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Round 5 - Brumbies vs Waratahs - Friday 15 March @ 7:45pm in Canberra

Brumby Jack

Steve Williams (59)
Staff member
Brumbies

1. Scott SIO
2. Folau FAINGA’A
3. Leslie LEULUAIALII-MAKIN
4. Rory ARNOLD
5. Sam CARTER
6. Rob VALETINI
7. Tom CUSACK
8. Lachlan MCCAFFREY
9. Joe POWELL
10. Christian LEALIIFANO
11. Lausii TALIAULI
12. Irae SIMONE
13. Tevita KURIDRANI
14. Henry SPEIGHT
15. Tom BANKS

REPLACEMENTS
16. Josh MANN-REA
17. James SLIPPER
18. Tom ROSS
19. Murray DOUGLAS
20. Pete SAMU
21. Ryan LONERGAN
22. Jordan JACKSON-HOPE
23. Mack HANSEN
 

Tomikin

Simon Poidevin (60)
Brumbies

1. Scott SIO
2. Folau FAINGA’A
3. Leslie LEULUAIALII-MAKIN
4. Rory ARNOLD
5. Sam CARTER
6. Rob VALETINI
7. Tom CUSACK
8. Lachlan MCCAFFREY
9. Joe POWELL
10. Christian LEALIIFANO
11. Lausii TALIAULI
12. Irae SIMONE
13. Tevita KURIDRANI
14. Henry SPEIGHT
15. Tom BANKS

REPLACEMENTS
16. Josh MANN-REA
17. James SLIPPER
18. Tom ROSS
19. Murray DOUGLAS
20. Pete SAMU
21. Ryan LONERGAN
22. Jordan JACKSON-HOPE
23. Mack HANSEN


Bit of a shake up from last week, Muirhead and Wright taking the brunt of the bad form.. Looking forward to JJH and Hansen getting some time.
 

southsider

Arch Winning (36)
I was on the fence about this one but after seeing that team lost I’m backing the tahs....surprised slipper wasn’t given the starting role
 

Slim 293

Stirling Mortlock (74)
I'm surprised to see Douglas again over Enever and Swain.........

Otherwise I mostly like that team.

Mann-Rea probably should've joined Hawera in the stands.......... and that would've added to the local Canberra flavour in the 23 if McInernery came in.

I hope to see JJH playing at either 10 or 12 when he comes on......... wasted at fullback, and despite his size he'll provide more in attack than the other options.
 

Brumby Jack

Steve Williams (59)
Staff member
^ Can see JJH at 12 and Hansen on the wing, if he gets on as Tom Banks would be unlikely to come off and would be wasted being shifted to the wing.
 

Brumby Runner

David Wilson (68)
It really looks like McKellar still hasn't got a clue about his best 23, and probably uses the story of needing a 40 man squad as a smokescreen.

Good to see Taliauli back in, but other selections have got me bemused. Christian must be flying very close to the wind at 10 after two very ordinary (actually much less than ordinary) outings against the Hurricanes and last week against the Rebels. Thought it might backfire when he was appointed as Captain, and now I think his spot in the team is really on shaky ground.

I am a little surprised at Les Makin being in the starting side after last week, thinking maybe Slipper might move to the starting TH side. But I am afan of Les and really hope he can turn it around in the scrums for this match.

Call Samu the super-sub as much as you might, there is no way both Cusack and McCaffrey should start with Pete on the bench.The difference in quality is huge.

The bench was a big part of the failing to beat the Rebels last week. This bench is a further step down. Mann-Rea is a good toiler but his lineout throwing is very suspect. Murray Douglas is a bit down on either Enever or Swain and JJH and Hansen are likely to be found wanting when they come on.

Everything is pointing to a strong win to the Tahs.
 

Tomikin

Simon Poidevin (60)
It really looks like McKellar still hasn't got a clue about his best 23, and probably uses the story of needing a 40 man squad as a smokescreen.

Good to see Taliauli back in, but other selections have got me bemused. Christian must be flying very close to the wind at 10 after two very ordinary (actually much less than ordinary) outings against the Hurricanes and last week against the Rebels. Thought it might backfire when he was appointed as Captain, and now I think his spot in the team is really on shaky ground.

I am a little surprised at Les Makin being in the starting side after last week, thinking maybe Slipper might move to the starting TH side. But I am afan of Les and really hope he can turn it around in the scrums for this match.

Call Samu the super-sub as much as you might, there is no way both Cusack and McCaffrey should start with Pete on the bench.The difference in quality is huge.

The bench was a big part of the failing to beat the Rebels last week. This bench is a further step down. Mann-Rea is a good toiler but his lineout throwing is very suspect. Murray Douglas is a bit down on either Enever or Swain and JJH and Hansen are likely to be found wanting when they come on.

Everything is pointing to a strong win to the Tahs.

I agree with a number of your points,

1/* If Poey ain't playing then start Samu, I can lean on the super sub if you have Poey starting as McCaffrey and Valentini are tall and good LO options. But with out Poey, Start Pete and the others fit around him.

