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Waratahs 2022

Sheepie

Sydney Middleton (9)
Bell given a warning. So he'll be available next week. He has a good record, it worked in his favour.
- I said this before but Will Harrison is not the right guy for the FB spot, he paid the price last night. Also his exit kicks were poor, would love to see him back at 10. Although his season is over.
Harrison has been great at fullback, but as others have said his clearing kicks are way too short. I didn't really notice it until he and Donaldson were on the park at the same time. Their distances are like night & day. But Donaldson also gets shorter as the game goes on. Harrison is the most accurate with the tee if he takes his time and goes through his process, but he's short when it comes to field-of-play kicks.

With Beale returning next year, probably at 15 he might find it hard to get a spot. On the fullback thing, does Newsome drop back with Harrison out? I'd like to see Edmed at 10 and Donaldson at 15, but it's not ideal experimenting against the Kiwis
Beale is weak under the high ball and isn't a long kicker either as far as I remember. But he's phenomenal with his feet on a good day, and hugely experienced. In the meantime I think Newsome is our best bet for 15. Hopefully Ramm and Funa aren't too far away from returning to the squad and can slot in to the left wing? I actually wouldn't mind seeing Pietsch try being a reserve for 12/13 too. Have Donaldson & Edmed rotating in 10 as they have been.

Where do the Tahs find a hooker for next week?
Maybe this is the opportunity we need to test someone else at this level? Porecki is clearly our best in the squad. IMHO Horton is our second best by a mile if you ignore his lineouts, but when you don't ignore them he has had games where he was detrimental to the squad and we would have been better off with someone else. None of the others we've seen lately have stood out to me.
 
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TSR

Mark Ella (57)
I think this will alarm lots of people and it will again raise concerns around inconsistency. Personally I think some level of ban was appropriate as he definitely lifts the leg.

However I understand the argument was that it was the actions of Angus Ta’avao which were key in turning the situation dangerous. Looking at the footage I think they have a point and I’m assuming the judiciary agreed.

Possibly the most positive contribution Ta’avao made to the Tahs??
 

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
Bell given a warning. So he'll be available next week. He has a good record, it worked in his favour.

His disciplinary record didn't come into it. They've deemed the action didn't meet the red card threshold so they didn't need to go any further.

Pretty lucky in my view. I agree that Ta'avao contributed but that could have very easily been ignored and he gets a three week suspension as most players do.
 

TSR

Mark Ella (57)
It also supports the 20 minute Red card rule IMO.

Without getting into the right of the wrong of the judiciary decision, it effectively means that Bell should have never been sent and it should have only been a yellow (well - I’m assuming they think it still should have at least been yellow).

I am not aware of anyone who thinks it should have been less than that so I would argue that the 20 minute rule means that the Tahs were harshly punished (lost the use of Bell for the game and had an extra 10 minute sanction time) but not to the point where they were given no chance to win.
 

Derpus

George Gregan (70)
Ramm doesn't seem like a massive loss to me. But just another in the ocean of players fleeing our shores.

He will of course now go on to become England's greatest ever winger.
 
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Rugbynutter39

Michael Lynagh (62)
Ramm doesn't seem like a massive loss to me. But just another in the ocean of players fleeing our shores.

He will of course now go on to become England's greatest ever winger.
Nah he is a loss and reflects oz rugby challenge to build depth. kiwis probably lose similar number of players from middle tier of players but have more of them quality wise so does not hurt them as much.
 

Jamie

Watty Friend (18)
Ramm doesn't seem like a massive loss to me. But just another in the ocean of players fleeing our shores.

He will of course now go on to become England's greatest ever winger.
I agree, not a huge loss. Opens up the door for someone else. At the end of the day, if someone does not want to be here, that is fine. I'm sure DC has a plan for our back 3 next year and he wasn't a priority
 

7137

Alex Ross (28)
I agree, not a huge loss. Opens up the door for someone else. At the end of the day, if someone does not want to be here, that is fine. I'm sure DC has a plan for our back 3 next year and he wasn't a priority
Marky might have got more attention, but Ramm has been superior in every facet. He would have been in front of him if not for injury.
We will be lamenting his loss soon once he’s back on the pitch and we get a reminder of his quality and potential.
 

Derpus

George Gregan (70)
Marky might have got more attention, but Ramm has been superior in every facet. He would have been in front of him if not for injury.
We will be lamenting his loss soon once he’s back on the pitch and we get a reminder of his quality and potential.
Ramm had a couple of decent performances two years ago? Mark always had more potential.
 

Jamie

Watty Friend (18)
Marky might have got more attention, but Ramm has been superior in every facet. He would have been in front of him if not for injury.
We will be lamenting his loss soon once he’s back on the pitch and we get a reminder of his quality and potential.
perhaps, but it is Ramm that chose to leave, good on him if that is what he wants to do. I'm all for players that want to be here and fight for a spot.

Let's face it not everyone is going to get a chance to play and you have to take the opportunity when it comes, yes he was injured but you can't fault someone else for grabbing the opportunity. Same with Turner he showed potential this year and then he got injured, now he has to fight and wait for his opportunity to get back in the team.
 

Sheepie

Sydney Middleton (9)
Ramm has been our best winger the last few years, but that's been compared to an out of form and playing badly Nawaqanitawase, Newsome, and people who just aren't wingers.

Turner's appearance on the squad has been good, he's done better than Ramm in all matches where both were on the field & had opportunities on the same wing. I'd prefer either of them on the left with over Pietsch, and Nawaqanitawase is doing well on the right wing at the moment. If Turner returned with the same form he had pre-injury I think he'd be edging Ramm out.

I quite liked Ramm. I'm going to miss him.
 

Rob42

John Solomon (38)
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