ARL: Kangaroos team discussion

[DIEHARD]

1 Karmichael Hunt
2 Brent Tate
3 Jamie Lyon
4 Justin Hodges
5 Matt King
6 Darren Lockyer (c)
7 Johnathan Thurston
8 Brent Kite
9 Cameron Smith
10 Petero Civoniceva
11 Willie Mason
12 Nathan Hindmarsh
13 Andrew Ryan

Interchange

14 Luke Bailey
15 Shaun Berrigan
16 Steve Simpson
17 Anthony Tupou

Coach: Ricky Stuart

[DIEHARD]

There is no way Hunt deserves that #1 jersey, especially over Bowen...

Happy to see Bailey in there as the Titans first representative player, as an Australian Kangaroo no less!

[Steelers]

My post from the 'Pick your Aussie side thread':


1 Karmichael Hunt (Brisbane Broncos) Shouldn't be there
2 Brent Tate (Brisbane Broncos) Shouldn't be there
3 Jamie Lyon (Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles) Shouldn't be there
4 Justin Hodges (Brisbane Broncos)
5 Matt King (Melbourne Storm)
6 Darren Lockyer (captain, Brisbane Broncos)
7 Johnathan Thurston (North Queensland Cowboys)
8 Brent Kite (Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles)
9 Cameron Smith (Melbourne Storm)
10 Petero Civoniceva (Brisbane Broncos)
11 Willie Mason (The Bulldogs)
12 Nathan Hindmarsh (Parramatta Eels)
13 Andrew Ryan (The Bulldogs)

Subs:
14 Luke Bailey (Gold Coast Titans)
15 Shaun Berrigan (Brisbane Broncos) Shouldn't be there
16 Steve Simpson (Newcastle Knights) Shouldn't be there
17 Anthony Tupou (Sydney Roosters) Shouldn't be there

Coach: Ricky Stuart Shouldn't be there



Seriously! How the hell do the Broncos manage to earn themselves 6 selections!?! Once again the selectors have ignored anything from this season and based their selections on tapes from the archives.

[Go_The_Doggies]

Umm.
Wheres Mark O'Meley. FFS he has been bloody awesome.

*waits for Kiwis to be named* .. its either tonight or tomorrow.

[DIEHARD]

Yea Mark should have been a dead cert.

[Go_The_Doggies]

IMO, thats not a first class team :| the bench could have been better.

We may have a chance :?) but i'm not expecting my boys to win tbh.

[TITAN PETE]

This team was not picked on form because there is no way Tate should be picked for the Broncos never mind Australia he has been very average this season with Petro not far behind him.

If Bowen couldn't make the team on his current form he'll never make the green & gold, it must hurt when you are being kept out of the side by a KIWI & again where is Shrek he should have atleast been on the bench, Tupou must have been picked on form from 3 years ago.

[Queenslander]

I cannot understand why Bowen would not get picked ahead of Hunt or at least Berrigan as an interchange utility.

Loyalty is one thing, but as Wayne Bennett said on Friday night "The selectors are probably not watching the footy" after the Broncos performance against the Titans....

[DIEHARD]

They devalue the jersey every time they do this kind of thing.

The Kangaroos should be nearly entirely picked on form with the possible exception being the captain.

A representative team of the most competitive and tough competition of the toughest sport on earth.

They are throwing away the Kangaroos true marketability by doing this.

We have a chance to be something a lot more than the Wallabies or the Australian cricket team. A true representative Australian side...

[Darren Lockyer]

I like the look of the team apart from Brent Tate on the wing. He hasn't performed at all and some one else should be there.

[jake86]

I think the backline looks a bit slow tbh

I would have Bowen in for Hunt, Tahu and Grothe in for the wingers, and Cooper in for Lyon. This would allow Hodges to play at his preferred position of right centre

Bench/Halves and Forward pack looks fine imo. Maybe Price or Omeley in for Simpson

[Tamwelg]

Some good selections and some bad onces, based on current form, but the selestion has been made, let get behind them and kick the Kiwis :D.

