Wallabies 2024

[stillmissit]

But I don’t think that’s true BR. Especially not this year. In the last two weeks along he has thrown the last pass in two tries and on the weekend he threw the second last pass in two more aswell - albeit both from the back of rucks but one was a very good one hand flick. Not to mention his between the legs feed to McDermott for his try v the Chiefs. He has thrown 17 passes in the last two weekends and a lot of those are running good support lines and a lot of those are out wide. (And we are only talking attack here. He also has both work rate and accuracy in defence and also seems to be doing his share of the breakdown work).

I don’t think characterising him as a battering ram captures even half of what he does.

We are too prone to pigeonhole players, making the most of their skills and brainsets are a critical part of coaching.

 

[LeCheese]

I'm convinced Harry Wilson's brain thinks it's in the body of a star outside centre

 

[Ignoto]

But battering ram is what Harry W mostly seems to play. I agree he has other skills, but most of his involvements in a game are hitting up to the defensive line and going to ground. The best I've ever seen Wilson play (comparatively speaking) was as the No 6 for the Aus U20s side. He played wider or down the blind side and regularly split the defence. He doesn't do that at SRP (Super Rugby Pacific) (Super Rugby Pacific) or test level.

I don't think he was even touched when he had two touches down that blind side.....

 

[RugbyReg]

Boring battering ram bullshit. Give it a rest Harry.

 

[Tomikin]

Didn't he also end up with quite high post contact metres last year?

Regardless, Valetini's impact for the Wallabies was minimal last year. He was used in extremely predictable situations, often multiple times a game, and was easily accounted for.

lol and was John Eales Medal winner....

 

[TSR]

Just to be clear - I’m not suggesting Wilson will be taking Valetini’s place in the Wallabies. And I personally think Valetini is going fine. Just that at Super level for the first 4 rounds (for whatever value that is) Wilson has been the best of the 8s and I disagree with the comment he is just a battering ram.

 

[Braveheart81]

On Wilson, I agree that he has stepped up this year. The combination of his ball running, offloading and playmaking has been excellent.

It is going to be interesting how Schmidt views a bunch of players this season. While it's something of a clean slate, I certainly don't think it's a blank slate particularly for players who have a fair bit of test experience such as Noah Lolesio. I think Schmidt will certainly be cognizant of the fact that Dave Rennie selected him a bunch of times and then moved on.

 

[Yoda]

On Wilson, I agree that he has stepped up this year. The combination of his ball running, offloading and playmaking has been excellent.

It is going to be interesting how Schmidt views a bunch of players this season. While it's something of a clean slate, I certainly don't think it's a blank slate particularly for players who have a fair bit of test experience such as Noah Lolesio. I think Schmidt will certainly be cognizant of the fact that Dave Rennie selected him a bunch of times and then moved on.

Noah’s best trait is his goal kicking which is important at Test level. However he doesn’t seem to organise the backline enough for me.

 

[TSR]

The difference I see there Braveheart is that 10 is a pretty wide open spot. Donaldson is the incumbent but only has a couple of tests and is far from settled. Rennie did appear to move on from Lolesio (although he was still in the squad from memory) but it seemed very much an issue of experience which Lolesio now has more of. He wouldn’t be my pick for 10 on current form but I can understand him being back in the frame.

Wilson is competing with the reigning John Eales medalist who has been one of our more consistent performers. I did think he was a bit down on form last year (obviously his peers felt differently). But I assume Schmidt will want to build around key players where he can.

But if Wilson keeps playing the house down I think it’s likely Schmidt will give him an opportunity in some fashion. Then it is up to him to grab it.

 

[Braveheart81]

The difference I see there Braveheart is that 10 is a pretty wide open spot. Donaldson is the incumbent but only has a couple of tests and is far from settled. Rennie did appear to move on from Lolesio (although he was still in the squad from memory) but it seemed very much an issue of experience which Lolesio now has more of. He wouldn’t be my pick for 10 on current form but I can understand him being back in the frame.

Wilson is competing with the reigning John Eales medalist who has been one of our more consistent performers. I did think he was a bit down on form last year (obviously his peers felt differently). But I assume Schmidt will want to build around key players where he can.

But if Wilson keeps playing the house down I think it’s likely Schmidt will give him an opportunity in some fashion. Then it is up to him to grab it.

