JO'C giving Mitch the good-oil
Watching the Force this season hasn’t been easy. Not only have they somehow managed to injure the bulk of their international representatives, but they have also played some truly shithouse rugby as well. Not that they haven’t been putting in effort mind, they have, and chief among those trying the hardest is James O’Connor.
Young Rabbits has been pitch-forked into an un-accustomed role of being a senior player, despite still only being 20 years of age. Let’s not forget that this time last year JO’C was being used off the bench by Mitch in an effort not to put too much pressure on him, doesn’t a year make a difference.
In fact, watching JO’C in the flesh last week against the Reds I couldn’t help but notice how few mistakes he made. In a side that was losing its collective shit completely, he managed to keep his head and play with a level of maturity that was way above the other Force players.
The stats below confirm how much JO’C is being called upon this year as opposed to 2009. Last season he played a total of ten games, with a couple of those coming off the bench – this season he has played every minute of all four games.
The most telling stats in my opinion are the kicking stats. It is clear that JO’C is the man who has the responsibility of getting the Force around the park. In the first four games this season he has averaged 294 kicking metres per game as opposed to 125 metres in 2009, and now kicks almost 10 times per match when last season he averaged around 4.
It is also fairly clear looking at the stats the added responsibility he has taken on in attack. It has been interesting watching him grow into the role of play-maker as it is not one he has filled with any regularity. Perhaps his finest game of this season was against the Hurricanes at Wellington when he took over from the badly misfiring Sam Harris and ran the show.
With Quade Cooper deservedly getting all the plaudits as the form Australian player of the season so far, it is not surprising JO’C hasn’t rated a mention. Based on the stats however, it stands out like dog’s balls he is doing a pretty decent job.
So far this year JO’C has laid on 3 of the 5 tries scored by the Force after not setting up any last season. Add to this the fact that on average he is making twice as many line-breaks and offloading on average three times more often than last season and his importance to the team is not hard to see.
And that is before you throw in the fact he has scored 38 points out of the Force’s total of 66.
The Force has suffered many set backs this year, but with JO’C fit and firing, and a few troops due coming back from injury in the coming weeks, maybe a win isn’t too far away.
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JO’C's Per Game Comparison |
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|
Runs |
Run Mtrs |
Line Brakes |
Try Assists |
Offloads |
Tackles |
Miss Tack |
Kicks |
Kick Mtrs |
Pts |
|
2009 per game |
4.4 |
36 |
0.5 |
0 |
0.5 |
4.2 |
1 |
3.7 |
125 |
2.7 |
|
2010 per game |
6.5 |
49 |
1 |
0.75 |
1.5 |
5.75 |
1.75 |
9.5 |
294 |
9.5 |
Careful Juan – almost a positive article about the Western Force.
We can’t have that.
No, wait, its OK – JO’C is a Reds Junior.
Phew. That was a close one.
exile, if you come up with any positive stuff about the force, please let us know.
We’ll be sure to mention it.
Noddy lets talk about how well Matt Hodgson is playing, Or Nathan Sharpe. What about Brett Sheehan who is playing out of his skin each and every week.
It must be easy to continue to dump on a team week in, week out – especially when they have a string of injuries that would cripple any side.
Is Green and Gold Rugby about supporting Australian Sides and Australian Players – or just some sides and just some players?
Brett Sheehan is playing bloody well.
KSulk seems to be going not so well….
he must’ve lost cooper as a client and adopted the whole force lineup.
JOC’s defense has been poor. Let in 2 trys against the Reds with poor attempts at the tackle. Unless he sorts that he won’t be 12 or 15 for the Wallabies again.
JOC is an amazing player…he will be with the wallabies for a long time…inside backs he is playing better than include Gits, Berrick, AF.
Absolutely agree.
His defence might look iffy, but if you play at five eight and have a backline like the Reds coming at you from every which way and your own loosies struggling to maintain parity, you are going to miss some tackles, don’t care who you are.
