Cooper in, Gower and Ryan Gone.

[innsaneink]

Anthony Minichiello,
Matt King,
Mark Gasnier,
Matt Cooper,
Brent Tate,
Darren Lockyer ©,
Andrew Johns,
Ben Kennedy,
Craig Fitzgibbon,
Luke O'Donnell,
Steve Price,
Danny Buderus,
Petero Civoniceva.

Interchange:
Trent Barrett,
Jason Ryles,
Mark O'Meley,
Trent Waterhouse.

- with AAP

 

[The Colonel]

Kangaroos call up Cooper
By staff writers with wires
October 18, 2005

ST George Illawarra centre Matt Cooper has replaced Timana Tahu in the Australia side to play New Zealand in the second rugby league Tri-Nations Test in Auckland on Friday night.

Centres ... Cooper will partner fellow Dragon Mark Gasnier. Pic: Phil Hillyard
Tahu, who started on the wing in the first Test in Sydney last weekend, misses the reverse fixture with a hamstring injury.

Brent Tate, who started the first Test in the centres, takes Tahu's position on the flank, with Cooper named to partner Dragons team-mate Mark Gasnier in the centres.

Kangaroos selectors made only two more changes to the squad embarrassed 38-28 at Telstra Stadium, with both new faces called onto the interchange bench.

Dragons five-eighth Trent Barrett and Parramatta second rower Nathan Hindmarsh have been called up, replacing Penrith halfback Craig Gower and Bulldogs captain Andrew Ryan. Team: Anthony Minichiello, Matt King, Mark Gasnier, Matt Cooper, Brent Tate, Darren Lockyer (c), Andrew Johns, Ben Kennedy, Craig Fitzgibbon, Luke O'Donnell, Steve Price, Danny Buderus, Petero Civoniceva. Interchange: Trent Barrett, Jason Ryles, Mark O'Meley, Trent Waterhouse

http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,16957167-23210,00.html

 

[Harko]

Interesting naming Barrett on the bench, I wonder how they will use him. The three quarter line looks better like that.

 

[Jono078]

The overall team looks better imo, Gower will be dissapointed, but owell I guess...

Also, I dont rate Tate on the wing, I remember a game earlier in the year where he just looked lost out there.

 

[ozboy]

Good to see Barrett being given a go.

You would think that he would be used as a lock forward.

The ommision of Gower is surprising considering he was half decent on Saturday night, but I have always been a believer that Danny Buderus is a much better player when on the field for 80 mntues rather than the first 25 of each half.

O'Meley will make much more of an impact than Ryan, while it looks as if Fitzgibbon and O'Donnell will be battling it our for one ack row position considering the imminent return of Hindmarsh.

I think they will beat NZ comfortably this Friday.

 

[The Colonel]

You'd think they are toying with moving one of the wingers onto the bench and having Barrett partner Johns with Lockyer back at No. 1, The Count on the wing. Would have been a better move had they made that change straight off the bat and strengthened the bench by leaving Gower to cover the halves and hooker....

I didn't think Gower had that bad of a game to warrant being dropped that is for sure...

 

[Munky]

As posted in the Panthers forum.

Gower on Australia 28-6
Gower off New Zealand 32-0

Makes plenty of sense to drop him.

 

[Mr Saab]

I didn't think Gower had that bad of a game to warrant being dropped that is for sure...

put it down to a selected rotation policy. Bennett did say that all player will play at least 2 games. Cant see Prince doing that, but we shall see.
Gower will play again in the coming weeks

 

[Rammo]

put it down to a selected rotation policy. Bennett did say that all player will play at least 2 games. Cant see Prince doing that, but we shall see.
Gower will play again in the coming weeks

No offence Charlie, but are you the spokesperson for Wayne Bennett?

Dropping Gower for Barrett is garbage, and you keep defending his selections policies, when, let's face it, leave alot to be desired.

 

[The Colonel]

put it down to a selected rotation policy. Bennett did say that all player will play at least 2 games. Cant see Prince doing that, but we shall see.
Gower will play again in the coming weeks

Too short a tour to play silly buggers on...... Barrett is a 5/8 and at a pinch a halfback. Gower can at least cover hooker, half and 5/8. If he wants to play Barrett then he should have come in for Tahu and the side re-shuffled.

 

[morri (cWo)]

just ask ray 'rabs' warren i mean hurriflatch. gower had a lot of impact. didn't deserve to be droped.

 

[Rammo]

Too short a tour to play silly buggers on......

Exactly

 

[Mr Saab]

No offence Charlie, but are you the spokesperson for Wayne Bennett?

Dropping Gower for Barrett is garbage, and you keep defending his selections policies, when, let's face it, leave alot to be desired.

i wish i was...but in reality i heard that from Bennett himself on a sydney radio station.
Bennett said every player will play at least 2 games.
Again, Bennett cant win....if he doesnt play 3-4 players he will cop crap that he wasted their time blah blah blah.
If the plays all the players he cops crap about his selection policy.
All 23 players he took are more than worthy of selection.
This is not like the Roo tours where you had 28 players go and some were called Emus as they didnt play tests and basically got on the booze all tour....e.g Fittler on the 1990 Tour.

 

[The Colonel]

It is a four game tour. By the time he finishes playing silly buggers it will be over...... hopefully with a decent result.

 

[Rammo]

i wish i was...but in reality i heard that from Bennett himself on a sydney radio station.
Bennett said every player will play at least 2 games.
Again, Bennett cant win....if he doesnt play 3-4 players he will cop crap that he wasted their time blah blah blah.
If the plays all the players he cops crap about his selection policy.
All 23 players he took are more than worthy of selection.
This is not like the Roo tours where you had 28 players go and some were called Emus as they didnt play tests and basically got on the booze all tour....e.g Fittler on the 1990 Tour.

His job should be to pick the best 17 players available for each game.

The 23 man squad is only there to cover injuries and should not be used for rotation policies.

Unless they play Mickey Mouse games against France or the USA or whatever.

 

[Mr Saab]

ok colonel...so what is he to do?
take 17 players to england and hope to god no one gets injured?

 

[Rammo]

ok colonel...so what is he to do?
take 17 players to england and hope to god no one gets injured?

Take the best 23 and pick the best 17 for each game.

If that means that 6 players don't play a game on tour then so be it.

 

[The Colonel]

ok colonel...so what is he to do?
take 17 players to england and hope to god no one gets injured?

No. You play your best seventeen and make the changes that are necessary. As you said it isn't a 18 game tour on which you can work on combinations.....

 

[knights04]

What a joke. Gower was one of the best players for Aus on Saturday.

 

[Rammo]

The first step is to pick the best 23 - Bennett has failed.

The next step is to pick the best 17 from that 23 - Bennett has failed.