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Australian Schoolboys and National Championships 2011

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Lee Grant

Lee Grant

John Eales (66)
light said:
Seen Browning at 8 for BSHS and he certainly has the impact you would want from a backrower. Speed is a concern but his ball handling skills and crash ball are good, I can't see him in the pigs or continuing at lock. 8 is definitely his position, although he has played blindside previously IIRC.
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Thanks for that light. I've seen him running over people without being able to judge his speed for 3 seasons now. He won't be playing lock in pro rugby except as the third man from the bench or moving around the pack if there are injuries. He will be an excellent lineout man for an 8 and although you couldn't see it so much in that game on TV, he can be Schalk Burger-like in the physical contests. He may end up being a Nick Easter type 8 when he runs with the ball plus the other good stuff.

It will be interesting to see how he goes in the National Academy and what they will do with him. Watch this space.


Agree with qwerty - that wasn't a great performance from the Kiwis but they were terrific during the week against Oz A at St. Marys. That's taking into account the different standard of the Oz A team and the fact that many Kiwis who started against Oz A didn't start in the 'test' - as much as one can do that. The mid week team looked heaps better and I feared a thumping in the test as the Oz test team against England didn't fire a lot of shots even taking into account many things I have written about before several times.
 
Bruwheresmycar

Bruwheresmycar

Nicholas Shehadie (39)
Watching the game now. Not watching the forwards closely. But so far I think #15 and #13 are very skilled players. Both are taking the ball to the line at speed and look threatening.

Both teams are impressive though. The defence is structured well and everyone is committed to tackles.
 
dobduff11

dobduff11

Trevor Allan (34)
Lee Grant said:
Thanks for that light. I've seen him running over people without being able to judge his speed for 3 seasons now.
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Had a look on the net for you Lee and this is the only clean break I could find of Browning. Certainly not Pierre Spies but not slow either from the looks of it

Skip to 1.33 for the run

[video=youtube;x0ZakL_8LSk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0ZakL_8LSk[/video]
 
T

tranquility

Guest
Ha ha, that break did not instil confidence. He didnt look quick, but he also didn't look balanced or agile.

But thats fine. The best bits of his game are the good stuff. The tight stuff, he lives in rucks. Loves a pick and go, and he constantly defends in the middle.

Somebody teach this man to scrum.
 
T

tranquility

Guest
Nah the other bloke, number 5 looks like a genuine athlete in the loose. Could have the height to go on with it as well.
 
Lee Grant

Lee Grant

John Eales (66)
Inside Shoulder said:
QKD #5 showed better acceleration - whats the view on him? Name?
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What is QKD - did you mean the Oz Schools no. 5?

He is Michael Wells, the Riverview no. 8 but like a lot of tall backrowers in Oz schools rep teams who lack tall timber typically, he was shoved into the 2nd row. He is a bit like a John Eales isn't he, though John wasn't stellar in his school days. He's athletic, fast, brave in the tackle, and a good linker, in other words: wasted in the 2nd row.

I will be interested to see how he goes at a senior player not least to find out what position he will play. He is 195cms but at 96kgs he will have to put on a bit of pork when he leaves school.


dobbie

Thanks for posting that video. That's the longest run I can remember from Browning in 3 years though I saw him only twice in each of the last two years. He looks fast enough to play a bruising type no. 8 role. Cliffy Palu isn't that fast but he goes OK when he's healthy. At 107kgs (and 193cms) he won't get as big as Cliffy but he will play big, that's for sure.
.
 
Lee Grant

Lee Grant

John Eales (66)
Inside Shoulder said:
It was meant to be QLD
I thought the #8 looked like front row material once he starts on the "creatinine supplement"
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I should have twigged to that -so you were referring to the video that dobbie posted, not the Oz Schools game broadcast? Now I get it.

That's Caleb Timu from Nudgee. He would be wasted as a prop in union as he is a natural ball runner as many lads who plays both codes are. He was outstanding for Qld in U/16s in 2010 and I was looking forward to seeing him in Opens this year for Oz Schools (the national tournament was in Brisbane). He played 8 for Oz Schools v England at the end of August, but like many of his team mates in that game, didn't shine.

After that he signed a rugby league contract and was dropped from the Oz team for the NZ Schools game. That may seem unfair but the boys know before they even play in the national tournament that they won't be considered for Oz Schools if they sign for a league club.
 
Bowside

Bowside

Peter Johnson (47)
I tend to agree, why spend money developing a kid if he already lost to league.

But then again, the question we should be asking is why he was lost to league in the first place.
 
Inside Shoulder

Inside Shoulder

Nathan Sharpe (72)
Lee Grant said:
I should have twigged to that -so you were referring to the video that dobbie posted, not the Oz Schools game broadcast? Now I get it.

That's Caleb Timu from Nudgee. He would be wasted as a prop in union as he is a natural ball runner as many lads who plays both codes are. He was outstanding for Qld in U/16s in 2010 and I was looking forward to seeing him in Opens this year for Oz Schools (the national tournament was in Brisbane). He played 8 for Oz Schools v England at the end of August, but like many of his team mates in that game, didn't shine.

After that he signed a rugby league contract and was dropped from the Oz team for the NZ Schools game. That may seem unfair but the boys know before they even play in the national tournament that they won't be considered for Oz Schools if they sign for a league club.
Click to expand...

You're right
I saw that England game - no one shone
 
Lee Grant

Lee Grant

John Eales (66)
Bowside

He wasn't really lost - he played both sports. He said in an interview after he was picked for Oz Schools v. England that he was still trying to make up his mind. That was probably genuine but he could have been telling a porky and had already decided to play league, but wanted to get a game of union in for Oz Schools before his league signing deadline. One suspected this of the Setu brothers a few years back.

I don't blame him either way.

As for the case of if he, or any other schools player, had the choice between league and union and he was genuinely 50/50, what would he do other things being equal? We have a thread on that (about choices between the two codes), but if a fellow can earn grocery money in one of the many league clubs in the land and always has the opportunity to come back to union after his Toyota Cup days - or even later, like Davies and Barnes - I know what I would do.

The "recruitment" of league youngsters or 50/50s by private schools keeps them playing the union code longer than if they weren't, but it doesn't ensure that they will stay in the union code after school. I'm guessing that well over half of them don't.

But I digress.
 
Inside Shoulder

Inside Shoulder

Nathan Sharpe (72)
For the grocery money you have to cop head highs, knees in the ribs and pissing on war memorials.
I am constantly amazed that any kid contemplates the league life when he has a choice but I guess it's all part of lifes rich tapestry
 
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