I agree 10 is a very wide open spot. I certainly don't think Donaldson has any advantage as the incumbent and do largely think the short-lived Eddie Jones era will be ignored as a useful data point for Schmidt. I think the tests Lolesio has played under Rennie will somewhat work against him. He probably makes the squad but I think Schmidt would have a fair bit of trust that Rennie was doing the right things and it would be foolish to expect a significantly different outcome from the same player.

I think Wilson is playing at a different level this season and that will certainly be noticed. He needs to keep that form up though as the season wears on.

 

[Froggy]

The option is always to play Valetini at 6, where he has played for most of his career with the Brumbies and Wilson at 8. The other options at 6 are really Hooper and Leota, and at this early stage of the season I prefer Wilson and Valetini to them.

10 is a really tough one. I am a Carter Gordon fan, but I think you can only play him there if you have someone else to kick goals. I am not really convinced by either Lolesio or Donaldson, I think it's fair to say at this point in the season Lynagh is the form 10, but is it too early for him? We need to see a fair bit more Super rugby before this sorts itself out I think.

 

[Braveheart81]

The option is always to play Valetini at 6, where he has played for most of his career with the Brumbies and Wilson at 8. The other options at 6 are really Hooper and Leota, and at this early stage of the season I prefer Wilson and Valetini to them.

I would be hesitant to do this because the Brumbies largely play their 6 in the role the Wallabies and the other Super Rugby teams play their 8 (in general play and lineouts at least).

 

[Tomikin]

I agree 10 is a very wide open spot. I certainly don't think Donaldson has any advantage as the incumbent and do largely think the short-lived Eddie Jones era will be ignored as a useful data point for Schmidt. I think the tests Lolesio has played under Rennie will somewhat work against him. He probably makes the squad but I think Schmidt would have a fair bit of trust that Rennie was doing the right things and it would be foolish to expect a significantly different outcome from the same player.

I think Wilson is playing at a different level this season and that will certainly be noticed. He needs to keep that form up though as the season wears on.

Except that Rennie was picking Foley and Cooper, who are probably out of the picture now. So again it be wide open, and next best will be up. Noah's in the mix at the moment, with probably Donaldson and Gordon.

 

[Tomikin]

I would be hesitant to do this because the Brumbies largely play their 6 in the role the Wallabies and the other Super Rugby teams play their 8 (in general play and lineouts at least).

And with Tom Hooper moving to 6, Rob is playing 8. You can't really have 2 backrowers who can't really jump in the lineout at test level.

 

[Braveheart81]

Except that Rennie was picking Foley and Cooper, who are probably out of the picture now. So again it be wide open, and next best will be up. Noah's in the mix at the moment, with probably Donaldson and Gordon.

I agree that Noah is in the mix. I also feel like it's pretty risky for Schmidt to decide Noah is his first choice initially knowing there is the potential to then come to the same conclusion as his predecessors.

 

[dru]

I would be hesitant to do this because the Brumbies largely play their 6 in the role the Wallabies and the other Super Rugby teams play their 8 (in general play and lineouts at least).

How do we know how Schmidt will play #8 right now?

 

[Braveheart81]

How do we know how Schmidt will play #8 right now?

We don't.

My point is that you can't use Valetini playing a lot of 6 at the Brumbies and Wilson playing 8 at the Reds as a reason why they would fit well together in the same team. They're playing largely the same role despite the different jersey numbers.

That is somewhat moot now given they are both playing 8 for their respective Super Rugby side.

 

[Tomikin]

I agree that Noah is in the mix. I also feel like it's pretty risky for Schmidt to decide Noah is his first choice initially knowing there is the potential to then come to the same conclusion as his predecessors.

You could say the same for Gordon; he was the golden child then got dropped, and all the flaws that were there in the WC are there in his super play.

Be interesting to see what happens, lots more super to play before the selection is made.

 

[Braveheart81]

You could say the same for Gordon; he was the golden child then got dropped, and all the flaws that were there in the WC are there in his super play.

Be interesting to see what happens, lots more super to play before the selection is made.

Gordon's biggest issue will undoubtedly be the goal kicking. I think the same conclusion will be reached that if he's the starting 10 then someone else needs to be selected to kick goals.

Gordon has played 7 tests in a single year versus Lolesio around 20 tests across multiple years. I think it's also fair to think that Carter Gordon has more potential based on being a year younger and having less experience.

I don't know which way Schmidt will go but I think there's a pretty strong likelihood that he'll be wary of trying the same things as Rennie and expect different results.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

I personally think there is more upside with Gordon at 10, though the goal kicking is a worry because it's critical at test level. Who else could we pick in the back line to cover that requirement?