TEST MATCH AU v NZ *Live scores & discussion*

[Fast Eddie]

I was actually reasonbly happy with the Kiwis last night.

With that team plus a few Super League players I think that if there was a Tri Nations at the end of the year then we would win it.

I think Pulelatua(sp) has to go. Didn't take our oppertunites and that dropped bomb by Roberts was when the games started to slide from us.

And the predictble try from a kick infield by the Aussies as there is every ANZAC test.

 

[Jesbass]

Really could have used Hape on the wing tonight, Webster was dissapointing.

I think Hape may have struggled to keep up with the pace of the game, especially with that damaged Cruciate Ligament of his... ;-)

 

[Shorty]

I was actually reasonbly happy with the Kiwis last night.

With that team plus a few Super League players I think that if there was a Tri Nations at the end of the year then we would win it.

I think Pulelatua(sp) has to go. Didn't take our oppertunites and that dropped bomb by Roberts was when the games started to slide from us.

And the predictble try from a kick infield by the Aussies as there is every ANZAC test.

That's a bit over confident,you would win it?

I think you would compete,start there.

 

[Fast Eddie]

With Stacey Jones at halfback plus Webb and a few others from the Super league and a solid build up we would defitnitly be right in there with a show. If not win it.

 

[Shorty]

With Stacey Jones at halfback plus Webb and a few others from the Super league and a solid build up we would defitnitly be right in there with a show. If not win it.

I think really,you could groom a new halfback,what lacked last night was leadership.
You held right on and then crumbled when we scored then second try,you needed the likes of Wiki and Kidwell.

Kidwell is the heart and soul of the Kiwi team.

 

[Fast Eddie]

Experience and leadership will come. Probably in time for the WC final.

 

[Phil McGrawhan]

Dazza is weird!:lol:

Maybe ...but not a proven liar....

 

[Twizzle]

for those wondering if Inu was playing out of position, he generally plays in the certres for our PL team, but he has played plenty of fullback in his junior footy

 

[Phil McGrawhan]

Man of the Match for the best side in the world still not good enough, you are a joke.

The point is, on form he did not deserve to be picked above other fullbacks.
How do you know that Slater,Bowen Stewart or Mackinnon would not have played better.?

I probably could have played well against a tam with so little experience & behind the best forwards & halves in OZ...
See how he performs back in an ordinary team?Probably the same as he has played all yr...like a busted arse.

 

[Ghoulies]

I probably could have played well against a tam with so little experience & behind the best forwards & halves in OZ...

:lol: :lol: :lol:

A locky-esque comment if there ever were one. Honestly, that'd be tough to beat for the most idiotic LU moment of '07.

 

[Mr. Fahrenheit]

hes got a point though, i for one think Inu > Hunt considering the efforts of the respective teams

 

[lockyno1]

The point is, on form he did not deserve to be picked above other fullbacks.
How do you know that Slater,Bowen Stewart or Mackinnon would not have played better.?.

Ricky Stuart has been coaching longer than you. I think he knows why he picks Hunt..he actually performs at rep level. None of the fullbacks you have listed have done anything!

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

It sh*ts me to hear all these people saying how we're "building for the future" etc. I think we're selling the strength of last night's team short.

We say that every year. Didn't we just win the 2005 TN and lose the 2006 TN in golden point? As far as I can see we're already in a strong position.

For mine, last nights team on paper was the strongest we've put out for the Anzac test in years. We've never had Jones for the ANZAC test, at least this time we had Marshall and SBW, and pretty much full strength centres, wings, the best AVAILABLE fullback (given we never get much from the ESL for the ANZAC test anyway), and a strong forward pack.

We had far fewer injuries than in previous years.

It was a young team for sure, but our best players these days are young. The team was much closer to full strength than people seem to realise and so personally I was hoping for a little bit more.

Sure Wiki is gone, but he is past his best and our props are fine anyway; Vagana is gone, but Marshall is clearly better at 6 anyway; and Jones never plays the Anzac test. Individually I think there was plenty of talent on show last night and we underperformed somewhat.

 

[Big Pete]

Just watched the replay.

For the kiwi's, thought Inu at Fullback had a good game apart from that one kick which went out on the full. Defensively and Offensively he looked good.

Backline was a little bit dissapointing. Webster had a poor game and I didn't notice Soliola too much. Mannering had a good game I thought and he was IMO one of your best on field.

The halves didn't seem to gel too well. Roberts is still fairly young and Marshall is still below his best so it's not as if you have to go back to the drawing board just yet as I believe they both showed some promising aspects.

The forwards for me kind of went missing, I might need statistics however I didn't see a whole lot of work from them apart from the opening 10 or so minutes. Thought Eastwood and Rapira both looked good on debut, Eastwood in particular showed a lot of glimpses of what he is capable of, eg. the offload to Marshall that looked to of set up a try, the set up for another promising attacking raid which was eventually let down by a poor Webster knock on.

As for Australia.

The backline was overall good. Hunt justified his selection with some really good support play and his runs from opposition kicks were also top class, his ability to get up after being absolutely creamed is impressive. Tate played well and well above his current form, surprised me on replay and was arguably one of our better players making good runs from dummy half.

Lyon was solid and Hodges was...well he put in his normal Hodges standard. King was also good but was presented with a lot of oppurtunities due to poor Kiwi positioning.

