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Can Cheika ball work for the Wallabies?

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Jagman

Trevor Allan (34)
I think leaving Gerrard at home was a big mistake at the last RWC. Yes he was bad in that Samoa game but gosh he would have been useful in the rain against Ireland.

There are a few players running around in Aus Supe teams with big boots though the list is not that awe inspiring, at least for 2015.

The Force have Ebersohn who seems to kick well and they certainly play a lot better under him than any other fly half they've had since Giteau but he's probably not on the Wallabies radar and he's probably not eligible till some time during the RWC anyway.

Brumbies have left footer Mogg but is he too skinny for Test Rugby? He's had his chance and hasn't impressed.

Rebels have Crawford who was selected by McKenzie but instead had a reconstruction of some sort and has never looked the same.
They also have Jack Debreczini whose boot is meant to be stupendous but is too raw this year.

Tahs do have a player with an enormous boot, Ben Volavola, and though he's improved he's a long way from being used by the Tahs let alone Wallabies.

Then there's Hunt who is definitely the most likely of all these to make the Wallabies this year.

have I missed any one?
 

Wilson

Phil Kearns (64)
White and frisby both have big kicks, but aren't playing in a position where it should be a deciding point in there selection.
 

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
Gerrard only ever had the booming boot though. He was very slow for a fullback, particularly at test level.

Latham was brilliant because he was good at everything and especially good in attack. That fact that he had a booming kick just one of the strings to his bow.

We're not going to improve the Wallabies by bringing in a fullback with a booming boot if they are inferior in every other skillset to Folau.
 

Brumby Runner

Jason Little (69)
Gerrard only ever had the booming boot though. He was very slow for a fullback, particularly at test level.

Latham was brilliant because he was good at everything and especially good in attack. That fact that he had a booming kick just one of the strings to his bow.

We're not going to improve the Wallabies by bringing in a fullback with a booming boot if they are inferior in every other skillset to Folau.

BH, I like it that you immediately spring to the defense of any Tahs' Wallaby whose spot is questioned in an oblique manner, same as for any suggestion another lock might replace Big Will because of his weaknesses at scrum and lineout time. But the combination of someone (like KHunt eg) at fullback who has a better kicking game (allegedly) and Izzy on the wing might just be in the best interests of the Wallabies.
 

qwerty51

Stirling Mortlock (74)
I'm still don't understand people who say Folau doesn't have a big boot. He can kick 22 to 22 - that's good enough at Test level.
 

qwerty51

Stirling Mortlock (74)
Really? The few times we've seen him kick in games for distance he has been average and hardly accurate.

The actual ball distance? He had issues with angles where the ball was crossing the plane very early but the actual ball travels far.
 

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
BH, I like it that you immediately spring to the defense of any Tahs' Wallaby whose spot is questioned in an oblique manner, same as for any suggestion another lock might replace Big Will because of his weaknesses at scrum and lineout time. But the combination of someone (like KHunt eg) at fullback who has a better kicking game (allegedly) and Izzy on the wing might just be in the best interests of the Wallabies.

That wasn't really what I was doing. It was more the comparison between Latham and Gerrard that I was questioning. Gerrard had a massive boot but he wasn't half the player Latham was.

Obviously Folau's biggest weakness is his kicking which is why I brought him up in relation to this discussion.

If Hunt ticks all those boxes he could very well improve the Wallabies by playing fullback with Folau moving to the wing but that also brings JOC (James O'Connor), Cummins and Speight into the equation who are also excellent players and could be in our best XV.

I guess at this stage, Hunt is very much an unknown quantity whereas Folau has been one of our best players since he debuted. It may also take a while before Hunt plays fullback so we might not really get to weigh them up against each other until Cooper returns and Hunt presumably changes to fullback.

I tend to think Hunt will be competing with several utility type players who cover multiple positions for a RWC spot and could likewise be competing for that same position on the bench in our best 23. I'd be surprised if he finds himself in our best XV come test season purely because of the players he's competing with in his likely positions.
 

Gnostic

Mark Ella (57)
Like I said QWERTY, it hasn't been sighted and last year the Wallabies were unable to exit their half by kicking, regardless who received for the kick. Foley was the best but has little distance, Beale has the best distance but as he has been his entire career remains totally inconsistent in execution from accuracy to slow execution allowing charge downs (Foley as bad on the second point).
 
T

TOCC

Guest
If Folau could kick it 60m accurately then he would have done it, how many times has he pulled out such a kick?.. It can't be all the game plan, there were times were the long kick was the obvious choice with no one at home and he didn't do it... From the kicks I saw him do they weren't booming 60m kick, they were 20-30m touch finders..

Folau has many great attributes, but a good boot isn't one of them.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

qwerty51

Stirling Mortlock (74)
Like I said QWERTY, it hasn't been sighted and last year the Wallabies were unable to exit their half by kicking, regardless who received for the kick. Foley was the best but has little distance, Beale has the best distance but as he has been his entire career remains totally inconsistent in execution from accuracy to slow execution allowing charge downs (Foley as bad on the second point).

Well I was talking about Folau only. Go look where his kicks land. They go far even with his casual kicking style.
 

Gnostic

Mark Ella (57)
Well I was talking about Folau only. Go look where his kicks land. They go far even with his casual kicking style.
I have and I have never seen one gain more than 30m, no better than Foley, and less than Beale if he manages to hit one sweetly, which he does about about 30%of the time.
 

Hugh Jarse

Rocky Elsom (76)
Larkham and Grey confirmed as Wallaby Assistant Coaches.
http://www.rugby.com.au/News/NewsAr...AN-GREY-TO-JOIN-QANTAS-WALLABIES-IN-2015.aspx

Probably the worst kept secret of Club Wallaby has been confirmed with the ARU announcing the appointment of Bernie Larkham and Nathan Grey as Wallaby Assistant Coaches.

Dean Benton has also been appointed to the coaching ranks as the S&C guy.

In other announcements:
Simon Roberts will be Team Operations Manager.
Patrick Molihan will be the Team Manager.

The search for a replacement for a Set Piece Coach continues following the departure of Andrew Blades.
 

RugbyReg

Rocky Elsom (76)
Staff member
Can anyone tell me more about Molihan? Sydney media seem to think it's a more significant signing that Cheika himself.
 

Hugh Jarse

Rocky Elsom (76)
The ARU News item says
"... while Molihan joins the Australian Rugby Union with over 25 years of experience in the media and sport industries, including involvement at major events such as the Olympic Games and most recently at the New South Wales Rugby League."
 

RugbyReg

Rocky Elsom (76)
Staff member
Apparently he is fairly hard. Manager of the blues league team.

You'd suspect it means Moore will be skipper over Hooper if they are going to be hard nosed.
 
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