Rebels 2014
- Thread starter James Buchanan
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swingpass
Peter Sullivan (51)
my concern is that after the great pre season and the early promise of better days ahead, none of the glaring deficiencies in skills or execution have been addressed throughout the year.
scrum good to very good all year, for me about the only collective highlight.
line out really patchy and tellingly its the attacking line outs that have been consistently fucked up. either the calling or the throwing have been off on too many occasions. pat leafa for all his good work is a poor thrower, horie should have been the starting hooker all year.
the accuracy of the breakdown work has gone to shit. the plethora of penalties against them in the chiefs, sharks and hurricanes games seems to have also stifled the aggression shown earlier in the year.
the kicking game has improved but is coming off a very low base.
the defence, which was the best part of the improvement has faltered badly in the last few weeks, 15 tries in the past three games alone.
there is absolutely no cohesion in attack. last night they looked truly clueless.
individual performances have been great, but as a team they don't seem to have gelled into combinations that have brought reward. mcmahon, PAE, meehan, hegarty, jones, inman all have had good seasons, so some hope for the future, but only if we can hold on to them (which i doubt).
so who is to take the responsibility. some of the onfield decision making has been poor, i still cannot believe higgers taking a tap against 14 men in the highlanders game ! the selection and non-selection of certain layers is baffling and the early season game plan stupifyingly unbelievable. finally, at the moment i suspect the the long and physically demanding preseason is starting to the its toll on player fitness.
in short TT has a LOT to do. my optimism that this year would be a transition to a brighter future has faded to an acceptance that at least i have a team that tries hard and i can support. i really have given up expecting too much of them at this stage.
scrum good to very good all year, for me about the only collective highlight.
line out really patchy and tellingly its the attacking line outs that have been consistently fucked up. either the calling or the throwing have been off on too many occasions. pat leafa for all his good work is a poor thrower, horie should have been the starting hooker all year.
the accuracy of the breakdown work has gone to shit. the plethora of penalties against them in the chiefs, sharks and hurricanes games seems to have also stifled the aggression shown earlier in the year.
the kicking game has improved but is coming off a very low base.
the defence, which was the best part of the improvement has faltered badly in the last few weeks, 15 tries in the past three games alone.
there is absolutely no cohesion in attack. last night they looked truly clueless.
individual performances have been great, but as a team they don't seem to have gelled into combinations that have brought reward. mcmahon, PAE, meehan, hegarty, jones, inman all have had good seasons, so some hope for the future, but only if we can hold on to them (which i doubt).
so who is to take the responsibility. some of the onfield decision making has been poor, i still cannot believe higgers taking a tap against 14 men in the highlanders game ! the selection and non-selection of certain layers is baffling and the early season game plan stupifyingly unbelievable. finally, at the moment i suspect the the long and physically demanding preseason is starting to the its toll on player fitness.
in short TT has a LOT to do. my optimism that this year would be a transition to a brighter future has faded to an acceptance that at least i have a team that tries hard and i can support. i really have given up expecting too much of them at this stage.
Athilnaur
Arch Winning (36)
Crazy as it may sound, I have taken a lot of heart from this year. The team now defends as a team, and for the most part plays as a team. They are a green side that has benefited from the experienced confidence of players like Ellison. My only fear is that we may suffer too much player change to build into 2014. I also have reservations. For example how did Pyle go from one of our brightest stars to a bench player heading overseas? On a related note what happened to our ability to bend and break the line with our forwards? On the other hand our set piece has built nicely.
Hegarty has stepped up, Inman also. Our forwards are looking generally good, as are components of our backs. If I was McGahan I'd be doing everything I could to ensure Ellison stayed.
I'm desperately hoping the team largely stays intact and that our green squad extracts every single bit of juice they can from the NRC.
Hegarty has stepped up, Inman also. Our forwards are looking generally good, as are components of our backs. If I was McGahan I'd be doing everything I could to ensure Ellison stayed.
I'm desperately hoping the team largely stays intact and that our green squad extracts every single bit of juice they can from the NRC.
Dctarget
John Eales (66)
Highlander35
Andrew Slack (58)
Fabulous.
GaffaCHinO
Peter Sullivan (51)
Growden was on the money god I hate that guy.
Big blow to the rebels really need Barnes now.
Big blow to the rebels really need Barnes now.
T
TOCC
Guest
Harris signing makes a bit more sense now
Injury report, no bad news. The 3 weeks off has come at a good time.
http://melbournerebels.com.au/news/article/report-rabodirect-rebels-injury-report-monday-june-2nd
http://melbournerebels.com.au/news/article/report-rabodirect-rebels-injury-report-monday-june-2nd
Hoolly Doolly
Fred Wood (13)
Quite a few queen slanders are looking to leave. They'd be some great pickups imo.
Highlander35
Andrew Slack (58)
Hoolly Doolly
Fred Wood (13)
lol. well played sir. I meant Schatz, Lucas, davies and Quirk have been keen to offer their services elsewhere.
Deputy Van Halen
Larry Dwyer (12)
Something about having a full rested squad ready to fire after the break because of zero wallabies or something like that...
Ah who am I kidding it's one more kick in happy sacks after a grim couple of weeks. Think Jones has been very hard done by and will hopefully make the 23 before the series is over.
Ah who am I kidding it's one more kick in happy sacks after a grim couple of weeks. Think Jones has been very hard done by and will hopefully make the 23 before the series is over.
Tex
Greg Davis (50)
Well, neither Higgers nor Jones make the Wobbs 23.
There's a whole series to be played and the Rugby Championship will follow soon after. I reckon all three young locks will get a run against the French, if only to blood them and see who responds well in the test area.
Higgers has been almost completely undeserving of a Wallaby jersey in recent weeks. To leave out Fardy, Palu or McCalman for Higgers would have been an outrageous selection.
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