millersnose
Post Whore
- Messages
- 65,223
THERE is good news and bad news about Brett Kimmorley and the Kangaroo tour.
The good news is Kimmorley made a successful comeback for the Sharks last week. The bad news is he has gone from bolter's odds to odds-on to wear the Australian No.7 jumper usually reserved for Andrew Johns.
It's not the sort of news Craig Gower, Brent Sherwin, Shaun Berrigan and maybe Matt Orford and Mark McLinden would like to hear on the eve of the playoffs.
Particularly when Kimmorley will not be taking part in the post-season battles leading to the grand final.
It appears the people charged with making selection decisions for the tour were mightily impressed with Kimmorley's comeback game against the Rabbitohs.
They are also well aware that Australia have not lost a Test with Kimmorley calling the shots. He also breaks the line more consistently than most halfbacks and, most importantly, Kangaroo coach Chris Anderson is his No.1 fan.
Having established those factors, the burning question about his match time won't go away.
While the other contenders remain alive in the premiership for varying periods, Kimmorley won't have played a game for nearly five weeks when Australia take on New Zealand the weekend after the grand final.
That means he will have had only two games in more than two months.
No doubt he will continue to train at the required levels but there will be opposition to his selection because of lack of match practice.
Of the other contenders, Gower and Sherwin are likely to be the front-runners, even though they did not play Origin football this year.
And should one or both of them appear in the grand final, their chances of touring will escalate.
The selectors will take two halves anyway - Kimmorley and an understudy whose identity is likely to remain a mystery until the squad is announced after the grand final.
The good news is Kimmorley made a successful comeback for the Sharks last week. The bad news is he has gone from bolter's odds to odds-on to wear the Australian No.7 jumper usually reserved for Andrew Johns.
It's not the sort of news Craig Gower, Brent Sherwin, Shaun Berrigan and maybe Matt Orford and Mark McLinden would like to hear on the eve of the playoffs.
Particularly when Kimmorley will not be taking part in the post-season battles leading to the grand final.
It appears the people charged with making selection decisions for the tour were mightily impressed with Kimmorley's comeback game against the Rabbitohs.
They are also well aware that Australia have not lost a Test with Kimmorley calling the shots. He also breaks the line more consistently than most halfbacks and, most importantly, Kangaroo coach Chris Anderson is his No.1 fan.
Having established those factors, the burning question about his match time won't go away.
While the other contenders remain alive in the premiership for varying periods, Kimmorley won't have played a game for nearly five weeks when Australia take on New Zealand the weekend after the grand final.
That means he will have had only two games in more than two months.
No doubt he will continue to train at the required levels but there will be opposition to his selection because of lack of match practice.
Of the other contenders, Gower and Sherwin are likely to be the front-runners, even though they did not play Origin football this year.
And should one or both of them appear in the grand final, their chances of touring will escalate.
The selectors will take two halves anyway - Kimmorley and an understudy whose identity is likely to remain a mystery until the squad is announced after the grand final.