[Steelers]

Source: www.foxsports.com.au



Broncos flops hold Test spots

AUSTRALIA coach Ricky Stuart isn't worried about the Brisbane Broncos' domination of the Kangaroos team to face New Zealand in the trans-Tasman Test despite the fact the out-of-form premiers have won only one game this season.

Six players chosen in the team to face the Kiwis at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium on Friday night are Broncos, with selectors for the most part sticking with the players that did the job for them in last year's Tri-Nations series.

Apart from the injured Mark Gasnier (chest), Greg Inglis (knee) and Luke O'Donnell (hamstring), the only player from last year's final to genuinely miss out was Bulldogs prop Mark O'Meley.

Selectors have shown faith in a Brisbane side down on confidence and although Darren Lockyer, Petero Civoniceva, Justin Hodges and Karmichael Hunt were never in doubt, Brent Tate and Shaun Berrigan are lucky to retain their spots.

The Broncos' only win this season has come against the bottom-of-the-table Sydney Roosters, prompting coach Wayne Bennett to say after Friday night's loss to the Gold Coast Titans he would be surprised if Brisbane was heavily represented in the national team.

However, Stuart said he had a lot of faith in the players who won the Tri-Nations series final 16-12 in golden point to restore Australia's mantle as world champion.

"You look at Petero Civoniceva, Karmichael ... Justin Hodges is probably the best centre in the game at the moment, Brent Tate there ... they're good footballers and individually they're playing well," Stuart said.

"I personally don't think the Broncos' results have got anything to do with those individuals we've picked. Those individuals are going OK."

O'Meley appears to have paid a heavy price after missing last Saturday night's loss to Manly, with a one-match suspension for dropping knees on Titans captain Scott Prince the previous round.

However, his loss was the Gold Coast's gain after workaholic front rower Luke Bailey was included at O'Meley's expense, after missing last year's Tri-Nations series though injury.

Other players who could consider themselves a little unlucky are Newcastle hooker Danny Buderus and Sydney Roosters fullback Anthony Minichiello.

Buderus was the Australia hooker, until personal reasons made him give up his spot to Cameron Smith in the Tri-Nations series, while a serious back injury to Minichiello last year handed Hunt his opportunity.

There has also been a strong push for in-form North Queensland fullback Matt Bowen, although he was always going to struggle and did his cause no good yesterday when the Cowboys were demolished by the New Zealand Warriors.

"Matt Bowen is a great football player and I think (Manly's) Brett Stewart could be as disappointed," Stuart said.

"And you've also got to look at the person Karmichael Hunt replaced, through an unfortunate situation, in Anthony Minichiello.

"So when you have great football players like Matty Bowen, Mark O'Meley ... when you have those players missing out, you know you're picking an Australian team."

Stuart said he, and the selectors, hadn't forgotten the job Hunt had done for the Kangaroos when he made his debut against the Kiwis in the Anzac Test match last season.

Hunt's New Zealand heritage was called into question by the Kiwis before the game and he was on the end of several big hits, including one by Penrith back rower Frank Pritchard that ended his night.

"A couple of times, he had to bring the ball out of his own in-goal and he used his size and power," Stuart said.

"He got bashed around quite a lot and he kept coming back, until he physically got knocked out.

"That day showed me that boy has a lot of courage."

The loss of Gasnier, Inglis and O'Donnell through injury triggered selection and positional changes, with Newcastle's Steve Simpson winning a bench spot after injury kept him out last year.

Sea Eagles centre Jamie Lyon comes in to replace Gasnier, while Matt King gets a chance to make up for the pain of sitting out last year's Tri-Nations series final.

Sydney Roosters forward Anthony Tupou, selected on the bench, will play against the Raiders at Canberra Stadium tonight before joining the rest of the team in Brisbane tomorrow.

The only injury concern is Smith, who twisted his knee in Melbourne's win over St George-Illawarra on Saturday night.

[Steelers]

Ricky Stuart is an idiot. I have always believed that. Look at what he said:

"I personally don't think the Broncos' results have got anything to do with those individuals we've picked. Those individuals are going OK."

