Hugh Jarse
Rocky Elsom (76)
Thanks Coach.
Always good to know the full facts. Once again Gaggerlanders come to the rescue.
Always good to know the full facts. Once again Gaggerlanders come to the rescue.
Just heard on very good authority that Parra have signed another international to the Two Blues. This time a Fijian test and Sevens player. Bellytwoblues can you confirm?
Would be greatly appreciated if a few people could give me their rankings of the Shute teams from 1st to last.
Modesty, uncertainty or a desire not to show your Club's hand, Dave?Uni
Norths
Souths
Eastwood
Easts
Parra
Randwick
West Harbour
Gordon
Warringah
Penrith
Think Manly have been building up to this year for a while now, There is a lot of excitement this year at Manly about the clubs chances of knocking off Uni. looking forward to seeing whether they can deliver. I think Uni are vulnerable first year in a while without Louden.Modesty, uncertainty or a desire not to show your Club's hand, Dave?
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Randwick play easts at latham parkGordon are playing Warringah at Rat Park
Pirates are in NZ vs Silverdale
Who else is playing this weekend, where and when?
Bruce, not sure, last year it was Manly 2 Uni 1, we missed the one that counted (3 miss reads in D, and a brain snap inb our 22). Could we be 3 from 3 this year. Both teams always lift for these games.Modesty, uncertainty or a desire not to show your Club's hand, Dave?
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Think Manly have been building up to this year for a while now, There is a lot of excitement this year at Manly about the clubs chances of knocking off Uni. looking forward to seeing whether they can deliver. I think Uni are vulnerable first year in a while without Louden.
Dave, I think the issue of Uni dominance is now being addressed by clubs such as Manly in the appropriate way, namely, using Uni as the benchmark and taking steps to go past them.Bruce, not sure, last year it was Manly 2 Uni 1, we missed the one that counted (3 miss reads in D, and a brain snap inb our 22). Could we be 3 from 3 this year. Both teams always lift for these games.
What do you reckon Bruce, how will Manly fair strengths and weakness's?
I'd love to see both teams (1's & 2's) at full strength with all Super & Wallaby players back.
Dave, I think the issue of Uni dominance is now being addressed by clubs such as Manly in the appropriate way, namely, using Uni as the benchmark and taking steps to go past them.
One of Manly's great strengths is its tribalism, a factor which should never be underestimated. Uni doesn't have it to anything like the same extent, although the constant sniping and misinformation spread by other clubs has produced something of a laager mentality, a sense of "it's us against the world". It helps the Club to maintain its focus.
I don't know nearly enough about what is going on at Manly to comment on its strengths and weaknesses, although clearly the Club is doing a lot that is right. I do know a fair amount about Uni so I'll concentrate on that.
What Uni has developed over more than a decade is system, which is what has made its success sustainable, at least up to now. One of the principal building blocks of that system is very advanced physical conditioning. In my admittedly biased opinion it is at least equal to anything used in Australian professional rugby, and the bulk of the Uni players train with the same intensity and commitment as professional players.
Chris Malone faces a daunting task this season replacing Todd Louden. Around the turn of the century Nobby Malone came to Uni from Manly, and I can clearly remember that Manly officials of the time made sure we got the message that we were more than welcome to him. I have not previously had the chance to do so, so I would now like to place on record my personal gratitude for the generosity of spirit of the Manly Club in sending him to us. It's in the true spirit of club rugby.
Nobby has been a wonderful servant for Sydney Uni and was a major factor in the Club's resurgence.
He follows on from a man who played his Sydney Club rugby with Randwick. Todd Louden doesn't appear to be one of its favourite sons, even though he coached a not-exactly-star-studded First Grade team to the narrowest of extra-time Grand Final losses.
Louden has also made an extraordinary contribution to Sydney Uni rugby. THe Club's EDS (Elite Development Squad) system was his creation, and when he came back to the Club for the past two seasons he brought it to a whole new level of professionalism. In my opinion he is without doubt the best developer of rugby talent and very probably the most astute thinker and strategist in Australian rugby. That he is languishing up on the Central Coast and is continually and systematically passed over for even an assistant coaching role at Super level, let alone being given a head coaching position, is absolutely baffling, although illustrative of the malaise that continues to afflict our sport in this country.
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Don't hold back, Belly. I would be very interested in your comments.Wow Bruce. That is going to be very hard for me to bite my tongue.