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Waratahs v Lions - 2011R14

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inthestands

inthestands

Sydney Middleton (9)
A while off, but it will be interesting to see the Tahs lineup particularly with Timani and McCutcheon gone and a few due back.

Also, Butch James is apparently playing unless who throws a shoulder into Giteau and is outed...

15. Kurtley Beale
14. Lachie Turner
13. Ryan Cross
12. Tom Carter
11. Atieli Pakalani
10. Berrick Barnes
9. Brendan McKibbin
8. Ben Mowen
7. Chris Alcock
6. Dean Mumm (c)
5. Kane Douglas
4. Pat O'Connor
3. Al Baxter
2. John Ulugia
1. Benn Robinson

16. Tatafu Polota-Nau
17. Jeremy Tilse
18. Dave Dennis
19. Maile Latekefu
20. Luke Burgess
21. Daniel Halangahu
22. Brackin Karauria-Henry
 
inthestands

inthestands

Sydney Middleton (9)
Rob42 said:
ITS, are you resting Burgess or dropping him?

And I only saw moments of the Shute Shield match on TV on Saturday, how did BKH go?
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Not resting, not dropping... more rotating. McKibbin showed in both his stints against the Force this year that he's up the this level and giving him 60 mins would be good. Almost every other first choice player has spent some time on the sideline this year; if Burgess follows, you'd like McKibbin to have had a bit of time, I reckon.

K-Henry wasn't too bad; not overly involved, missed one bad tackle but he is classy and a return via the bench wouldn't be bad. You'd think after 40, then 60mins he will get 80 this weekend so should be ready.
 
inthestands

inthestands

Sydney Middleton (9)
qwerty51 said:
Why is Dave Dennis benched? What happened to Kepu?

TPN's not back either.
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I'd keep Dave Dennis fresh as a cover for No.7. Either that or start him there and bring Alcock on from the bench. Dennis can also cover lock from the bench (played well v Bulls in 2010 in that positions), or move straight to 6 and Mumm into the row.

Kepu I'd rest. He's been a moster this year but played every game. Came off early with a leg complaint so maybe two weeks off would be good.

Polota-Nau is back. They're giving him three weeks. One week was the Force, two weeks is the bye, the end of the third week is the Lions. Fitzpatrick is also due back but with Ulugia playing well last week, it'd be good to put Fitzpatrick into a winning club side for a week before taking him to Africa.
 
Jets

Jets

Paul McLean (56)
Staff member
To be serious I don't think Mumm is an option at 6 and Dennis is in good form. I am not sure Hickey will want to rest players after the bye either.

I would really like to see Kingston at 13 as Cross drives me crazy (I can't imagine what he does to Tah's fans). I think with Carter inside him to take a bit of pressure off it would be a good chance to give him a go.

Giving Mckibbon a run may be a good option too but this goes against what I said earlier.
 
Hawko

Hawko

Tony Shaw (54)
Giving McKibben a run in the Lions game is absolutely vital. This is the last game for experimentation before we start the run to the finals. We have to find out:
  • Whether McKibben has the ability to start or if he's just another bench player. We won't find this out in Shute, we need to see him against higher quality opposition. From what we've seen so far, Barnes gets quicker, better service but we lose some dynamic running. I'd like to see 70 minutes confirmation of that.
  • Whether Kingston is a keeper. He certainly looks it so far but I want to see him get major time at 13 to see if he could fill the gap at 13 until Horne gets back. Cross is OK against average opposition but good runners will inevitably find him out. The Cooper try was a major embarrassment and I don't ever want to see a repeat.
  • We need to see the backline re-establish some fluency. So we need a gameplan that doesn't involve kicking the ball from 9 or 10. With a win against the Lions reasonably certain we just need to practise running and support play in a match situation. Everyone seems to think the Tahs lack skills in the backs, but apart from Cross and Anesi I think that's a misread. Better ball from 9 to 10 and an instruction to run attacking plays only would reveal a whole new world.
The pack should be Robinson, TPN, Kepu, Mumm, Douglas, Mowen, Alcock, Palu (alt Dennis if unfit). That's a good pack and subs would be Ulugia, Baxter, O'Connor, Dennis (L. Timani or McCaffrey if Palu is still out). Key unanswered question is what to do about a fetcher if Alcock goes down. Back subs would be Burgess, Hangers and BKH.
 
#1 Tah

#1 Tah

Chilla Wilson (44)
TPN, Fitzy and Palu are all back.

Palu tells me he will be looking for some cros feild kick tries.
 
qwerty51

qwerty51

Stirling Mortlock (74)
I would go with the strongest 22 possible. We need minimum 5 points from this game and a huge score to improve our for/against which might be very important.
 
drewprint

drewprint

Nicholas Shehadie (39)
McKibben absolutely hammered me once in a schoolboys 15A's match, haha.

If he can belt me, he's definitely ready for the big time. :)

Edit: This was back when he was QLD rep openside flanker.
 
J

JimboJoe1006

Chris McKivat (8)
I agree with giving McKibbon a proper run. Cross will play 13, although I still like the idea of pushing Tim Bennetts to the next level. I hope they don't risk Barnes too much, perhaps pull him at half-time. Halangahu had an absolute blinder for Uni on the weekend, let him play.

The team is finally coming back together! (In saying that: Horne, Waugh, Mitchell, Timani and BKH are still missing from this 22 - but this is relatively injury-free for the Tahs this year).
 
waratahjesus

waratahjesus

Greg Davis (50)
Hawko said:
Giving McKibben a run in the Lions game is absolutely vital. This is the last game for experimentation before we start the run to the finals.
Click to expand...

the run to the finals has already started we cant afford to drop a point at this stage, its time to build combinations and get settled, not experiement. If the lions fade (and god hope they do) it will make a great confidence boost for what is our first 15.
 
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Tahfan

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