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Desmond Connor (43)
#SIRU2017 Round Six Preview:
Geez it’s tough to pick a Match of the Round this week, from what I’ve seen of the competition there is genuine potential for movement through the 2nd to 7th ladder positions as clubs jostle for points over the coming weeks. Okay, so maybe 2nd to 7th is an exaggeration, but you get the picture. I expect to see some improvement from Aggies, Griffith and Albury as depth becomes important over the coming rounds and from what I’ve seen of these clubs, they are not far away from clicking with each other and will cause some damage when they do.
Waratahs (2) v Griffith (7) – At Rugby One, Kapooka, Home of the RARC
Griffith will be keen to overcome the “Tough as Teak” Waratahs (never thought you’d see those words together did you?) this week as they take on the current Premiers at the Home of the Soldier – Rugby One at Kapooka. The RARC have sadly fallen by the way-side in recent years but have a strong and proud history as a tough but fair club in the Riverina, always great hosts and very happy to have a few cold ones with all comers post-match to either commiserate your loss or celebrate their victory. I have fond memories of playing against the RARC, you always knew you’d played a fair game of rugby after playing these guys and that you were always going to have a good time after the game. $2 stubbies anyone?
The Blacks held the Phantoms to a 4 point lead last week for 25-30mins of the game and should be really motivated by that. If they clean up a few areas of their game, they will be a force to be reckoned with. While they might have to take the long road later in the season, they’ve already knocked over their two biggest road trips of the year (Albury and Tumut) so only have to travel to Wagga and Leeton over the remaining rounds of the competition. They’ve got some rampaging ball runners in Augustin De Notta (early) and Enoch Tia (final 20mins) who can really cause some headaches when they get a run up and once they get some momentum, they’re hard to stop.
Waratahs appear to be heading in the right direction and have got some handy cards to play in different areas of the field. Waratahs have definitely come back to the pack in terms of calibre of player from 2016, however they still have plenty of firepower in key positions. Will Xavier Chigwidden start to come into the frame more over the coming weeks? Tom Hallam? My scouts tell me that Harry Hosegood and Austin Wallace are two key players in their forward pack also.
CSU (8) v Ag College (6)
The traditional campus grudge match – Chalks v Aggies is usually one for the ages and has been known to serve up a few upsets over the years as blokes grow extra legs and nerves get to others. Will this be the case in 2017? Key questions such as who is Trevor Fosdyke may be answered this weekend.
The track should be fast and will allow both sides to play an expansive game of footy if they are able to. CSU don’t have a strong front row and are hurting since guys like Dean Smart got injured recently but they do have a mobile forward pack and an accurate kicking game with Mitch Fealy really hitting some form here. Aggies have probably got the edge in the backline and the backrow but I reckon a strong kicking 5/8 can negate these in certain situations and this is an area that Aggies have not been performing well in in recent weeks.
As most grudge matches go though, they generally don’t live up to the hype but I’m sure the testosterone levels will be elevated for both teams here and this match is always a great day out.
EXTRA EXTRA
In preparation for late Friday web surfing, <insert nameless faceless bagging of CSU here> Honestly, if you can’t be constructive, stop gobbing off and find somewhere else to showcase your keyboard warrior prowess. We’re all sick of it, it’s done to death, leave it alone. You know who I’m looking at.
Leeton (1) v Albury (4) – Match of the Round
Leeton are certainly setting the SIRU Competition on fire at this stage of the season aren’t they! A strong forward pack (strengthened by the return of Simon Vunilagi this week) and some really exciting backs are creating a world of hurt with creative passing bamboozling would-be tacklers left, right and centre!
The Phantoms are relishing in their ability to play expansive, ad hoc rugby and teams are struggling to come to terms with how to respond defensively to this style of play. If the Phantoms get a chance to offload, they can really tear teams apart with multiple runners in gaps and from depth able to slice defensive structures apart with surgical precision. Noa Rabici has been a stellar performer for the Phantoms in this area and he is well supported by junior Namadu, Nathan Batina and Freddy Tupou in the loose.
I expect the Steamers to apply a cunning game plan here and look for the likes of Richard Manion to step up at key times in this game, some sniping kicks to turn them around, maybe a few quick taps at penalty time, even some backrow moves? Griffith managed to nail their first up tackles last week and this should be a key focus area for any team playing Leeton. From what I have seen of the teams this season, scrummaging is an area that all teams have some room to improve on – some more than others but I think this is an area of the game that has a way to go for some teams.
A big road trip for the Steamers out to Leeton #1 Oval (which is potentially where the GF could be played) will be a tough day out for the Steamers but one that they’ll just have to suck it up.
Tumut (5) v Wagga City (3)
No guarantees for either team in this one. City are building on some solid foundations with a competitive scrum early in the season, however Tumut have the ability to present a real challenge here as it’s an area of their game that they really enjoy. Both teams play traditionally lean towards the 10-man style of rugby but this has changed a bit in recent years. With some wet weather tipped for the hills this weekend, will we be “back to the future”?
I keep getting mail that the Bulls have some tough hombres in their team and that they are playing a very competitive brand of footy and have really pushed some of the higher ranked teams on the ladder who are not looking forward to playing the Bulls in Round 2. Hopefully a damp Saturday at Jarrah Park will allow for a style of play that highlights both team’s strengths in this one.
