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Wallaby Watch 2014
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Viking
Mark Ella (57)
It is funny cos Hooper at the Brumbies never got questioned about his pilfering skills and pretty sure he lead the stats for it in super rugby. The game plan was kick it tackle the crap out of them and get the ball back.. He was awesome at it. Then at the tah's it was Ball in hand. In the wallabies he usually plays with Fardy, who is a good runner but a great onballer 6. So Hooper does less on ball attack and more running.
He'd be awesome if he just cut his hair..
No one questioned him at the Brumbies because he was the new kid on the block. We didn't expect him to make turnovers every game, so when he did he was essentially exceeding expectations.
Now it's a different story. He is Captain of the wallabies and will be compared with Pocock, Smith, McCaw etc. Sometimes it's fair criticism, a lot of the time it's not.
He is a certainly a different type of 7 we are use to in Aus. Fantastic player tho.
Ruggo
Mark Ella (57)
I should clarify, I mean through the full length of this tour for Hodgson. Over a longer period, I would like to see Moore get the captaincy back.
I agree Hodgson was the best 7 in 2014 but you know you got to tread lightly through the Hooper man love around here.
Pocock if he stays fit will be the long term Wallaby 7. People have been quick to forget actually just how good he is.
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Train Without a Station
Guest
Are you serious? People are still blowing their loads over a player who has not played for 2 years and was less effective in 2012 than he was in 2011 anyway.
Slim 293
Stirling Mortlock (74)
To be fair on Pocock he was, in my view at least, the player of the series against the Welsh in 2012............. He was massive in those games.
He only played that first match in the RC where he was injured........... and overnight many Wallabies fans rewrote the narrative regarding his abilities.
Within a week he was suddenly no longer the player the Wallabies could be without.............
Having said that, he has been seriously injured for 2 years and it's going to be very tough for him to reclaim his spot off Hooper, but I don't think it's fair that there's some historical revisionism going on regarding his previous Wallaby form.
He only played that first match in the RC where he was injured........... and overnight many Wallabies fans rewrote the narrative regarding his abilities.
Within a week he was suddenly no longer the player the Wallabies could be without.............
Having said that, he has been seriously injured for 2 years and it's going to be very tough for him to reclaim his spot off Hooper, but I don't think it's fair that there's some historical revisionism going on regarding his previous Wallaby form.
Tread lightly through the Hooper man love?
Hooper will be captain next week against Wales. Cheika will be the third Wallabies coach to prefer Hooper to Hodgson.
Suggesting that Hooper should be and will continue to be the Wallabies 7 hardly has anything to do with man love. It's just a reality of form and ability.
The return of Pocock is pure speculation right now. He's been out for a long time and will face an enormous battle to make the RWC squad.
It's a pity one can't just have an opinion that a player is better without people attaching cheap jibes like this to it, as if it is some irrational cult-following.
I thought you were better than that, Ruggo.
Inside Shoulder
Nathan Sharpe (72)
An English cricket captain who averaged 28 with the bat, didn't bowl but won the ashes in his second stint as captain.
In effect he was only in the team for his captaincy and it worked: similar - Reuben Thorn, Black Toddadder
Mike Brearley.
I think he averaged a tick under 23 at test level.
For someone who was picked as a batsman, I think he could have the longest test career without ever scoring a test century.
Inside Shoulder
Nathan Sharpe (72)
22.88 - 66 innings without a century
Ruggo
Mark Ella (57)
That's not true. A few people have said in the past that Hodgson was a better player than Hooper only to be drowned out in a wave of man love. Hooper has been nothing short of inadequate as a Wallaby captain but not really taken to task because of man love. His decision making has been woeful, he don't seem to have the attention of his team on the field and he don't have the respect of the referees that have officiated Wallaby tests. There has not been a huge amount of rational thinking in assessing Michael Hooper.
Let's put this on the record from me. I have not said he is a bad player, just over-hyped. There are parts of his game he does incredibly such as a very high and impactful work rate. He is a quality ball runner with a highly impressive change of pace and powerful leg drive. He has a low center of gravity and uses it incredibly well to his advantage. He does things that make one admire how he can punch above his weight.
I also don't see it as a cheap jibe but rather an expression of what I feel is the truth. I know damn well that I am better than a cheap jibe and I would like to think my conduct on this forum over a period of time is a reflection of that.
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Train Without a Station
Guest
Ruggo,
To say a John Eales medalist and Super Rugby winning captain is hardly man love. His leadership at the Wallabies is lacking. He also has the most inexperienced team around him of any captain since Mortlock.
If anything, this talk of Pocock after not playing a full game for 2 years is man love. Pocock is a quality player. He's also very one dimensional.
To say a John Eales medalist and Super Rugby winning captain is hardly man love. His leadership at the Wallabies is lacking. He also has the most inexperienced team around him of any captain since Mortlock.
If anything, this talk of Pocock after not playing a full game for 2 years is man love. Pocock is a quality player. He's also very one dimensional.
chasmac
Dave Cowper (27)
Hooper, Palu, Skelton, Higgers, Slipper, TPN can all bend the line with ball in hand.
Horwill, Moore, Kepu, Fardy, Alexander, McCalman, Sio, Pocock to a lesser extent.
Carter, Simmons, Hodgo, Fingers, Robbo, Hanson should be distributors as they don't seem to be as dynamic as the others at the gain line.
Different skills suit different roles.
Horwill, Moore, Kepu, Fardy, Alexander, McCalman, Sio, Pocock to a lesser extent.
Carter, Simmons, Hodgo, Fingers, Robbo, Hanson should be distributors as they don't seem to be as dynamic as the others at the gain line.
Different skills suit different roles.
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Train Without a Station
Guest
Well he is. As a rugby player he's the equivalent of Vince Vaughn or Mark Wahlberg as actors. Can only play one role.
Being a quality player and being mutli-faceted are not the same thing.
Being a quality player and being mutli-faceted are not the same thing.
Viking
Mark Ella (57)
OK. Here we go again.
Not sure what your definition of a one-dimensional player is, but I see Pocock as an X-factor player. Can X-factor players be one-dimensional?
Hooper has X-factor in attack, does his job on defence.
Pocock has X-factor in defence, does his job on attack.
Just because he doesn't make line-breaks like Hooper doesn't mean he is one-dimensional.
Highlander35
Andrew Slack (58)
If Pocock is still injured, or complete shit, he will not go to RWC.
Pocock in the same sort of Form he was 2 years ago? He's there.
Not injured, not shit, but not amazing? Well... at that point in time, we should be having the conversation.
Pocock in the same sort of Form he was 2 years ago? He's there.
Not injured, not shit, but not amazing? Well... at that point in time, we should be having the conversation.
Inside Shoulder
Nathan Sharpe (72)
I'm not a Hooper fan at all BUT if you took the team that was picked who should have been captain ahead of him?
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Train Without a Station
Guest
Can only play one style.
Hooper has varied between focusing more on scavenging, and more on ball running throughout his career.
Fardy has done the same in his time. Ran a lot more late last year and has been more prominent at the breakdown this year.
I'm not getting into an argument over who is better as a player, but I am stating that Pocock cannot really vary his game very much.
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