Centenary Test: New Zealand vs Australia

[jenny]

Allan Langer's advice to rookie Cooper Cronk
Matt Marshall
October 12, 2007

CHAMPION halfback Allan Langer has warned Kangaroos debutant Cooper Cronk to sink his teeth into Sunday's trans-Tasman Test or risk becoming a passenger.

Langer, Queensland's second most-capped Test halfback behind Barry Muir, recalls a horror Test outing at London's famous Wembley Stadium in 1990 ? in just his fourth international ? as a timely warning to the untried Cronk.

The 23-year-old Storm premiership winner, set to become just the 16th Test halfback from Queensland, will play his first senior rep match in Sunday's Test in Wellington.

Cronk will link in the halves with equally raw pivot Greg Bird in Australia's most inexperienced backline ever.

"I don't want to be overawed by the occasion. I don't want to be running around like a headless chook," Cronk said.

Langer said he learnt the hard way at Wembley ? when Great Britain stunned Australia 19-12 in the opening Test of the 1990 Kangaroos Tour ? just how intoxicating the preamble of Test football can be.

"It's hard to block it all out," Langer said. "I remember at Wembley, it was one of the first Tests I played, and meeting all the dignitaries and the anthems ? I got caught up in all of that and the game got away on me.

"I could never get into it. I was caught in the emotion of playing at Wembley. It's definitely a different experience, playing for Australia. He just needs to play his own game."

Langer believes the key to success is for the Brisbane junior to quickly overcome emotions and get down to business.

"Emotions play a big role in Test footy. He can't afford to let the game get away from him," Langer said. "He'll (Cronk) get out there and there will be the haka and the anthems so he'll have to get involved early."

Cronk yesterday declared he expected to be overcome with emotion at Westpac Stadium.

"I got emotional in the grand final when the anthem played so this will be 10-fold, representing my country," Cronk said. "You sit at home watching the haka and think: what are the Australians thinking? I want to soak it up. It's bloody exciting.

"I've got zero expectations . . . but I just want to soak it all up."
COURIER MAIL

[DIEHARD]

Kiwis and Kangaroos both fielding new halfbacks

It's an oddity that both the Kiwis and the Kangaroos will field new halfbacks in the test in Wellington this weekend.

Andrew Johns and Stacey Jones are gone, bring on Cooper Cronk and Jeremy Smith.

Smith has beaten Thomas Leuluai to the seven jersey despite Leuluai having played there before. Coach Gary Kemble has made it clear the job is Smith's longer-term if he puts his hand up to take it.

At 26, with plenty of lower-grade international experience behind him, Smith said he was comfortable with steering the game.

"Hopefully I'll go out and prove to the boys that I'm the man for the job. I don't feel too much pressure having to fill Stacey's boots. If you think about it too much you might feel the pressure because they're big boots to fill. I've always wanted that jersey. I'm a pretty passionate bloke so to get it is a really big buzz. I hope to do it justice."

Smith was a halfback when a junior at the Waiheke Island club then moved to Kaeo in the north and to fullback, returning to halfback in his late teens. He played for the Junior Kiwis and NZ Maori before shifting to Australia.

He freely admits he didn't take that first opportunity. "I wasn't thinking of footy as a career. My discipline wasn't good ... Now I realise if you really want to get there you've got to put 110 per cent in."

After a run of injuries and NRL clubs where he played in lower grades, Smith was thrown a lifeline by Parramatta in 2006 and, just weeks after his debut, was named for the mid-year test against Great Britain. But just before it, he was suspended for four weeks for pushing ref Sean Hampstead during Parramatta's loss to St George. He's learned the lesson.

Eels coach Jason Taylor approached Smith about a shift to Souths while he was negotiating to go there himself and the Kiwi did so.

He's since established himself as a regular and enjoyed the milestones Souths achieved this season, making the finals.

"We were disappointed the way it panned out [eliminated first weekend of playoffs] because we thought we had a pretty good team. We're looking to push on next season," he said.

Owner Russell Crowe was very hands-on, Smith said, he and Souths and Kiwis captain Roy Asotasi agreeing his backing was a positive.

Smith attributed his own good form and selection to Taylor's coaching. "He's a great communicator."

His opposite in the Kangaroos, Cooper Cronk, is known as a motor-mouth. He started in rugby as halfback/first five-eighths for the First XV at St Laurence's High School in Brisbane, where the yearbook in 2003 talks about his on-field chatter.

"Coop's nonstop talk was crucial to keep the team's game on track. He proved to be the team linchpin, able to turn the game around."


NZ HERALD

[DIEHARD]

Mason expects Roberts to deliver

AS he braces for a searching examination from the Australian forwards on Sunday, New Zealand five-eighth Ben Roberts has received support from one of the men expected to make his life a living hell, Willie Mason.

Roberts, a mainstay in the Bulldogs side this season, will partner South Sydney halfback Jeremy Smith as part of a new-look Kiwis combination. With a combined two Tests between them - Smith is making his debut - the pair is expected to be put to the test by the Australia forwards.

Mason, for one, believes Roberts is capable of making his mark in international football.

"He'll handle it well," Mason said. "He's had one Test this year and he knows what to expect now. He can stamp his foot on international football if he wants to.

"The opportunity is there for him. Talent-wise he's got the ability. He's a danger player, a line-breaker. He's definitely one of the aces in their pack. I'm looking forward to playing him."

