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Reds 2022

TSR

Mark Ella (57)
i hope they take him to Roma.

He did go well against a decent Force team with lots of their starting team in it. He certainly didn’t appear over awed.

That’s not to say he is ready for Super Rugby this year - but so long as the S&C coaches think his body can handle it (and I assume that decision has already been made) I’d be keen form him to get some more experience there.
 

RugbyReg

Rocky Elsom (76)
Staff member
And this is the first I've read of Jock at 10 outside of this place:

Usually a winger or fullback, Campbell was set start in the No.10 at Ballymore while it was also a chance to experiment with backline sensation Petaia at fullback, where many pundits believe he'll find his feet ahead of the 2023 World Cup.
 

Ged

Allen Oxlade (6)
On the back of half a game of trial footy you’d pick an 18 year old (with 40 mins of senior footy under his belt) who can seemingly only cover one position? Big call.
Yes, that plus:
-UK video footage
-having seen the ceiling of other contenders
-precedent - JOC (James O'Connor), Quade, etc - acknowledging that they took a while but you gotta start somewhere
-reckless blind faith and hope of the next big thing ;)
 

TSR

Mark Ella (57)
I agree RR. But having said that he was bloody good. Certainly did better than I thought we could expect. Doeesnt mean he’s ready for Super, but it would be a bit sad if people didn’t get pretty excited by a performance like that from an 18 year old.
 

Cancelled Account

Desmond Connor (43)
I agree RR. But having said that he was bloody good. Certainly did better than I thought we could expect. Doeesnt mean he’s ready for Super, but it would be a bit sad if people didn’t get pretty excited by a performance like that from an 18 year old.
I remember the same excitement with Carter Gordon in NRC at 18.
Agree that he looked composed, but watching the replay he is still raw. Give him a year against men in QPR and let him develop towards a Super Rugby level.
I like what I see so far.
 

dru

Tim Horan (67)
Yes, that plus:
-UK video footage
-having seen the ceiling of other contenders
-precedent - JOC (James O'Connor), Quade, etc - acknowledging that they took a while but you gotta start somewhere
-reckless blind faith and hope of the next big thing ;)

I agree with you. And both Lynagh and Cooper debuted at 18 with little senior footy ben them.

but this

We have a habit of getting excited about the young new players here in this thread. Particularly flyhalf. We should let Lynagh go through his paces, and complete a season in QPR.

Fair enough!
 
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Wilson

David Codey (61)
Jim Tucker has Petaia as having got covid during the week with O'Connor and Campbell getting it day of the trial, so there's still a chance we see Petaia at 15 for the trial against the tahs:

1 COVID CAPERS

Being resilient enough with player depth to cope with late COVID hits in match weeks will be the theme of Super Rugby Pacific.

The Reds lost Jordan Petaia during the week and O’Connor and Jock Campbell on game day. Coach Brad Thorn might have orchestrated the team changes himself but he was down with COVID too.

That said with 2 players being ruled out on game day it's not unlikely there will be others missing that trial.
 

Adam84

Nick Farr-Jones (63)
I use this graph a bit at work when we’re looking at new products and ideas. I feel the same applies to rugby players. I’d say we’re close to the peak of inflated expectation.

1E7E0588-9F53-4EAC-B097-A0B5FC24A8E3.png
 

TSR

Mark Ella (57)
I remember the same excitement with Carter Gordon in NRC at 18.
Agree that he looked composed, but watching the replay he is still raw. Give him a year against men in QPR and let him develop towards a Super Rugby level.
I like what I see so far.
One thing I note is he is so small. Typical 18 year old frame - hasn’t filled out. I know he did a great cover tackle against Lacey but i wouldn’t like to see him having to handle full time pros week in week out.

You’re right - there is a lot to like, but very raw.

Aside from Lynagh I thought there was a lot to like in how a lot of the rookies went. I don’t expect many of them to jump into contention for the 23, but when inevitable injuries occur it is heartening that the next level of guys have some capacity to step up. And who knows with a few of them. Jeans probably the stand out, but I thought Aubrey, Vest, Oates & Annan all had some good moments.
 

PhilClinton

John Hipwell (52)
I've been impressed with the Reds recruitment and retainment pathways over the last 2-3 years.

I will say though, the flyhalf situation is probably the first time in a while I feel they missed a step by not re-signing Hegarty. It seems with flyhalf the options are clearly JOC (James O'Connor), then whomever is best on the training paddock (Stewart, Creighton and Campbell will all throw their hands up), and then Lynagh if absolutely need be. Doesn't instil great levels of confidence is JOC (James O'Connor) goes down early in the season.

There aren't an abundance of Super Rugby ready flyhalves and fullbacks running around who can kick goals at a high level, and Hegarty ticks all those boxes.
 

TSR

Mark Ella (57)
I've been impressed with the Reds recruitment and retainment pathways over the last 2-3 years.

I will say though, the flyhalf situation is probably the first time in a while I feel they missed a step by not re-signing Hegarty. It seems with flyhalf the options are clearly JOC (James O'Connor), then whomever is best on the training paddock (Stewart, Creighton and Campbell will all throw their hands up), and then Lynagh if absolutely need be. Doesn't instil great levels of confidence is JOC (James O'Connor) goes down early in the season.

There aren't an abundance of Super Rugby ready flyhalves and fullbacks running around who can kick goals at a high level, and Hegarty ticks all those boxes.
I got the impression Hegarty felt the time was right to get bigger dollars OS. I agree he would have been handy to keep, but possibly not at the price he was chasing.
 

dru

Tim Horan (67)
I've been impressed with the Reds recruitment and retainment pathways over the last 2-3 years.

I will say though, the flyhalf situation is probably the first time in a while I feel they missed a step by not re-signing Hegarty. It seems with flyhalf the options are clearly JOC (James O'Connor), then whomever is best on the training paddock (Stewart, Creighton and Campbell will all throw their hands up), and then Lynagh if absolutely need be. Doesn't instil great levels of confidence is JOC (James O'Connor) goes down early in the season.

There aren't an abundance of Super Rugby ready flyhalves and fullbacks running around who can kick goals at a high level, and Hegarty ticks all those boxes.

Heggarty was a great contributor and will be remembered well. Hard to justify holding him, though. Jock was all over starting 15 AND expected to be ousted by Petaia. Pretty much all backline roles have as good if not better options. Back up 10/utility bench has Stewart and as we see potentially others coming through,

if funding wasn’t an issue you’d hold on to Hegarty for sure. In the real world we let him go, even if the back up 10 options get premature if JOC (James O'Connor) or Stewart are down.

I’d rather Money spent at 2, which I think it has been.
 

PhilClinton

John Hipwell (52)
Yeh I don't doubt Hegarty probably wanted more money, and the timing of other players coming off contract would also play a factor.

I've been a Stewart fan for a while, but lets not forget he hasn't been the most reliable contributor over the years. I think in fairness he's been asked to play a few different styles in different positions which is always tricky, but his name gets thrown around on here like if JOC (James O'Connor) goes down, he's going to right the ship and we'll be fine. I don't think that's the case necessarily.
 

RugbyReg

Rocky Elsom (76)
Staff member
I agree with you. And both Lynagh and Cooper debuted at 18 with little senior footy ben them.

but this



Fair enough!
Yep, QC (Quade Cooper) debuted at 18. And gees whilst showing some absolute talent didn't he show he was not ready a few times? Defensively, absolutely. Decision making, no doubt. Would he have benefited from a year in QPR at that time? Most likely? Were the Reds absolutely desperate at the time? Yes.

We can learn a lot from that. Similar with Petaia.
 
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