Internationals 2016 Australia v Kiwis Test, Perth
- Thread starter mt.wellington
- Start date
Maybe Kidwell worked out in a few weeks that Cappy couldn't work out all season - Kata might pass better to the right than to the left
Maybe Kidwell worked out in a few weeks that Cappy couldn't work out all season - Kata might pass better to the right than to the left
Imagine if that was actually it and he sends his winger in for a hat trick ...
And one less genuine big impact second phase attacking forward for Aussie.
Big blow for them.
Replacement is pretty handy but well unproven at this level.
Hopefully Kidwell makes the Kiwis target these noobs like they have in the past with great effect
There are less and less Kangaroos around that don't fear NZ.
Give the greenhorns a baptism of fire.
Take the Orgin Mentality and rub their noses in it boys.
Who can forget Beastwood nearly knocking himself out with hammer tackle on Dugan ?
Welcome to test match footy you State players he he.
Have I missed the Aussie team announcement? Cant find any info on the team they've named for this test. Mals mind games maybe.
bruce
Contributor
Meninga will name his team on Friday morning with Valentine Holmes and Shannon Boyd in line to make their Kangaroos debuts...
I like that Kidwell named his side early.
It just says to me that he's not interested I n intrigues for a trial warm up, that type of strategizing is best left to over thinkers.
I'm not saying the early declaration isn't a mind game.
It shows boldness, 'we don't give a shit who you pick' .
'Appear strong when you are weak'.
That makes sense with Foran and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Whare missing, and a new coaching staff plus the specter of reliance on Warriors players in three spine positions after their dismal season.
'Appear weak when you are strong'
The yin to the yang..
Well our forwards have no chance of being underestimated by the enemy, so the balance must come in the backs.
I treid to imagine which Kiwi Back would make a *best of four nations backline*
Realistic Candidates:
Shaun Johnson
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck
Foran
Whare
So our backline really does appear weak and thereby have the chance to ambush this tournament behind one hell of a pack.
I'm just glad Fifita wasn't included, just a freak who can deliver the impossible, that try he scored in the GF still leaves me in disbelief and I imagine leaves half the kiwi forward pack waking up in cold sweats.
New Zealand: Gerard Beale, Adam Blair, Jesse Bromwich, Lewis Brown, Greg Eastwood, David Fusitua, Tohu Harris, Shaun Johnson, Jordan Kahu, Solomone Kata, Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Thomas Leuluai, Issac Luke, Simon Mannering, Te Maire Martin, Manu Ma'u, Jason Nightingale, Kevin Proctor, Jordan Rapana, Joseph Tapine, Jason Taumalolo, Martin Taupau, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak.
Australia: Cameron Smith (capt), Darius Boyd, Shannon Boyd, Boyd Cordner, Cooper Cronk, Josh Dugan, Blake Ferguson, Jake Friend, Tyson Frizell, Matt Gillett, Valentine Holmes, Greg Inglis, David Klemmer, James Maloney, Josh Mansour, Trent Merrin, Michael Morgan, Matt Moylan, Justin O'Neill, Josh Papalii, Matt Scott, Sam Thaiday, Johnathan Thurston, Aaron Woods.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/leagu...-omissions-from-australias-rugby-league-squad
I still think thats a competitive squad we have. Might be missing 2 of our best, but a lot better than when we had to play a front rower in the halves lol.
Stoked to see Rapana named. Hes the type of guy the warriors need, he says he gives 110% every game because in this sport you never know when your last game is. He had a heck of a season.
Hope Taupau adds some aggression to the pack, thats what the warriors lack and Id love him in the warriors.
I think Leuluia whilst not as good as Lolohea or Ata, his experience and reliability was required.
And Fusitua earnt that naming. Same with Kata. Kata's only weakness is greed, holding onto the ball trying to steam roll close to the line, he needs to learn to draw and pass more often, of course he needs to steam roll when its on, but he will learn when is where the best option is.
Im pretty hopeful.
Now just so I dont miss it, its 9:50 our time Sunday right?
Stoked to see Rapana named. Hes the type of guy the warriors need, he says he gives 110% every game because in this sport you never know when your last game is. He had a heck of a season.
Hope Taupau adds some aggression to the pack, thats what the warriors lack and Id love him in the warriors.
I think Leuluia whilst not as good as Lolohea or Ata, his experience and reliability was required.
And Fusitua earnt that naming. Same with Kata. Kata's only weakness is greed, holding onto the ball trying to steam roll close to the line, he needs to learn to draw and pass more often, of course he needs to steam roll when its on, but he will learn when is where the best option is.
Im pretty hopeful.
Now just so I dont miss it, its 9:50 our time Sunday right?
My concerns are with the lack of out and out class in the backs, primarily fullback and the selections of starting and bench forwards.
I understand why Adam Blair is there with Eastwood and Mannering missing. However, I do not see him as adding value from the bench. He has played his best footy for NZ as a starter with aggression, footwork and a bit of niggle. I have really liked what Kearney has been doing over the last few seasons with his bench, where he introduces the meaty shock troops of Eastwood and Taupau... Blair from the bench can't do what those guys do.
Harris and Proctor together is pretty good but if Manu Ma'u is in the team (as he is) I would like to see him start instead of coming from the bench. Despite his look and his fearsome reputation I actually think his game is more recently about finesse rather than hard impact, which I want in my bench. To me, even though they play really well together at club level, Harris and Proctor are almost too similar and I would like to a little more variety in our back row at Test level... and I believe Tohu Harris is the perfect bench player in international footy.
From this current 17, I would have Bromwich and Blair start in the front row. Proctor and Ma'u in the second row with Taumalolo at lock.
