Four Nations Week 1

I think they can bring players in with the approval of the RLIF. Australia tried bringing in a player for Lewis in the WC last year, but RLIF said no. The chances of bringing a player in are zero.

Australia are stuck with the squad they have.
 
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If they could, I would pick.

1. Inglis
2. Mansour
3. Jennings
4. Walker
5. Johnston
6. Hunt
7. Cronk
8. Tolman
9. Smith
10. Parker
11. Scott
12. Thaiday
13. Bird

14. Papalii
15. Guerra
16. Lillyman
17. Klemmer
 
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I think Australia need at least 3 props in the squad for the next game.

Going up against England with 1 prop is not going to go down well.
 
Going up against that pommy pack with our current squad is a worry.

Thaiday looked quite disinterested last night, wasn't hurrying to get back onside. Wasn't making much with the ball in hand either. If we could drop him and Hoffman the pack would look better.
 
Has sheens been sacked yet? I hope they aren't going to make me do the unthinkable and cheer on the poms
 
Lack of front rowers was huge. Big Papa and Parker were good off the bench though. Woods was bad, Thaiday and Scott were terrible and Hoffman was horrific. DCE got really caught out defending on his wrong side too.

I'm glad with this result, Sheens is a retard and picking such a shit squad is disrespectful to Australia.
 
Alec said:
Lack of front rowers was huge. Big Papa and Parker were good off the bench though. Woods was bad, Thaiday and Scott were terrible and Hoffman was horrific. DCE got really caught out defending on his wrong side too.

I'm glad with this result, Sheens is a retard and picking such a shit squad is disrespectful to Australia.
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Agree with everything
 
Alec said:
Lack of front rowers was huge. Big Papa and Parker were good off the bench though. Woods was bad, Thaiday and Scott were terrible and Hoffman was horrific. DCE got really caught out defending on his wrong side too.

I'm glad with this result, Sheens is a retard and picking such a **** squad is disrespectful to Australia.
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I don't think Woods played to badly considering it was his debut for Australia
 
Watching through the game again...

The first try was a well constructed Melbourne Storm play with Beau Scott playing the role of Kevin Proctor. Beautiful ball from Cronk with the margin for error being very high but he timed it very well.

Australia had a good chance to go back to back as NZ made another mistake and compounded it with a penalty but they lost their way. Bird threw a bad offload to nobody and then got smashed by Proctor before the last. This forced Cronk to go for the grubber but Foran accepted it pretty comfortably. From there, they were able to put together a good set with Taumalolo bursting through a Thaiday cover tackle and the game was brought back to an arm wrestle.

The 40/20 kick was extremely clever by Johnson. The Kiwis directed the play down their right hand-side, Mansour got caught at marker after two good efforts on SKD & Mannering back to back but Walker realised too late that the Aussies were short on that side. They should have scored on that set, was a lovely ball from Foran to catch the Australians short but of course Nightingale spilled it. Credit to GI for doing his job and forcing that mistake.

It eventually lead to a try to Proctor. It all went back to a bad mistake from Greg Bird working his way out of trouble and NZ did a very good job of building pressure with Shaun Johnson the star of the passage. He threatened to break through the Australians left fringe before setting up Proctor who beat some would be defence from DCE & Hoffman in cover. Worth noting that Jenko came up with a try saver earlier on SJ and was involved here but could hold the big fella up. 6 all.

Australia were in all sorts at this point, the Kiwis were putting them under all sorts of pressure, driving Hoffman back until Woods came up with a good run that not only won the ruck but also earned his team a penalty. At that point, Parker and Papalii came on for the two starting front rows. Both Parker and Papalii made two strong hit ups, giving Cronk a chance to take it to the line and off the quick play the ball, GI summed it up from dummy half. 12-6 Australia.

Unfortunately, Papalii made a meal of it from the kick off inviting the Kiwis back into the contest. They look to hit back through Kevin Proctor but the pass from SJ turns out to be a metre or so forward. Another blown opportunity, but at the same time, a warning shot and a reminder of how vulnerable DCE is in defence. Hoffman threw a bad offload, which Blair was able to bat back and once again, Australia were under a lot of pressure until Proctor put down a tricky Eastwood wrap-around pass to let the Aussies off the hook.

Cronk puts in a nice kick that forces Hiku to play at it inside his own in-goal but SJ comes up with a great kick of his own, placing a swirling bomb that GI manages to take but ends up losing in the tackle from Foran giving NZ another opportunity. A few tackles later, Greg Eastwood was able to get a quick play the ball and Lewis Brown was able to score a very soft try targetting Hoffman/DCE. 12 all.

