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Wallabies 2024

Spruce Moose

Fred Wood (13)
The player selections were reckless. A clean out and rebuild is acceptable but you don‘t do it one clean swoop. Quade and Hooper should have been there … a given. There are no questions around Carter Gordon and Fraser McReight’s ability and both players are the future of Australian rugby BUT this should have been a batten change with these two given the keys in 2024. Seriously, Max Jorgensen and Ben Donaldson taking spots to keep two of our best IP players out of the team … that is insanity. Eddie only having two months to bring together a team and he does that shit. Not a coach with much clue.

Taking injured forwards like Pone as only replacement for injury prone guy like Tupou also seems strange in hindsight. Would have thought better to take our best centre Ikitau as maybe misses first game but come back for Fiji. Also I don't see how Hooper or Samu don't go just to give some wise old heads and impact from bench at worst.

Then the flyhalf thing, taking no real proper 2nd 10 was really just weird. Foley or Cooper just to add relief, Foley can just as good a job as Donaldson at 15 if required, hell Hodge as well.

My hope is the boys felt this hard (which seemed to be the case based on emotions last night) and it puts a fire in their belly to fix this for next year. First test next year I'd have with the re build starting:

1. Bell 2. Porecki 3. Tupou 4. Skelton 5. Phillip 6. Valentini 7. McReight 8. Wilson 9. Tate 10. Lynagh/Gordon 11. Vunivalu 12. Perese 13. Ikitau 14. Marky Mark (Nawaqanitawase) 15. Kellaway

Bench
Sio, Pollard, AAA, Arnold, T.Hooper, IKL, Jorgensen, Fokeiti
 

rugbyAU

Nev Cottrell (35)
Taking injured forwards like Pone as only replacement for injury prone guy like Tupou also seems strange in hindsight. Would have thought better to take our best centre Ikitau as maybe misses first game but come back for Fiji. Also I don't see how Hooper or Samu don't go just to give some wise old heads and impact from bench at worst.

Then the flyhalf thing, taking no real proper 2nd 10 was really just weird. Foley or Cooper just to add relief, Foley can just as good a job as Donaldson at 15 if required, hell Hodge as well.

My hope is the boys felt this hard (which seemed to be the case based on emotions last night) and it puts a fire in their belly to fix this for next year. First test next year I'd have with the re build starting:

1. Bell 2. Porecki 3. Tupou 4. Skelton 5. Phillip 6. Valentini 7. McReight 8. Wilson 9. Tate 10. Lynagh/Gordon 11. Vunivalu 12. Perese 13. Ikitau 14. Marky Mark (Nawaqanitawase) (Nawaqanitawase) 15. Kellaway

Bench
Sio, Pollard, AAA, Arnold, T.Hooper, IKL, Jorgensen, Fokeiti
I like having Harry Wilson in there and Valentini at 6 but Rodda & Frost > Arnold & Phillip, Scott Sio maybe but to old, BPA is better than Porecki, Paisami is a better 12 than Perese, I'd have for Next year:

1. Bell
2. Paenga Amosa
3. Tupou
4. Frost
5. Rodda
6. Leota
7. Gleeson
8. Valentini
9. McDermott
10. Gordon
11. Vunivalu
12. Paisami
13. Ikitau
14. Nawaqanitawase
15. Kellaway

16. Lonergan
17. Gibbon
18. AAA
19. Salakai-Loto
20. Wilson
21. Lonergan
22. Donaldson
23. Petaia
 
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Members Section

John Thornett (49)
Bell, BPA, Tupou, Frost, Rodda, Valentini, Gleeson, Wilson, McDermott, Gordon, Wright, Paisami, Ikitau, Nawaqanitawase, Kellaway

Faesslar/Lonergan, Gibbon/Sio, AAA, Salakai-Loto/Phillip, Gleeson, Lonergan/IFL, Donaldson, Vunivalu

not sure about completely dropping Bobby v, he's been one of our most consistent players the last 3 years
 

Doritos Day

Johnnie Wallace (23)
Hamish seems to stubborn to walk away, gloats about how he'd done good things by winning us the mens & women WC and donating his salary

this is the same two lines repackaged ten times, what a joke
 

rugbyAU

Nev Cottrell (35)
Really funny and annoying hearing casuals with no idea about rugby winging about Hooper and Cooper, i.e. the only 2 wallaby players they know.

Been over this but they wouldn't of helped, we missed the likes of Ikitau, BPA, Rodda, Samu & more
 
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Beer on the hill

Ward Prentice (10)
Really funny and annoying hearing casuals with no idea about rugby winging about Hooper and Cooper, i.e. the only 2 wallaby players they know.

Been over this but they wouldn't of helped, we missed the likes of Ikitau, BPA, Rodda, Samu more
Gee we should have picked Hooper though.
 

Spruce Moose

Fred Wood (13)
Really funny and annoying hearing casuals with no idea about rugby winging about Hooper and Cooper, i.e. the only 2 wallaby players they know.

Been over this but they wouldn't of helped, we missed the likes of Ikitau, BPA, Rodda, Samu more
I think Hooper wouldn't have started but could have seen him around camp and making a bench spot just to mentor some guys. As for Cooper he didn't look great in RC but seriously we needed another 10 than Gordon, Donaldson isn't a Test 10, Foley or Cooper were next best so really think we should have taken one of them. Think we could have sacrificed one of the 4 wingers/2 full backs for that.
 

SouthernX

Peter Johnson (47)
“One line of thought is that Jones may simply have been helping selection process, given his close relationship with JRFU President Masato Tsuchida, a former player & head coach of Suntory Sungoliath, now Tokyo Sungoliath, with whom Jones has had working relationship since 1997”

 

rugbyAU

Nev Cottrell (35)
Screen Shot 2023-09-25 at 10.24.32 pm.png
 

KevinO

John Hipwell (52)
Smaller playing pool, no 1 team in the world.
4 teams, bigger squads, a lot more games, central contracting controls. It's also taken Ireland a decade to get where they are now with a lot of domestic success and a lot of pain in 2019 rwc. Remember they lost to Japan in the group and got smashed by NZ in the quarters. Irish sides have won 8 of the last 10 URC, plus Leinsters European cups. 3 out of 4 teams have won a trophy.

It's a lot different then the Aus sides set ups.
 
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