Geez it’s tough to pick a Match of the Round this week, from what I’ve seen of the competition there is genuine potential for movement through the 2nd to 7th ladder positions as clubs jostle for points over the coming weeks. Okay, so maybe 2nd to 7th is an exaggeration, but you get the picture. I expect to see some improvement from Aggies, Griffith and Albury as depth becomes important over the coming rounds and from what I’ve seen of these clubs, they are not far away from clicking with each other and will cause some damage when they do.
Waratahs (2) v Griffith (7) – At Rugby One, Kapooka, Home of the RARC
Griffith will be keen to overcome the “Tough as Teak” Waratahs (never thought you’d see those words together did you?) this week as they take on the current Premiers at the Home of the Soldier – Rugby One at Kapooka. The RARC have sadly fallen by the way-side in recent years but have a strong and proud history as a tough but fair club in the Riverina, always great hosts and very happy to have a few cold ones with all comers post-match to either commiserate your loss or celebrate their victory. I have fond memories of playing against the RARC, you always knew you’d played a fair game of rugby after playing these guys and that you were always going to have a good time after the game. $2 stubbies anyone?
The Blacks held the Phantoms to a 4 point lead last week for 25-30mins of the game and should be really motivated by that. If they clean up a few areas of their game, they will be a force to be reckoned with. While they might have to take the long road later in the season, they’ve already knocked over their two biggest road trips of the year (Albury and Tumut) so only have to travel to Wagga and Leeton over the remaining rounds of the competition. They’ve got some rampaging ball runners in Augustin De Notta (early) and Enoch Tia (final 20mins) who can really cause some headaches when they get a run up and once they get some momentum, they’re hard to stop.
Waratahs appear to be heading in the right direction and have got some handy cards to play in different areas of the field. Waratahs have definitely come back to the pack in terms of calibre of player from 2016, however they still have plenty of firepower in key positions. Will Xavier Chigwidden start to come into the frame more over the coming weeks? Tom Hallam? My scouts tell me that Harry Hosegood and Austin Wallace are two key players in their forward pack also.
CSU (8) v Ag College (6)
The traditional campus grudge match – Chalks v Aggies is usually one for the ages and has been known to serve up a few upsets over the years as blokes grow extra legs and nerves get to others. Will this be the case in 2017? Key questions such as who is Trevor Fosdyke may be answered this weekend.
The track should be fast and will allow both sides to play an expansive game of footy if they are able to. CSU don’t have a strong front row and are hurting since guys like Dean Smart got injured recently but they do have a mobile forward pack and an accurate kicking game with Mitch Fealy really hitting some form here. Aggies have probably got the edge in the backline and the backrow but I reckon a strong kicking 5/8 can negate these in certain situations and this is an area that Aggies have not been performing well in in recent weeks.
As most grudge matches go though, they generally don’t live up to the hype but I’m sure the testosterone levels will be elevated for both teams here and this match is always a great day out.
EXTRA EXTRA
In preparation for late Friday web surfing, <insert nameless faceless bagging of CSU here> Honestly, if you can’t be constructive, stop gobbing off and find somewhere else to showcase your keyboard warrior prowess. We’re all sick of it, it’s done to death, leave it alone. You know who I’m looking at.
Leeton (1) v Albury (4) – Match of the Round
Leeton are certainly setting the SIRU Competition on fire at this stage of the season aren’t they! A strong forward pack (strengthened by the return of Simon Vunilagi this week) and some really exciting backs are creating a world of hurt with creative passing bamboozling would-be tacklers left, right and centre!
The Phantoms are relishing in their ability to play expansive, ad hoc rugby and teams are struggling to come to terms with how to respond defensively to this style of play. If the Phantoms get a chance to offload, they can really tear teams apart with multiple runners in gaps and from depth able to slice defensive structures apart with surgical precision. Noa Rabici has been a stellar performer for the Phantoms in this area and he is well supported by junior Namadu, Nathan Batina and Freddy Tupou in the loose.
I expect the Steamers to apply a cunning game plan here and look for the likes of Richard Manion to step up at key times in this game, some sniping kicks to turn them around, maybe a few quick taps at penalty time, even some backrow moves? Griffith managed to nail their first up tackles last week and this should be a key focus area for any team playing Leeton. From what I have seen of the teams this season, scrummaging is an area that all teams have some room to improve on – some more than others but I think this is an area of the game that has a way to go for some teams.
A big road trip for the Steamers out to Leeton #1 Oval (which is potentially where the GF could be played) will be a tough day out for the Steamers but one that they’ll just have to suck it up.
Tumut (5) v Wagga City (3)
No guarantees for either team in this one. City are building on some solid foundations with a competitive scrum early in the season, however Tumut have the ability to present a real challenge here as it’s an area of their game that they really enjoy. Both teams play traditionally lean towards the 10-man style of rugby but this has changed a bit in recent years. With some wet weather tipped for the hills this weekend, will we be “back to the future”?
I keep getting mail that the Bulls have some tough hombres in their team and that they are playing a very competitive brand of footy and have really pushed some of the higher ranked teams on the ladder who are not looking forward to playing the Bulls in Round 2. Hopefully a damp Saturday at Jarrah Park will allow for a style of play that highlights both team’s strengths in this one.
) - its nice for some apart usual suspects to be at the top- but worry for long term rugby development. 107 to blip results are not a good thing.