They are going OK? What about all the other players who are playing FANTASTICALLY!

[Robbie_Dee]

Ricky Stuart is an idiot. I have always believed that. Look at what he said:

"I personally don't think the Broncos' results have got anything to do with those individuals we've picked. Those individuals are going OK."

They are going OK? What about all the other players who are playing FANTASTICALLY!exactly. I still can't get my head around some of those selections! It just doesn't make sense!

[Chaos]

Ricky Stuart is an idiot. I have always believed that. Look at what he said:

"I personally don't think the Broncos' results have got anything to do with those individuals we've picked. Those individuals are going OK."

They are going OK? What about all the other players who are playing FANTASTICALLY!

I think Ricky Stuart has a great football mind and to have always believed he is an idoit would be a bias point of view....not a logical one.

I doubt the selectors would be choosing a test side this early in the season based mainly on current form.

[Go_The_Doggies]

This team was not picked on form because there is no way Tate should be picked for the Broncos never mind Australia he has been very average this season with Petro not far behind him.

If Bowen couldn't make the team on his current form he'll never make the green & gold, it must hurt when you are being kept out of the side by a KIWI & again where is Shrek he should have atleast been on the bench, Tupou must have been picked on form from 3 years ago.

Oi.
Karmichael is not a Kiwi. He is an Aussie.
Even though the rest of his family is Kiwi. :\
We don't need him. :)


We have a chance to be something a lot more than the Wallabies or the Australian cricket team. A true representative Australian side...

Whats wrong with the Australian cricket side? :\

[travop]

steeler tates is one of the best centers in the game a might fine tackle y would u have a problem wif him

[Robbie_Dee]

steeler tates is one of the best centers in the game a might fine tackle y would u have a problem wif himwell ATM he is playing like a pile of **** on toast. Every other centre in the game is more deserved of a test jumper than him ATM. On his day, i very much agree with you. but ATM, i just can't see the logic behind picking him for AUSTRALIA!

[Cowboy Titan]

steeler tates is one of the best centers in the game a might fine tackle y would u have a problem wif him
I guess you missed Tate's game on Friday night.

[Dakink]

Tupou? He has been average in a bad team...

I wouldnt have him, Berrigan or Tate any where near the team.,

Shrek was really hard done by.

Hunt though I think has been going OK. I would have loved to see Bowen take Berrigans spot.

[TITANS007]

Berro definately didn't deserve his spot, and if they insist on giving Bowen's deserved jersey to khunt, then he should have at least taken Berro's spot as a utility.

Steve Price should have made that squad, he is playing out of his skin!

[Go_The_Doggies]

Steve Price should have made that squad, he is playing out of his skin!
Steve Price always plays out of his skin, he hardly ever has a bad game.
Do the Australian selectors not watch the Warriors games? :\

[Dakink]

I rate PRicey but I wouldnt have him in my National team any more.

[Steelers]

Steve Price always plays out of his skin, he hardly ever has a bad game.
Do the Australian selectors not watch the Warriors games? :\

The only games the Aussie selectors watch are the archives from 2004-2006.

[Rabbitohs-07]

Ah, get Tate out of there and get King out of there jesus crist the selectors are stuffed in the head.

[Future Star]

1 Karmichael Hunt
2 Brent Tate
3 Jamie Lyon
4 Justin Hodges
5 Matt King
6 Darren Lockyer (c)
7 Johnathan Thurston
8 Brent Kite
9 Cameron Smith
10 Petero Civoniceva
11 Willie Mason
12 Nathan Hindmarsh
13 Andrew Ryan

Interchange

14 Luke Bailey
15 Shaun Berrigan
16 Steve Simpson
17 Anthony Tupou
_______________________


wtf

[Future Star]

'Selectors have shown faith in a Brisbane side down on confidence and although Darren Lockyer, Petero Civoniceva, Justin Hodges and Karmichael Hunt were never in doubt, Brent Tate and Shaun Berrigan are lucky to retain their spots.'