The game then goes through an end to end passage. SJ puts through a really poor kick that Mansour was able to gather on the full on his own 30. From the ensuing set, Cronk works a slick play with Hoffman to put Jennings into space but on the last, Hoffman loses the ball over the line and the Kiwis launch their own counter-attack largely through Proctor who was able to stand Parker up. However, Foran puts up a terrible chip kick on the last that GI was able to gather up and bring out to the 20m for a 7 tackle set. DCE is taken off the field for his back injury.

Australia worked their way into prime field position but just as Smith was looking to fire a pass to Parker, the ball goes to ground and the Kiwis are awarded a scrum for a Parker knock on. Replays show it came off of Eastwood, a bad call against the Australians. From that set, NZ work their way into the Australia's territory with some nice interchange of passes from Eastwood but on the last, Thaiday races up on Foran who forces him to pass to Hiku, who has no choice but to give it to SKD who is easily taken by Walker.

Australia receive a penalty for Tohu crowding the play the ball, Rabs tries to call it a square up but it's a pretty blantant example. Unfortunately on tackle one, Parker loses it going for a half-hearted offload. Fortunately for the Aussies, Kiwis work another play down their right hand side but they're up to task and drive SKD over the sideline pretty comfortably. Australia are given the last say of the half, work their way just inside the Kiwis half but a wishful Cronk field goal sails wide.

12 all HT.

Will go through the second in just a bit. So far, I don't think the Australians have given themselves too much of an opportunity. Too much dropped ball early in the tackle count and forced offloads. Taumalolo, Proctor & Johnson strong for NZ - Cronk impressed me and starting to think a lot of people have been very harsh on Woods.
 
Porthoz said:
Kennedy is capable of the same work rate as Woods, but they're both pillows, simple as that!
Woods is probably the most overrated player in the NRL at the moment. Still, by sheer lack of other currently available props, he still gets a spot...

I prefer Bird playing from the bench as a utility, which doesn't mean I think he was bad. But he just doesn't have a place in my start-up team.

Hoffman needs to go, yesterday. He's a turnstile, offers absolutely nothing at this level, and as much as I hate the bloke, Beau "please kick my teeth in" Scott ****s all over him from great heights, as do all the other currently selected second rowers really.
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Most of the front rowers in the game must be pillows then. Woods averaged 146 meters, 29 tackles and 15 runs a game this year and broke 31 tackles, made 5 linebreaks and made 34 offloads. Kennedy didn't even come close to that and barely made a half of that.

Woods is one of the best young up and coming props in the game that will be a mainstray in NSW and Australian squads in the future whilst Kennedy on the other hand is a nothing but a fat benchie who just played 1 good game against a Tigers park side and everyone went nuts for. Will never understand why so many on here were so thrilled at signing him. I also would believe that Michael Morgon is far more overrated than what Woods is.
 
Danoz Direct said:
I don't think Woods played to badly considering it was his debut for Australia
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Unlike most here, I rate Woods very highly. I know it was his debut, and I know he had abysmal back up in Thaiday, but I still expected more.
 
Kennedy is not fat, he's a machine, it's not easy to hit 122kgs the way he has.
 
Broncoman said:
Most of the front rowers in the game must be pillows then. Woods averaged 146 meters, 29 tackles and 15 runs a game this year and broke 31 tackles, made 5 linebreaks and made 34 offloads. Kennedy didn't even come close to that and barely made a half of that.

Woods is one of the best young up and coming props in the game that will be a mainstray in NSW and Australian squads in the future whilst Kennedy on the other hand is a nothing but a fat benchie who just played 1 good game against a Tigers park side and everyone went nuts for. Will never understand why so many on here were so thrilled at signing him. I also would believe that Michael Morgon is far more overrated than what Woods is.
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Kennedy didn't get the minutes Woods did. Their average stats are quite similar, in fact Kennedy is better in each of them (bold):

[TABLE="class: grid, width: 600, align: center"]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD="colspan: 2, align: center"]GAMES[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 3, align: center"]RUNS[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 2, align: center"]METERS[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 3, align: center"]TACKLES[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]Name[/TD]
[TD]Tot[/TD]
[TD]Mins[/TD]
[TD]Tot[/TD]
[TD]p/game[/TD]
[TD]p/min[/TD]
[TD]p/game[/TD]
[TD]p/run[/TD]
[TD]Tot[/TD]
[TD]p/game[/TD]
[TD]p/min[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]Aaron Woods[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]20[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]59[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]299[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]15.0[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.25[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]129[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]8.6[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]627[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]31.4[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.53[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]Martin Kennedy[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]14[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]27[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]99[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]7.1[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.26[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]66[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]9.3[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]260[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]19[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0.68[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


When it comes to hit-ups stats only get you so far, as they don't tell you how much impact each run really had, and Woods impact on his runs is that of a... pillow. So yeah... overrated NSW'ker, as usual.
 
Second half...

