Hawko
Tony Shaw (54)
There has been some comment on the Reds threads after they lost three players in one week that there are not enough contracted players for next year. Any Tah or Brumbies fan would have found this to be a statement of the bleeding obvious. For example, the Tahs fourth hooker has just done his ACL in Shute. Currently we have two semi-fit and one coming back soon, with the fourth gone for the season (or have I missed one?).
Yet the ARU, on an austerity drive with JO'N at the wheel, has determined that next year all Aussie squads will have 30 contracted players and 5 in the training squad.
The current Tah squad is 38, without Vickerman who is still to come back. So we now have the ludicrous situation where we have to take nine of those players off contract, put 5 in the training squad and sack 4. There are 5 players in the training squad, including Bennetts, Peterson, the younger Timani and Woodhouse for whom there seems to be no space. I know a number of players are heading overseas but according to the ARU, none of them can be replaced! I think only Holmes and Jowitt (he's injured) have not at least made the bench this year. Its not like we've got 7 or 8 players parked in the squad that haven't had to be called up.
Every Super franchise need to have at least the following:
They then need to have at least five, probably eight youngsters who could do ten minutes off the bench if injury strikes a particularly position and who are likely to make the major squad in the next two years.
The desire for smaller squads is based on the need to restrict losses over the next two years as the WC depletes the Wallaby coffers and with problems at the Brumbies and Tahs with revenue. But you can't operate on a squad of 30. Even the Reds, who have had a miracle injury run now coming to an end, have had to pull extras from the U20's. So if the squad's need to be bigger then the money has to be spread out more evenly. No more $750K Wallaby contracts and if Quade goes to league so be it. Some Wallabies will go to France, but that money will dry up in the end. Franchises will have to restrict salary averages below $80K and then use third party deals to give good players special incentives. Given that NZ Super players get substantially less than Australians, spreading the money around certainly won't cause an exit across the ditch.
Reality has to catch up with the team managers and the ARU sometime.
Yet the ARU, on an austerity drive with JO'N at the wheel, has determined that next year all Aussie squads will have 30 contracted players and 5 in the training squad.
The current Tah squad is 38, without Vickerman who is still to come back. So we now have the ludicrous situation where we have to take nine of those players off contract, put 5 in the training squad and sack 4. There are 5 players in the training squad, including Bennetts, Peterson, the younger Timani and Woodhouse for whom there seems to be no space. I know a number of players are heading overseas but according to the ARU, none of them can be replaced! I think only Holmes and Jowitt (he's injured) have not at least made the bench this year. Its not like we've got 7 or 8 players parked in the squad that haven't had to be called up.
Every Super franchise need to have at least the following:
5 props, 3 hookers, 5 locks, 2 fetchers, 5 other backrowers, 3 halfbacks, 5 inside backs, 3 outside centres and 7 winger/fullbacks.
They then need to have at least five, probably eight youngsters who could do ten minutes off the bench if injury strikes a particularly position and who are likely to make the major squad in the next two years.
The desire for smaller squads is based on the need to restrict losses over the next two years as the WC depletes the Wallaby coffers and with problems at the Brumbies and Tahs with revenue. But you can't operate on a squad of 30. Even the Reds, who have had a miracle injury run now coming to an end, have had to pull extras from the U20's. So if the squad's need to be bigger then the money has to be spread out more evenly. No more $750K Wallaby contracts and if Quade goes to league so be it. Some Wallabies will go to France, but that money will dry up in the end. Franchises will have to restrict salary averages below $80K and then use third party deals to give good players special incentives. Given that NZ Super players get substantially less than Australians, spreading the money around certainly won't cause an exit across the ditch.
Reality has to catch up with the team managers and the ARU sometime.
