Derpus
George Gregan (70)
JON has one punchable mug.
Wallabies 2023
- Thread starter RugbyReg
- Start date
Marce
John Thornett (49)
Yeah but these kind of players you have to poach before been Origin players or after that. They're in the peak of their League careers, there's nothing that you can offer to match that.
Maybe a World Cup in home soil like 2027, and no more. A World Cup overseas like 2023 is not the same. It's not really attractive for the Australian sport community, maybe more than a normal rugby year but still is far away of Origin and NRL playoffs. That level of exposition is only compared to the AFL finals in Australia
Marce
John Thornett (49)
That backline makes sense if you have 100 millions cash to spend in players and you have money left over to invest in grassroot rugby at the same time. This is something that Andrew Forrest could afford.
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dru
Tim Horan (67)
I am not switched off on the poaching League idea, but seriously, that would be a lot of money to invest in the game at the grass roots, schools or in some better form of closing the gap between Club and Pro. I'm building more trust in the current RA than I've had for ages. I like the bold in their approach but I do hope it comes with some realism that is seriously digging into building the game, not just looking for a magic instant fix.
Doubt we are going to get many more chances like this.
Doubt we are going to get many more chances like this.
PhilClinton
Geoff Shaw (53)
These guys are hardly in their prime, Sua'ali'i has only played a couple of games of 1st grade. Burton definitely more established but not yet their primes.
I think RA will have a few extra dollars to spend after RWC23, which is realistically when they’d be targeted.
PhilClinton
Geoff Shaw (53)
The guys being discussed would likely go on to have 2 RWC cycles worth of Wallaby careers. I think that is an investment worth the money.
The short term goal for RA should be investing in resources which will bring us a RWC victory at home in 2027, guys like Burton and Sua'ali'i fit that bill I reckon.
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wamberal99
Johnnie Wallace (23)
If he does nothing else for the game, he deserves to go down in history for stealing the 2003 RWC in its entirety.
wamberal99
Johnnie Wallace (23)
We should go for players who have demonstrated a good background in real rugby, plus ensuring that we incentivise our best players to stay and home and get adequate rest periods. No more sabbaticals.
PhilClinton
Geoff Shaw (53)
Problem with that scenario is the root of all the issues on these threads - we don't have the cash.
I'm sure guys like Taniela Tupou would love to stay home and rest up, but are RA going to pay them the extra $800k they'll miss out playing a sabbatical season in Japan and instead let them put their feet up and play videos games for a few months? Not likely.
The sabbatical option is the lesser of the evils, we either succumb to losing them entirely, or come up with a contract that suits their financial needs and our playing needs.
Marce
John Thornett (49)
They were both selected for Origin, that's the highest level you can reach in League and in Australia, Origin players are much more famous than the Wallabies. Sua'ali'i has no roof, for some reason they picked him so young at that stage. This is his ground floor. Burton is a mystery for me.
You can't spend the money like there's no tomorrow. Remember the 2003 World Cup, after that lost final, everything was a debacle for Aussie Rugby until the present day.
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Marce
John Thornett (49)
Sua'ali'i has a rugby background and according some experts he was a weapon. For that reason Mungoball scouting's poached him. So he should switch succesfully to Union like Koroibete or Radradra.
I don't know if Burton has a rugby understanding. He's a countryside boy so probably only played League all his life. People from small towns like that only follow NRL or AFL, it depends of the state they live.
I remembered one time when the English TV interviewed Billy Slater in England. A journalist asked him if he played rugby at least one time and Billy answered that he never played rugby so...
Burton is a mystery as a rugby player. He could be a weapon or just another Reece Hodge, an useless player with a big boot. I wouldn't spend a lot of money in him before see him playing rugby.
He's a playmaker, to play that role in Union is a completely different world. Sua'ali'i is more a freak athlete like Israel Folau. If Burton doesn't understand the game, he will be useless in rugby
Unless a "premium" player contacts RA with a clear dream to be Wallaby at a RWC, just no.
No more player managers shopping around units to drive up their commission, especially from players who have never shown themselves being nothing more that being a mercenary
use the money to get more quality younglings in programs
Bandar
Bob Loudon (25)
Have you ever been out of Bondi???You certainly like to make massive generalisations that are very wrong.
Most kids in country play both league & union and where I am in the Riverina also a bit of AFL. In much of the Central West, where he is from (Orange, Cowra, Forbes) Union would be the stronger code.
Marce
John Thornett (49)
You certainly like to make massive generalisations that are very wrong.
Most kids in country play both league & union and where I am in the Riverina also a bit of AFL. In much of the Central West, where he is from (Orange, Cowra, Forbes) Union would be the stronger code.
I have family living in Bonnyrigg, Fairfield. There's no the glamour of Eastern suburns but I pretty like that area and it's a good place to live despite people don't think the same. I lived there for a time and I can assure that nobody cares about Union in greater western Sydney. I'd love things to be different
The Ghost of Raelene
Andrew Slack (58)
And RA have done nothing about it
Bandar
Bob Loudon (25)
Western Sydney is very different from small country towns (not that Dubbo is small)
stillmissit
Chilla Wilson (44)
???? please do a Pauline????
The Ghost of Raelene
Andrew Slack (58)
Told NZ to sit and spin
wamberal99
Johnnie Wallace (23)
It was supposed to be a joint ANZ tournament, but the Keewees got caught out by the requirement ensure "clean" stadia (meaning no existing advertising) and JON darted through the gap.
stillmissit
Chilla Wilson (44)
I was involved with Penrith in the early 2000's and it's a bit more nuanced than that. I think NSW and Aust Rugby would have liked to do more but the money that was given was pissed up against the wall. There were a bunch of guys who put in lots of work for Penrith, John Pinson and his wife being outstanding along with some coaches and a few others. One big problem was the shortage of volunteers which every rugby club needs.
One of the problems in my time was the club had a very good bunch of colts coming through but they were getting a towelling from Uni and Randwick and both clubs were picking up the good players from that team. Then the club decided to take on an islander group as colts to hopefully attract more islander boys to the club. Didn't work, most guys out there expect to be paid and move on if they can't be.
There was at that time a large number of local schools playing rugby and that is now a handful. Subbies are still doing OK.
There was more to it than this but even I am getting bored writing this.