Australia receive the ball in the opening set and it's clear that GI is in the dressing sheds forcing a reshuffle. Walker to fullback with Guerra playing right centre. Taupau earns NZ their first opportunity of the game, earning a penalty for a ruck infringement against Thaiday. Fortunately for the Australians, Brown threw a dusty pass from dummy half and SJ comes up with an unforced mistake.

However, as Australia attempt to get their way back into the contest, Jennings loses the ball just inside the Kiwis half. The Kangaroos actually did a fairly good job of restricting the Kiwis to 30m, but on the last SJ places a good kick into the corner. That play really hurt the Australians and they struggled to make 22m giving NZ another crack at them as Eastwood burst through a would be tackle from Smith. Moments later, SJ was able to score a lucky solo try giving NZ the lead for the first time in the match. 18-12 NZ.

From the kick-off, it looks like Bromwich loses it but it's ruled a strip against Woods. Replays show that it was a 50/50, Woods had his hand wrapping the ball but there was no stripping motion. From the ensuing set, Johnson places a lovely cross-field kick for Whare who takes a screamer of a catch and falls over the line. 24-12 and the game is slipping away for the Australians at this point.

Bird comes back into the game for Aaron Woods and makes a good charge, beating the tackle of Taumalolo, making 15m and getting a good quick play the ball for Smith. Cronk uses the momentum to dab a smart chip kick into the corner that beats Hiku on the bounce and should earn the Australians a repeat set but Mansour over-runs on the chase, allowing Hiku to make 20m and restore the momentum for NZ - a huge play.

NZ continue their ascendancy as SJ launches a fantastic bomb that nearly results in a try to Gerard Beale. Fortunately for the Australians, Taumalolo was caught hitting Cronk with a shoulder charge in the back, giving them a penalty to hit back.

Unfortunately it comes to naught. Smith from dummy half calls an audible, goes to Farah who kicks it straight into Foran who races a good 25m until Bird cleans him up. Kiwis continue to make ground at will at this point as they establish an overlap on the right but Tohu Harris holds the pass up too long, forcing Whare back inside who loses it in the cover defence.

NZ are given another opportunity as Mansour is caught up in the play the ball. Taumalolo continues to impress as he shrugs off defenders left and right until Mansour makes up for his earlier indiscretion, doing well to mark the ball in-goal to earn the Australians a 7 tackle set. Smart play from Josh, but SJ should have played it through the hands, Kiwis had developed an overlap. Unfortunately, as Australia were building momentum, Cronk put through a dinky kick intended for Tupou, but Beale takes it comfortably when Australia still had 3 more plays. Bad play from Cooper.

Fortunately he earns a reprieve as Leuluai throws a shocking pass to the boot laces of SJ who loses it on the half-way. Another golden opportunity for the Australians and they go very close through Guerra but in the end, Cooper Cronk puts through a pedestrian cross-field kick to Tupou who bats it back to Hoffman who loses it while attempting to clean up. It was good kick pressure from Blair who absolutely nailed Cronk, but a sad end to the set of six. Australia once again caught trying to score on every set rather than building pressure.

NZ do well to force Australia into the corner but are caught not playing to the whistle as Daniel Tupou looked to have lost the ball while attempting to offload. This allowed Jennings to race 40m odd giving Australia another golden opportunity at the Kiwis. Despite earning six again, Australia blow their opportunity as Greg Bird throws a desperate offload to Cronk on the second tackle who can't take it.

NZ turn defence into attack, SJ launches another high torpedo bomb, Walker can't take it and NZ are able to send the ball left for Nightingale who makes ammends for his earlier mistake. 30-12 and it's essentially game over.

With ten minutes to go, it was really just a case of NZ looking to put on the finishing touches while Australia tried to add some respectability to the scoreline but true to their form all evening, couldn't hold onto the pill.

Overall - NZ played well. Australia looked rattled and rusty. I thought the two tries the Kiwis scored, that gave them their lead were pretty fortunate and Australia have a lot more improvement in them than the Kiwis do. Couple of adjustments, and they'll handle the Poms easily.
 
So what [MENTION=2221]Porthoz[/MENTION] stats tell us that if we start Kennedy and give him 60 minutes a game, he'll be an origin standard player, or close to it.

He had a self proclaimed bad season and his numbers per game still weren't THAT bad, maybe we're making a mistake in shopping him around before he gets a proper chance under a good coach.

I've never been so 50/50 on two players in my life, no idea if they're good or not (Barba, Kennedy)
 
If Kennedy played longer minutes his per minute stats would obviously be worse.
 
Alec said:
If Kennedy played longer minutes his per minute stats would obviously be worse.
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No they wouldn't, he had similar stats when he played longer minutes. It's just that for guys their size, their runs aren't intimidating or barn busting like the Burgii bros for example.

In his only 50 minutes game this season, Kennedy ran 12 times for 126 meters and 30 tackles with 0 missed. All other games, he played under 35 mins.
 
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