks like the dewar shield was fairly brutal and a few injuries were picked up. Hope Toby, Laurie and Jason are up for it this weekend.
http://www.melbournerebels.com.au/news/article/injury-update-monday-24th-march-2014

Starting to think the massive pre-season was a bit to heavy of a work load. 9 injuries (5 knees) and a retirement in the first 6 weeks of the season is not looking good.
 

Scooter

John Solomon (38)
Shattered to see Lachie out for season. A consistent performer and great clubman. Also disappointed to see Veainu injured was hoping to see a bit more of his speed as a replacement for Lachie. All the best to both these guys and all our players in rehab.
 
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