Thats from Steelers article he posted...

What do they mean Hunt was never in doubt? stupid Media.

[Cowboy Titan]

This is an email I sent to the QRL this afternoon. I wanted to send it to the ARL but couldn't find an email address.




I would like to send this to the ARL but they don?t have contact details on their web site.

I am writing to advise that I will not be attending the Anzac Test match as I cannot support an Australian team made up of a number of players that are currently in very poor form. I was planning to buy tickets today but opted not to due to the stunning inclusions in the Test team.

As League fans, we want to see the best possible team selected each week no matter what the occasion.

By selecting poorly performed players, the selectors are creating an injustice to us fans who want to see the best players out on the field and also to the players who have truly earned the right to be there based on their outstanding performances this year.

The fact that 65% of the team come from teams currently in the bottom half of the ladder makes a mockery of the reason for selecting a Test side ? to see the best players pitted against the best players from another country.

I regularly attend NRL games (4 so far this year) and Origin but I can?t bring myself to pay out the money to go and see a 2nd rate Australian team playing.

David Ryan

[Titanium_BD1103]

Well it was expected like the day and night... but it is still a load of CRAP.

How do 6 Broncos and 1 Rooster get into that side... it is a joke.

Here is what I think of the side

1 Karmichael Hunt- Nope, should be Bowen
2 Brent Tate- Nope, should be Bell
3 Jamie Lyon
4 Justin Hodges
5 Matt King- Lucky to have this spot.
6 Darren Lockyer (c)
7 Johnathan Thurston
8 Brent Kite
9 Cameron Smith
10 Petero Civoniceva- Nope, Luke Bailey should be here
11 Willie Mason
12 Nathan Hindmarsh
13 Andrew Ryan

Interchange

14 Luke Bailey- Petero should be here, or even Mark O'Meley
15 Shaun Berrigan- Nope, I say give this spot to Steven Price or Greg Bird
16 Steve Simpson
17 Anthony Tupou- WTF, Monaghan and Maitua are more deserving, even Buderus.

I am not impressed, and good on you CT for not going because this is an absolute farce... I'll still support Australia, can't stop me there, but I ain't impressed at all.

[hugebrianfan]

OMG! Why aint Buderus on that team! I know hes been suspended and all that but hes done great in the australian team! I had a feeling he wasnt going to get selected..bugger!

[Steelers]

OMG! Why aint Buderus on that team! I know hes been suspended and all that but hes done great in the australian team! I had a feeling he wasnt going to get selected..bugger!

There is no way on this earth that he deserved the number 9 over Cameron Smith.

[Future Star]

There is no way on this earth that he deserved the number 9 over Cameron Smith.

...Unless some die-hard Knights beats him with a base-ball bat

*looks at Michael Hagan*

[Steel Dragon]

While I agree with everyone here that I cannot understand the side chosen, I still think that team will smash the baby Kiwis, probably by 50 or 60.

1. Karmichael Hunt - should have been Bowen, but he'll still carve them up, especially in combination with Locky (unless the Kiwis get him like they did lat year).
2. Brent Tate - will probably feel embarassed to be picked after Friday night, which should hopefully fire him up for a big game.
3. Jamie Lyon - haven't seen any Manly games, but I doubt he will let us down. Still one of the best centres in the game.
4. Justin Hodges - the form centre of the competition. Will tear the Kiwis a new one out wide.
5. Matt King - has speed, strength, can tackle, is safe under the high ball. Will not let the team down.
6. Darren Lockyer - future immortal. Say no more.
7. Jonathan Thurston - the best halfback in the game currently. Will run the Kiwis in circles with his kicking game and brilliant spur of the moment creativity.
13. Andrew Ryan - not a lock, could be the weak link. But still, one of the hardest workers in the game.
12. Nathan Hindmarsh - THE hardest worker in the game. Will tackle himself dead yet again. Let's just hope he wasn't watching his brother too closely the other night though. ;)
11. Willie Mason - good to see him in the second row. When he sets his mind to it, there is no more devestating forward runner in the game. As he showed last year, has all the skills too! ;)
10. Petero Civoniceva - the best front rower in the game. Incredibly hard for opposition defences to shut him down. Even the Titans couldn't do it properly in a game they otherwise dominated. Will lay a good platform as always.
9. Cameron Smith - has absolutely everything you could ever want in a hooker - brilliant distributer, great dummy half runner, plenty of speed, fantastic kicking game, great defender, and can kick goals on the side.
8. Brent Kite - the form prop of the comp. Thoroughly deserves his spot.

