Wallabies vs Wales - Docklands Stadium June 16

There's a difference between knowing what the ARU would do, and my own personal preference.

Patersons Stadium, capacity 45k, no AFL being played this weekend in Perth so would have been good to go..

Fixed.

Speight not an AUssie, yet, and happy for Mogg to wait a little longer, plenty of time for him.

Haven't read everything, but why not leave Barnes there? He showed his passion for the game and team by being there, and in his attitude coming off. Yes he stayed 1 kick to long, and luckily Kiwi got a chance to redeem that, but I would rather Barnes anytime compared to the turnsile headline. If not just for the fact that he is a footy player, not a flash tweeting nightclubbing big head.

Robbie, please keep Berrick at 10. That way the other players can play their games, and not be worrying about where the turnstile is.

Thanks for your valuable input.

The centres have been great the past two weeks.

But yes, there are loads of better wingers available.

Strange that, considering it's quoted at 43.5 on their website.

It will make it thought when Beale and cooper are ready again. We need more spark in the backline but we can lose direction either. Do we just hope that our fullback (Beale likely) adds enough spark or do we also move Barnes one out and drop either Horne or McCabe to the bench? And then there is Fa'ainga who has made a significant impact off the bench in both matches.

If one of these blokes learns some good long tactical kicking they will get their noses in front. Probably why Tapuai has slightly more long term potential?

I was at the game and have not watched a replay yet, so I have not been able to confirm my thoughts.

Yes, the Wallabies won. Yay us. Just reflect for a second on the fact that the Welsh had what can only be described as a brain fart and kicked the ball away with 90 seconds on the clock. We managed to get back for the penalty and Harris did the business. Yay us again.

We were 90 seconds away from having a whole different discussion on these boards. I note that even the Darkness nearly came unstuck but I remain utterly unconvinced that this Wallaby side will bring me any silverware this year. Real silverware; you know, like maybe the Bledisloe.

Frankly, I spent most of the game sitting in agonised silence with my teeth clenched. I'm not going to go into details lest I regurgitate points previously made, but I will say this:

At what point did we even look like having potency in attack?

At what point did we think about how to counter the Welsh rushing up? Did the Ireland game last year not give us advanced notice we are vulnerable in that area?

I thought Barnes was very ordinary in the first half. There, I said it. Bad kicks, bad passes and off-loading to piggies who were just standing still. Flat. Flat. Flat.

I semi-cheekily tweeted during the game that there was more atmosphere to be found in deep space than at Etihad Stadium. Maybe the 33K audience were also sitting with their teeth clenched.

The place was just under half empty. I know the reasons why it was at Etihad (AAMI park would have not been able to handle all ticket payers), but still, not a good look.

I fucking hate, yes hate, watching rugby at an AFL ground. Admittedly it is better than watching at Perth (Etihad has more vertical seating than Pattersons) but it is just too far removed from the action.

Maybe I am being harsh and maybe I should just be happy that we won. I should be happy, I know, but IMO Wales managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. My reality is that the best team lost.

Am I being overly negative?

I don't expect to win every game by 50 points, but I wonder if it is too much to ask if we could have an after match presser where the coach and captain look slightly smug at a job well done, rather than desperately relieved we got away with it?

That 'glass half empty' theme seems to be all through your post, very pessimistic.

Daz, this is how it works:

When we lose:

"The sky is falling! WE NEED TO CHANGE!

When we win:

Whoa! Wasn't ______ just FANTASTIC! Next - the Bledisloe/Bill/Lions


If you can't stick to the script you'll end up like Gnostic.

Fair enough. Happy to take a series win and I should have made that point.

I just did not really enjoy the game as much as others on this forum. I just see Lady Luck and Chance being selected in our playing squad a bit too often and I am not comfortable with that.

Self-imposed gag via their gold suits perhaps. Looked like it from where I was.

Agree with you, and normally I am one of the first to be selected for cheer-leading duties around here.

Maybe I am just having a bad hair day.

I think its hard to expect our backline to look lethal in attack without Coops, Gilbert, JOC, Tapuai and Mitchell (and potentially Lealiifano) injured. Apart from Digby and Genia, we are missing all of our attack!

When the game started and we were immediately down by 7 I thought, oh fuck, the Wabblies haven't turned up tonight. May as well stop watching now. The fact that the forwards lifted and overcame these early problems was better than winning.

Baa-baa, your point is well taken and I am sure that once I take my meds tonight (in the form of a green bottle with fermented red grape juice in it) I will come back into the light.

But mate, you can't have it both ways. You say the Welsh try was fortunate. Is that not luck?

In the same breath you say it was due to a Wallaby error. Which is it?

Sorry, I'm not trying to be difficult, but it is only hypothetical in that we got away with it. If we had lost, I bet you a penny to a pound that hypothetical would be out the door, and these boards would be rocking and rolling with the "sack Deans" stuff again.

My view is just as valid as yours. Right or wrong doesn't really count.