2/* Big Les hopefully will have a good game but I was expecting slipper at the THP, Bongo should have been dropped for his poor form, McInerney played the house down last year and deserves the bench spot.

3/* I haven't seen enough of Douglas to know, and he came on at 6, but it's pretty harsh on Swain and Enever...

4/* If leo gets injuried who plays 10, Im not so bad on Mack and JJH getting a gig, but maybe not the same time.

Its going to be a tough week, but as always the boys will step up at home, and its the Tah's so course we will win.
 

Jerry West

Sydney Middleton (9)
Slipper’s days on the opposite side of the scrum are past him. He was broken during NRC because of that, he’s the best LHP in the squad and should be starting ahead of Sio
 

fatprop

George Gregan (70)
Staff member
The Pocock injury happened at the controversial pre-season Wallabies training camp. All signs suggest that it's more serious than reported and he'll likely be managing it all season.


This injury, there was a head knock as well and we are only a few games in
 

RoffsChoice

Jim Lenehan (48)
It really looks like McKellar still hasn't got a clue about his best 23, and probably uses the story of needing a 40 man squad as a smokescreen.



Good to see Taliauli back in, but other selections have got me bemused. Christian must be flying very close to the wind at 10 after two very ordinary (actually much less than ordinary) outings against the Hurricanes and last week against the Rebels. Thought it might backfire when he was appointed as Captain, and now I think his spot in the team is really on shaky ground.



I am a little surprised at Les Makin being in the starting side after last week, thinking maybe Slipper might move to the starting TH side. But I am afan of Les and really hope he can turn it around in the scrums for this match.



Call Samu the super-sub as much as you might, there is no way both Cusack and McCaffrey should start with Pete on the bench.The difference in quality is huge.



The bench was a big part of the failing to beat the Rebels last week. This bench is a further step down. Mann-Rea is a good toiler but his lineout throwing is very suspect. Murray Douglas is a bit down on either Enever or Swain and JJH and Hansen are likely to be found wanting when they come on.



Everything is pointing to a strong win to the Tahs.


I suspect he knows his preferred 15, but is still working out the 23. Guys like Taliauli, Muirhead, Powell, and McCaffrey are clearly his favourites, and he'll generally pick them if they're available. Others, like Ala'alatoa, Arnold, Pocock, Lealiifano, and Banks, are players he recognises as the best in position. I think the rotation he's going through is him trying to sort out his bench with players he'd trust in his first choice 15, if that makes sense.

The only change I would make to the 15 is to bring in Muirhead for Speight. I think Samu may be a marginal gain on Valetini, but I also trust the starting backrow combination to work and I'm fine with not playing around with that.

I do not trust Ross in a scrum. He was abysmal in the NRC, and Super level will not be any easier for him. I would be picking Vunipola Fifita as reserve LHP and having Slipper cover THP. I hope he proves me wrong. Also keen to see if Douglas offers us anything at lock; there's an open race for starting spots in Canberra next season, and he needs to put in a good show to win one.

This injury, there was a head knock as well and we are only a few games in

Eh, head knocks can happen to anyone. It forced me out of the game, and all it took was an innocuous knock at training. I'd much prefer he takes the safe option and avoids the path that Ant Fainga'a or Berrick Barnes have found themselves on. If he suffers an ACL in the same knee as he did in 2013 and 2014, then I'd be concerned about recurring injury.
 

Slim 293

Stirling Mortlock (74)
^^^ re Speight............ I would also have kept Muirhead.

Speight seems to have become a massive defensive liability this year.
 

Brumby Runner

David Wilson (68)
See, I see the wing situation completely the opposite. Henry has improved this year after a couple of poor years while Muirhead is simply no contest for any of the bigger wingers going round. It is my clear impression that more tries and metres gained by the oppositions have been down Muirhead's wing this year than down Henry's.
 

RoffsChoice

Jim Lenehan (48)
Speight has only played 99 minutes this season, all of them against the Rebels. In that time, he has run less than 36m in six carries. He has passed the ball once. He has attempted twelve tackles and successfully completed five, for a success rate of 42%. His errors have directly lead to four of the five tries conceded while he has been on the field. Not only is he not as much of a positive contribution to the team as you would hope, he is often a detriment, making decisions and influencing plays and players in such a way that we are worse for him being on the field than we would be having 14 men.

Muirhead, in 310 minutes, has run 140m in 22 carries. He has beaten eight defenders, made five clean breaks, won four turnovers, made 18 of 22 tackles for an 81% success rate, and, generally, has made a positive contribution to the Brumbies both offensively and defensively.

Most importantly, I see a future for Muirhead with this team. I like his relationship with Banks and Kuridrani. The way he reads the game defensively and picks the right position to be in (be that in the line, sweeping behind it, or covering deep) is a massive asset for the team. His ability to cover for Banks when he comes forward is massive. He makes good decisions. Finally, his pace is comparable to Banks and his work rate is great. The only thing that Speight can match is a relationship with Kuridrani.
 
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