14. Luke Bailey - has grown an extra leg since moving to the Titans, and he was good at the Dragons. Will run and tackle hard all night.
15. Shaun Berrigan - halfback come centre come hooker - hopefully has worked out his identity crisis. Very fast, and has shown since his move to hooker that he can kick and put players through holes very well.
16. Steve Simpson - another hard worker who won't let the team down when he comes on to give the other guys a rest.
17. Anthony Toupou - easily the most questionable selection. Certainly has the talent, but out of form in a badly under-performing side. Hopefully will lift in the presence of proven performers.

GO THE AUSSIES!!!

Jason

[shavenjas]

Brent Tate on the wing is a bit of a joke, he should not even be in the side or Karmichel Hunt at full back, how can tey ignore the form of Brett Stuart from Manly. If they are picking on form than the only Broncos in the side should be Lockyer and Hodges.

[Steelers]

Source: www.foxsports.com.au



Tallis blasts Test panel

FORMER Australia captain Gorden Tallis has questioned the loyalty shown towards incumbent Kangaroos after early season form was overlooked for Friday night's Anzac Test in Brisbane.

Test selectors stuck with the majority of the squad that won the Tri Nations final against New Zealand last October, including six players from the struggling Brisbane side.

The Broncos have won just a single game this season, prompting Tallis to question how in touch selectors are "with the modern game".

"There are at least three or four players in the Australian team named to meet the Kiwis this week that should be thanking their lucky stars," Tallis wrote in his column in Brisbane's Courier-Mail.

"If you have a look at it, this is not exactly a team picked on form."

Tallis said while Darren Lockyer, Petero Civoniceva and Justin Hodges were automatic selections, the remaining trio of Broncos - namely Brent Tate, Shaun Berrigan and Karmichael Hunt - might consider themselves lucky.

"So why did they make it? Well it comes down to that old chestnut called incumbency," Tallis wrote.

"In a lot of ways it's something I agree with. If a guy has served his country well in the past he deserves first opportunity to hold his place.

"When it is a one-off Test, held just five weeks into the season, the incumbents probably hold even greater sway. But it shouldn't guarantee a walk-up start.

"It is something that gets thrown around too easily and I think you need to have played at least six Test matches for Australia before you deserve to be considered an incumbent and reap the benefits that come with the title."

Tallis said last year's Tri Nations side was picked as a result of good form of their side through the year, and that Lockyer and Johnathan Thurston "magic" had helped Australia escape with victory.

"It raises questions about the whole selection process," Tallis said.

"Does the coach just get the team he wants? Or do the selectors pick the side and if they do what are the guidelines they follow?

"I know the coach is at the coalface every week and at least one of the selectors is still heavily involved in the game, but what about the rest, how often do they get to Townsville, or to Canberra, or Melbourne on a cold winter's night?"

Tallis said that he wondered if - likehimself - selectors were a little out of touch with current National Rugby League systems and game plans.

"Do these selectors still ring coaches to ask how a player is really going?" he asked.

"They can't have rung Wayne Bennett, because I saw him say after the Broncos' loss to the Gold Coast, if a heap of his players got picked, the selectors 'couldn't be watching the same games as me'.

"I'm not sure how this team was pulled together, and who knows it might still be good enough to beat the Kiwis on Friday night. But if I was a player like Matty Bowen or Greg Bird, players who have outstanding in the opening rounds of this competition, I'd be thinking "Geez what more can I do?"