The bench would then be Warea-Hargreaves, Taupua as impact players, the second wave of thrust. Harris is your backrow cover who also covers a halves or backline injury and Brown is probably the best cover we have available for Luke.
If Eastwood and Mannering were available for this 17 then Eastwood to the bench, Warea-Hargeaves to the front row and Ma'u and Blair miss out for me.
I have gone on about Kahu ad nauseum so won't write too much, but I think he lacks the attacking class required of a Test fullback. I like his effort on defence but also am very sceptical of his durability in a physical match.
I don't think our forwards are going to be as dominant as some are predicting but they will give us a decent platform if they turn up. The issue is whether we have enough points in our backs and I am a little worried about that.
I see a 4-8 point Australian victory... just based on their superior backline.
I understand why Adam Blair is there with Eastwood and Mannering missing. However, I do not see him as adding value from the bench. He has played his best footy for NZ as a starter with aggression, footwork and a bit of niggle. I have really liked what Kearney has been doing over the last few seasons with his bench, where he introduces the meaty shock troops of Eastwood and Taupau... Blair from the bench can't do what those guys do.
Harris and Proctor together is pretty good but if Manu Ma'u is in the team (as he is) I would like to see him start instead of coming from the bench. Despite his look and his fearsome reputation I actually think his game is more recently about finesse rather than hard impact, which I want in my bench. To me, even though they play really well together at club level, Harris and Proctor are almost too similar and I would like to a little more variety in our back row at Test level... and I believe Tohu Harris is the perfect bench player in international footy.
From this current 17, I would have Bromwich and Blair start in the front row. Proctor and Ma'u in the second row with Taumalolo at lock.
The bench would then be Warea-Hargreaves, Taupua as impact players, the second wave of thrust. Harris is your backrow cover who also covers a halves or backline injury and Brown is probably the best cover we have available for Luke.
If Eastwood and Mannering were available for this 17 then Eastwood to the bench, Warea-Hargeaves to the front row and Ma'u and Blair miss out for me.
I have gone on about Kahu ad nauseum so won't write too much, but I think he lacks the attacking class required of a Test fullback. I like his effort on defence but also am very sceptical of his durability in a physical match.
I don't think our forwards are going to be as dominant as some are predicting but they will give us a decent platform if they turn up. The issue is whether we have enough points in our backs and I am a little worried about that.
I see a 4-8 point Australian victory... just based on their superior backline.
Very stoked for Rapana to make the kiwis, he is the exact kind of player the Warriors need on the wing. He says he plays every game 110% because he doesnt know when his last game will be, which happens often in the sport.
If we had that kind of attitude and commitment in our team from all our players we would be in the 4 every year guaranteed.
I wonder if there is any way we could snaffle him from the Raiders and Taupau from Manly? How much is Hoffman worth? We would get a lot for Lolohea as hes already being tagged by a number of clubs (because in warriors fans eyes hes crap supposedly)
We have 1 real problem and thats size in the forwards. But I also see us needing another fast classy winger to replace manu who I think needs to come in field, I mean he does more work at lock than he does as a winger.
If we had that kind of attitude and commitment in our team from all our players we would be in the 4 every year guaranteed.
I wonder if there is any way we could snaffle him from the Raiders and Taupau from Manly? How much is Hoffman worth? We would get a lot for Lolohea as hes already being tagged by a number of clubs (because in warriors fans eyes hes crap supposedly)
We have 1 real problem and thats size in the forwards. But I also see us needing another fast classy winger to replace manu who I think needs to come in field, I mean he does more work at lock than he does as a winger.
mt.wellington
Warriors Orange Peeler
You can use that exact same line for not only Adam Blair but Manu Mau and Kapow as well. Is that the game plan maybe???
I agree with most of your points especially the bench rotation isnt providing the impact we need.
I have to agree with Kahu. He's to vanilla for mine, nothing special nothing horribly bad. Thats one area we are lacking points is through fullback. Fusitua for mine wouldve brought more value to the position than kahu.
Going on history we've been successful against the aussies when we've piled on points in short amounts of time. If you watch all 3 of the latest victories there have been a 10-15min period where we put up 3-4 tries and played with a comfortable lead. I think we can defend a lead, they've proven that. Mannering is a big loss, its evident he is the defensive key to our limiting opposition points. That being said I don't think we'll build a big lead in this game. Theres too much experience on the aussies part and size to compensate for being manhandled like before.
I feel it will be close. I dont think we will get a lead but historically if we keep scoring and stay close we're always in for a chance.
I honestly cant give a genuine reason for us not to lose, it seems if you add it all up its a fairly even contest, but i will give aussie the edge in their halves to bring them home strong. Aussie by 4 but looking for Kidwells strategy and how individuals fair at international level.
Australian Kangaroos team:
1. Darius Boyd
2. Valentine Holmes
3. Greg Inglis
4. Josh Dugan
5. Blake Ferguson
6. Johnathan Thurston
7. Cooper Cronk
8. Matt Scott
9. Cameron Smith (c)
10. Shannon Boyd
11. Matt Gillett
12. Boyd Cordner
13. Trent Merrin
14. Michael Morgan
15. David Klemmer
16. Sam Thaiday
17. Tyson Frizell
1. Darius Boyd
2. Valentine Holmes
3. Greg Inglis
4. Josh Dugan
5. Blake Ferguson
6. Johnathan Thurston
7. Cooper Cronk
8. Matt Scott
9. Cameron Smith (c)
10. Shannon Boyd
11. Matt Gillett
12. Boyd Cordner
13. Trent Merrin
14. Michael Morgan
15. David Klemmer
16. Sam Thaiday
17. Tyson Frizell
