Tahs v Rebels Rnd 6 2014

[Braveheart81]

n.
Palu to the bench is a surprise though, effectively replaced by big Willy. A great opportunity for the young fella, but tough on Palu, who for mine has been in great form. I would have been more inclined to drop Dennis, but I guess as captain it was never going to happen.

Cheika said that Palu is purely a player management issue (in terms of controlling the minutes he plays). Palu played 80 minutes against the Brumbies.

I'm guessing he also wants to give Skelton some more minutes which he'll get as a starter.

 

[fatprop]

Tahs team:

1. Kepu
2. Polota-Nau
3. Ryan
4. Skelton
5. Douglas
6. Potgieter
7. Hooper
8. Dennis
9. Phipps
10. Foley
11. Betham
12. Beale
13. Ashley-Cooper
14. Alofa
15. Folau

16. Latu
17. Tilse
18. Robinson
19. Palu
20. Hoiles
21. McKibbin
22. Horne
23. Carraro

The props is strange, we have our two THPs starting and ours LHPs benched so it appears Tilse will finish off the game at THP, but Kepu is an average LHP and Tilse is an average THP - I don't understand

We also have Potgeiter at 6, he has been playing 50 minutes, who gets to finish off the game at lock? Dennis or does Potgieter move to lock and play 80 because with a bench of Palu & Hoiles neither of them is lock material

 

[Highlander35]

Unless big Potgieter is up for 80 mins, I'd assume that Dennis plays lock reserve, finishing with:

8. Dennis
5. Douglas
20. Hoiles
7. Hooper
19. Palu

Sent from my LG-P713 using Tapatalk

 

[Tip]

I see Chieka is keeping Palu & Robinson fresh for the Sharks in Durban next week.
Potgieter will play 80 minutes with no 2nd row on the bench. I think 6 is his best position for the Tahs, enabling Skelton to start. They both offer more around the park than Hoiles. Whether this will lead to further deterioration of their lineout is the big question.

 

[Braveheart81]

I think your first bit is right about Palu and Robinson being fresher for next week against the Sharks.

I think Dennis is more likely to finish the game at lock and Skelton and Potgieter will come off.

 

[GaffaCHinO]

If he wants to play 12 and I do think that is his best position after last season, there are a bucketload of quality options around Australia currently.

Godwin is excellent for the Force, Inman has done well for the Rebels then you've got McCabe at the Brumbies, Leali'ifano still injured, and the current Wallaby 12, Matt To'omua playing 10. The Reds have three Wallabies in Harris, Tapuai and Fainga'a fighting it out for the 12 jersey.

Im hoping the force pick him up to play 13 he was very close to signing this year before he signed a 1 year deal with the tahs.

 

[Pfitzy]

So the plan is obviously to smash the Rebels with the tight five and outrun then with the back row. But I'm not sure that's going to work unless the boys bar up a heap between now and Friday.

The Rebels back row is pretty fucking handy too - Fugly, McMahon, and Higbum are no mugs for speed.

 

[Hawko]

The small room on the first floor of The Local Taphouse booked for 5:00pm on Friday, the one with the big table. Right next to the bar...

Looking forward to meeting a whole pile of people who I know but have never met.

 

[Ash]

That Tahs pack will give up a bit to the Rebels for mobility, with the back 5 of the Rebels more mobile to a man except for Fugly over Hooper. Tahs will be looking to smash the Rebels, Rebels will hope to tire them if they're clever. Tahs won't want to play too wide too early like they did last year, but this year they've shown more restraint.

 

[A mutterer]

foley generally doesnt put in 2 bad performances on the trot, so i expect chieka is relying on that past form.

i understand palu being managed, will be interesting seeing his impact with line breaks coming on later in the game.

surprised by horne not getting the nod though.

 

[Bronzewhaler]

So the plan is obviously to smash the Rebels with the tight five and outrun then with the back row. But I'm not sure that's going to work unless the boys bar up a heap between now and Friday.

The Rebels back row is pretty fucking handy too - Fugly, McMahon, and Higbum are no mugs for speed.

 

[Bronzewhaler]

Throw in Reid Fainga'a and Timani with Jones also an option and they have an awesome range of talent in the back row.

 

[Crashy]

Surprised that you can get plenty of tickets in Bay 34 which is next to half way. This doesn't bode well crowd wise... What do the Tahs need to do to get a crowd these days.....

 

[Tip]

What do the Tahs need to do to get a crowd these days...

Win 3 in a row

 

[oztimmay]

Win 3 in a row

Free Beer for those who turn up.

 

[elementfreak]

Weeks and Woodward out.

MELBOURNE will be without key pair Jason Woodward and Laurie Weeks for Friday night’s Weary Dunlop Shield clash with NSW after the pair failed to recover from injury.

Fullback Woodward (knee) and prop Weeks (concussion) were ruled out after a series of tests. Both were sidelined at training on Wednesday.
Weeks is likely to be replaced by Paul Alo-Emile in the starting XV, paving the way for Cruze Ah-Nau to make his first Super Rugby appearance of the season from the bench.
Woodward’s absence will probably be covered by Angus Roberts with either Tom Kingston or Japanese international Male Sau being promoted to the bench.
With high stakes clashes in the offing against the Brumbies, Highlanders and reigning champions, the Chiefs, Melbourne is desperate to end a two-game losing run.
The Rebels have won only one of six clashes against NSW, having claimed an epic 24-22 victory at AAMI Park last season.


And they will start Friday’s match as rank underdog against a crack Waratahs’ outfit eager to atone for its loss to the Brumbies last week.

 

[oztimmay]

Weeks and Woodward out.

Damm, they will be missed. Didn't realize Cruze was ahead of Eddie in the pecking order, thought his aggression would have been very useful off the bench.

If Gus comes into the side can someone please tell him to run the damm ball as opposed to any more stupid kicking?! anther option might be to bring Ellison to FB and Kingston to OC. Might be changing too much in one week, and we've already been burnt by that this year.

 

[Dumbledore]

We will lose by many, many, points if Roberts starts at fullback. His style of play is the absolute antithesis of what's needed against these Tahs.

 

[199madmave]

Would like to see Kingston start at fullback and Timani and Reid on the bench!

 

[Braveheart81]

If Kingston starts there'll be battles between old St Aloysius boys (Foley and Kingston), old St Pius boys (Hooper and Jones). If Weeks hadn't dropped out there'd also be a Joeys matchup (with three of them in the Tahs side to my knowledge).