The halves again were good once they got settled. Sometimes they showed a lack of communication though however it looked to of been sorted out towards fulltime.

The forwards were also fairly good, especially defensively. Smith didn't really mark his authority on the game as well as he could have but he showed some decent composure. I thought Berrigan put in a genuine effort and always looked to of made a half break here and there or defuse a threatening situation.

Overall thought the match was fairly average. Don't get me wrong I was glad to be there among 35 000 other screaming fans however it never rose to the heights of the Tri Nations matches. I think most of the selections were justified in the end and I can't wait to see the Trans Tasman match up at the end of the year!

 

[Ghoulies]

hes got a point though, i for one think Inu > Hunt considering the efforts of the respective teams

You, as a Parramatta supporter, and a Luke Burt fan boy. Gee, that adds some weight to dazza's argument.

Comparisons between the two players' performances are rediculous...

Inu was given little attacking opportunity and as a result did very little with ball in hand, but he was tested all night in defence and didn't faulter once. Hunt had a plethora of attacking opportunities, and made the most of it with a couple of linebreaks, a bucketload of metres and a try (plus one which was disallowed), while facing little to no threats from the Kiwi's attack.

Hunt was excellent last night and the best dazza can come up with is, "I could have done that if I felt like it". Juvenile and illogical from someone whose best justification for his hatred of this Broncos fullback is, "Selectors keep picking him when I say there are more deserving players who are missing out."

 

[Mr. Fahrenheit]

What has Luke Burt got to do with this?

Besides, Dazza has got a point, both Slater and Bowen deserved this call up on form... but the selectors always go with the 'incumbent' and as long as cutie keeps justifying his place with solid performances like last night, then i know that the selectors wont change. However, this doesnt mean that i agree with the selectors, i have just learned to accept it because fighting their decisions will cause insurmountable amounts of frustration. That being said, cutie did well last night, despite the fact that i wanted Bowen or Slater there.

 

[Ghoulies]

What has Luke Burt got to do with this?

Just questioning the mental state of a guy who's the self-proclaimed number one fan of Luke Burt.

Besides, Dazza has got a point, both Slater and Bowen deserved this call up on form...

That wasn't the point I was refuting. Dazza was trying to write off Hunt's performance as sh*t by suggesting that even he, some forum-dwelling crackpot, could match it against 17 full time first graders; dazza failed.

but the selectors always go with the 'incumbent' and as long as cutie keeps justifying his place with solid performances like last night, then i know that the selectors wont change. However, this doesnt mean that i agree with the selectors, i have just learned to accept it because fighting their decisions will cause insurmountable amounts of frustration. That being said, cutie did well last night, despite the fact that i wanted Bowen or Slater there.

And I have no issue with that. I don't agree with selectors 100% of the time, but I also don't obsess over players I don't like getting picked over players who I feel are more deserving.

 

[Mr. Fahrenheit]

Just questioning the mental state of a guy who's the self-proclaimed number one fan of Luke Burt.

That wasn't the point I was refuting. Dazza was trying to write off Hunt's performance as sh*t by suggesting that even he, some forum-dwelling crackpot, could match it against 17 full time first graders; dazza failed.

And I have no issue with that. I don't agree with selectors 100% of the time, but I also don't obsess over players I don't like getting picked over players who I feel are more deserving.

For f**ks sake, who cares if im the number one fan of Luke Burt? i like the guy, hes a decent player, i dont go OTT - so how does that in anyway assist youre case of me possessing an unstable mental state?

It was obvious he was using a hyperbole to show the extent of Hunt's fortune with regards to playing in such a talented team, stop taking it so literally

Well that is the only valid point you have, and fair enough i reckon Dazza should let it go as well.

 

[badav]

The point is, on form he did not deserve to be picked above other fullbacks.
How do you know that Slater,Bowen Stewart or Mackinnon would not have played better.?

I probably could have played well against a tam with so little experience & behind the best forwards & halves in OZ...
See how he performs back in an ordinary team?Probably the same as he has played all yr...like a busted arse.

I reckon you would probably get smashed and come hobbling off the field.

Hes in the team because hes done the job before. Form is up and down all the time for all players. Look at Matt Bowen last year. Rubbish. If every rep team was picked on form it would be a totally different side every time. No coach wants to deal with this. Much easier to pick a team that have already gelled with each other. And this showed last night. Did the job again and i have no doubt they will continue to do the job.

I wonder if Frank Pritchard is still talking it up about the Kiwis going to dominate Australia. They are 10 steps behind us at the moment and will take years for them to catch up again

 

[Ghoulies]

For f**ks sake, who cares if im the number one fan of Luke Burt? i like the guy, hes a decent player, i dont go OTT - so how does that in anyway assist youre case of me possessing an unstable mental state?

:lol: That hit the spot.

I laugh at you being the number one fan of Luke Burt for the same reason that everyone laughs at BBSF for being Covell's... except he's taking the piss, while you're dead serious.

stop taking it so literally

As I said, I wasn't refuting that. I responded to his comment as if it were another Hunt-bashing effort (which it was, it also happened to reinforce a point he was making), which isn't a difficult conclusion to jump to having read a fair bit of dazza's sh*t dedicated to the guy.