"Good luck to the blokes who have been picked. I'm sure there'll wear the jumper with pride.

"But if they don't and the Kiwis manage to beat us, then no doubt some questions will be asked."

[Chaos]

Tallis asks the questions we all want to know but we do have selectors and I'm sure these guys are making choices...would you if you were a selector?

I just want to know what structure the selectors use to make their choices.

I know you can't purely go on current form. If that was the case, Lockyer wouldn't get picked and I know he deserves a spot.

You also can't just pick the same players year after year either...Tate and Ryan come under question here.

It's tricky to get the balance right and even more so this early in the year.

[Steel Dragon]

Steelers: did you lose a sig bet mate, or do you actually like Melbourne?

Jason

[Future Star]

Tallis asks the questions we all want to know but we do have selectors and I'm sure these guys are making choices...would you if you were a selector?

I just want to know what structure the selectors use to make their choices.

I know you can't purely go on current form. If that was the case, Lockyer wouldn't get picked and I know he deserves a spot.

You also can't just pick the same players year after year either...Tate and Ryan come under question here.

It's tricky to get the balance right and even more so this early in the year.

It wouldn't go purely on current form, atleast the Captain is a certainty.


And Another Thing, the excuse for Hunt being picked was because of his great combination with Lockyer. wtf.
Bowen has an even greater combination with Thurston, and hes been the best fullback so far.
Oh yeah, and where the hell is Steven Bell?

[Hoppy2007Dragons]

I think the three broncos that deserve their spot are lockyer and hodges, based on form, hasn't been the best at times, but is still good and will step up.

Petreo is the only broncos player that should be pleased with his current form and deserves his spot in the test side.

[Steve]

Pretty much agree with what's been said already. Even agree with Tallis, which is unusual for me! ;)

Tate is a definite no no. I literally burst out laughing when I read that.
Surely there's other options for the wing.

Hunt doesn't even come close to being best fullback choice.
Bowen is going great guns, and as has been pointed out, has his combination with Thurston. Thurston, who is in much better form than Lockyer.
Stewart is carving it up, and there's probably a few other fullbacks who are doing a bit better too.

No denying Hodges and Petero, probably the only players actually performing at the Broncos.
How Toupou got in, I don't know. Laffranchi, Clinton and Price are three forwards who instantly come to mind as playing well and probably more deserving of a spot. There's probably plenty more.

In past years, it's been a case of even a third or fourth string Australian team could flog all comers, but the kiwis are fast catching up. I'd not be surprised to see Australia lose this one.

[DIEHARD]

Tallis for Australian selectors role!

[Steelers]

Steelers: did you lose a sig bet mate, or do you actually like Melbourne?

Jason

How can any Dragons fan support Melbourne after what happened in 1999? :p

I lost a sig bet :|

[shavenjas]

I can't belive this guy is not the Australian full back, followed close up by Matt Bowen, there is NO WAY Hunt has earned that jumper for this test match, IMO Stuart is one of the best players going around at the moment he is expolsive of the mark and a very exciting player to watch. if anyone has any idea how Hunt got the job please let me know.

[Cowboy Titan]

if anyone has any idea how Hunt got the job please let me know.
Incumbency - he played in an Australian team that just managed to scrape through the Tri Nations on the back of a bit of brilliance from a couple of players. That supposedly gives him the right to retain his spot regardless of form.

They say Bowen is a weak link in defence and under the bomb but I don't recall him dropping a bomb this year and he's pulled off at least one try saving tackle on a big forward per game so far.

[Boofhead]

It's all a scheme by the ARU to make the broncos fail more imo.

[Dakink]

I personally would have Hunt in my team as the fullback. Id have Bowen coming off the bench.

[Chaos]

I personally would have Hunt in my team as the fullback. Id have Bowen coming off the bench.

I agree with you Dakink and I hope the Queensland selectors are thinking the same.
Bowen coming on the field late in a half would be deadly

[Robbie_Dee]

I agree with you Dakink and I hope the Queensland selectors are thinking the same.
Bowen coming on the field late in a half would be deadlyyou know what would be even more deadly? Bowen coming on the field from the START!!!!