O’Connor is not afraid of the tackle and he will sort his defence out quickly once he has quality players around him.
Meanwhile his work on attack is pretty much outstanding in a team beaten all over the park. Notwithstanding injury he will be a Wallaby again this year.
He’s well ahead of his years on the field. I really hope he keeps a level head – if he does, surely he’s going to be one of the game’s greats!
Good article JC. Too easy just to look at the negatives at the Force. I think this year will do wonders for JOC. The big test of how much he has matured/developed will be to see how he goes next time he plays for the Wallabies against the All Blacks.
I’m imagining a young un backline a few years from now – QC, JOC, DI, whoever. Could be farking good.
with Will Genia feeding them… fun stuff.
All brissy GPS boys if im not mistaken,
would be interesting to compare his stats to the australian players he is against in terms of wallaby selection, is he going that well, or does he look good when compared to the crap standing around him?
Are “Line Brakes” a defensive or attacking stat?
It is hard to compare JO’C to any other player’s stats as he has been shunted from fullback to centre to 5/8, he seems to play a different role each week. He might be better off in a team where he can settle in a single position for a season.
i get what your saying but a week ago they compared quade to berrick even though berricks been shifted, and then they came to a conclusive argument based on the stats, so would still be interesting while not proving anything conclusively.
i wouldnt mind seeing each position at the half way point ranked purely on stats to see if its that different to everyones say
the force need joc in the frontline but maybe for the wallabies he could become the next shane williams on the wing>> hes got the speed footwork ballskills and a kick to deliver from 11 or 14… and weve got talented inside backs as is??
any takers?>
JOC is a freak, he could play anywhere from 9-15 and be world class… However, I can’t wait to see him play 12 outside Cooper for the wallabies. He could be as good as Horan. I hope Deans has the courage to bench Gits and drop Barnes.
Realistically I think he’ll be on the bench for the Wallabies to start off with, unless he really steps up to inside centre or fullback. But what else is great is his goal kicking, becoming a real weapon in his game.
A year ago (and years previous) we had one genuine goal kicker in the starting team, Giteau. This year it is looking like we will have a few options: Giteau, Barnes, Quade Cooper, JO’C
I’m not happy about the way Gits is playing at the mo, but he is not stupid. Surely he has noticed the form of both JO’C and Coops and surely he has analysed his own performance against that. What then is going through his mind? Or maybe he hasn’t done any of those things and is hoping for the best. But it must be causing Robbie Deans eyes to be narrowing.
I think the problem with gits is that he cant perform under pressure. We saw it with the grand slam, even his first wallabies game nerves got the better of him. He is very destructable when he’s relaxed. I hope he’s not thinking too much about added pressure from coops n joc cos that will just lead to more average performances or poor performances where he just tries too much. He’s really got get his head straight cos when he does he’s a bloody good player.
Seb mate, surely an international rugby player has to be able to perform under pressure. I do admit there is pressure and there is pressure and at the moment I think maybe the biggest pressure on Gits is coming from himself.
If only someone would just shift him out one possie and give hime the space to play his natural game. He is NOT a 10, after the last international season and the S14 so far I’m absolutely and totally convinced of that, but I’m also convinced that he is a talented and inspired footballer.
Would someone please, please take this deluded brilliant performer aside and tell him the facts of life and make sure he gets one – in another position.
Gits not a 10? Dead right! Someone needs to give him a slap and tell him the facts of life. He can serve the Wallabies (and himself) way better at 12.
it would be ineteresting to see the stats of a few players compared, like WaratahJesus asks for.
some players (like O’Connor or Sheehan mentioned here) might look really good, but are playing in a below par side.
i would be interested to see a scrumhalf stat comparison – Genia & Sheehan (who look pretty solid) Vs Burgess & Valentine (who i think have looked fairly average).
could someone with the nous knock it up??