If Lockyer plays a bag game, so does Hunt! Bowen is magical in his attack, and his defense this year has proved very good, and reliable! Hopefully the QLD selectors this year will see past the Lockyer/Hunt combo, and pick the better player (Bowen)!

[Steel Dragon]

It's all a scheme by the ARU to make the broncos fail more imo.

A scheme by the ARU? So they're not content to steal our players anymore, they have to interfere with our team selection as well! ;)

Jason

[Steel Dragon]

I agree with you Dakink and I hope the Queensland selectors are thinking the same.
Bowen coming on the field late in a half would be deadly

Mate, Queensland tried that in game 3, 05. Didn't work because every ball he received was a telegraph pass from Lockyer that was easily read by the Blues defence. So actually, if history is to repeat, I hope the selectors do go down that route. ;)

Jason

[Chaos]

Mate, Queensland tried that in game 3, 05. Didn't work because every ball he received was a telegraph pass from Lockyer that was easily read by the Blues defence. So actually, if history is to repeat, I hope the selectors do go down that route. ;)

Jason

I don't particularly remember the moment you are talking about but Bowen doesn't have to be running off a Lockyer pass.
He is very dangerous around the ruck and open field...during the game a coach could see a week spot in the Blues line...just throw him in to attack it.
I wouldn't have a plan for him before the game...just use his skills once the game opens up.
Too many coaches try to predict how the game will unfold before the kick off. Origins a great opportunity to use ad hoc decisions at the back of a half.

[Steel Dragon]

I was being slightly tongue in cheek mate. Bowen had a shocker in the game I referred to, as did most of the Queensland team. But the Blues really turned up to play that night, so maybe Queensland played as well as they were allowed. I remember that game for the fact the Blues had to defend 6 consecutive sets of 6 on their own line right at the start of the match, and remarkably the line didn't break. I have never seen such committed defence from the Blues, EVER.

I have no doubt Bowen could tear us to shreds given another chance. In fact, that same series, Game 1, it was Bowen who took the intercept off Kimmorley to win it for Queensland in golden point. Perfect timing from the little bloke, because if he missed the intercept, Matt Cooper was in up the other end.

Jason

[Helen]

Got to say it. It is bugging me :laugh:

Am I the only one who remembers the 'spray' R Stuart gave Wayne Bennett when we lost that test in 2005? The one where Wayne came home via the back door at the airport.

I recall Ricky being very vocal about not selecting a team on encumbancy and how he (RS) would select based only on form.

Anyone else remember this???

Helen

[Steelers]

Got to say it. It is bugging me :laugh:

Am I the only one who remembers the 'spray' R Stuart gave Wayne Bennett when we lost that test in 2005? The one where Wayne came home via the back door at the airport.

I recall Ricky being very vocal about not selecting a team on encumbancy and how he (RS) would select based only on form.

Anyone else remember this???

Helen

I remember that, wasn't it when he first got the job?

[Helen]

I remember that, wasn't it when he first got the job?

I don't think RS had the job at the time. He was (If I recall correctly) very critical of WB and the teams being selected the way they were.

I know I read the story on the net but haven't been able to find it.

Helen

[Darren Lockyer]

as long as the broncos players are in there i don't care

[Steelers]

Here is an interesting note, I had a look at the lastest Dally M rankings today in the Courier mail, and the highest ranking player from the Aussie team last week was Brent Kite, who came in at 11th.

[Capital_Shark]

For all the people bashing (STILL) on the selections - was Australia victorious? Did anyone not do their job right?

If you pick an Aussie team on 5 rounds of form, THAT cheapens the jersey imo. To have a green and gold jumper should be a great honor reserved for a select few, not something 70% of NRL players can say "been there, done that" just because they stood out in rounds 1-5 of a season. Maybe the end of year teams deserve to be picked on a bit more form due to the fact it'll be a season's worth of form, but not the ANZAC test.