Roberts, the cousin of Socceroos star Tim Cahill, made his Test debut in New Zealand's mid-year match against Britain last season.

At the time, he was only a handful of games into his first-grade career with the Bulldogs.

Since then, Roberts has become a fixture in the halves at the Bulldogs and is seen as one of the players capable of filling the playmaking void created by the retirement of Stacey Jones from the Kiwis.

"This game I am looking at myself to be more of a leader rather than a follower," Roberts said.

Asked about the extra attention from the Australia forwards, he replied: "That's something I have always copped growing up as a kid playing in the halves.

"I'm not too fussed. You have young Jeremy Smith there, as well. This is his first Test. The both of us have been expecting this for the last couple of weeks now. We're not going to try to hide. All we can do is our best in defence and hopefully make the tackles."

Kiwis veteran David Kidwell moved to ease pressure on both Roberts and Smith, stressing no one person could replace Jones.

"No one can replace that guy," Kidwell said. "This is going to be a big test. All halfbacks in this game get picked on because they're the game-breakers, the playmakers.

"These guys are playing in the NRL. They know what's going to come at them."

While the Kiwis are counting on Roberts to help orchestrate a win over Australia, the long-term beneficiaries could be the Bulldogs, whose problems in the halves were exposed during the finals series.

"He's going to be a lot better for us next year," Mason said.

"He's a talented player, he just needs to start concentrating on his football, living his football. He's had two years in the grade now, he's played semi-final football, he's played a couple of Tests.

"He's a senior player really. It's a Test match. I know the way he plays, I know the way he thinks. I'm not going to keep that away from our team.

"But I want to see him blossom into a good Test player and better club player for the Bulldogs."

http://www.foxsports.com.au

[DIEHARD]

Crocker won't change hard game

HITMAN Michael Crocker has vowed to continue his brutal playing style during Sunday's Test against New Zealand in Wellington.

Crocker came under fire from Manly fans after a heavy hit took Sea Eagles fullback Brett Stewart out of the grand final.

But Crocker won't be deterred and is determined to continue playing the game hard, fierce and physical.

"I'll never change the way I play. That's the way I've played since I first came in until now," Crocker said.

"It comes down to wanting to compete. You want to get on top of your opposition player. You do that however you can, usually by going 100 miles an hour. I've played that way since I was five years old.

"I don't think I'm the toughest bloke around, probably just determined because I don't have the skill and talent of some other players.

"I like competing and I can do that in football. Football still excites me. I just love playing the game."

Crocker, 27, said time under Test coach Ricky Stuart at the Roosters and now under new New South Wales coach Craig Bellamy at Melbourne had doused some of the anger that once raged in his body.

The ferocity remains, the madness has vanished.

"I'm just playing a bit smarter now; it's part of growing up," Crocker said. "I'm not getting caught up in the niggle or abusing refs any more. Playing under Craig Bellamy has helped me.

"His defensive patterns don't allow you to rush up out of the line and put on a big shot. That's where I got into trouble in Sydney.

Manly fans continue to be outraged at Crocker's hit on Stewart despite the NRL match review committee deeming the tackle legal.

Crocker and Stewart are now Test teammates, the Storm forward still sorry, though, about the tackle.

"It was legal - just unfortunate for Brett," he said. "You don't want to see anyone injured like that."

Crocker will come off the bench on Sunday and be expected to add some starch along with other Aussie firebrands Greg Bird and Willie Mason.

"I'll be looking to add some impact and energy," Crocker said. "I want to get my hands on the ball around the ruck area and maybe find a tired defender.

"At the moment it's just great being back in the Australian team. I didn't think it (Test selection) was over but I wasn't sure I could get back into the Australian side so quickly after injury.

"To be picked is a reward for what has been an up-and-down time in my career."

Stuart said he had always been drawn to Crocker's playing style.

"Michael has always been one of my favourite players," Stuart said. "He will give us intimidation, excitement and enthusiasm.

"Other players love playing alongside Michael. That is so important."

Crocker was pleased to hear Stuart's praise.

"It's nice to get a wrap from Sticky," Crocker said. "He is a lot like myself - we are both competitive.

"That's why I think he likes me. He was always a competitor as a player and is the same as a coach.

http://www.foxsports.com.au

[DIEHARD]

Any tips?

I think Kangaroos by 8. But it will be a tough one, without many of our lucky charms (Lockyer, Minichello, Johns, Webcke etc) I think we are vulnerable.

[RLfan]

Hard to say. New Zealand are a different team at home end of season. This is NZ's best chance of winning with the Aussies new 1, 6 & 7. Then again NZ's halves are very erratic ( Ben Roberts in particular)

I think they need to put Kurt Gidley into starting 5/8 and Pricey as a run on for Kite. Probably not a bad idea to start Crocker or Mason to bash the kiwis a bit.

If they make one or swaps as I suggested, I see Australia by 1 or 7 points.

[jenny]

Pressure on Kiwis to meet expectations

October 12, 2007

Australia may be laced with the burden of favouritism, but New Zealand know the pressure is on them to maintain the rage in this weekend's trans-Tasman Test in Wellington.

New Kiwis coach Gary Kemble says it is vital his side continues to close the gap between them and the world's No.1 Test playing nation, and that means no let up at Westpac Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

While they still have some way to go before reaching the summit, New Zealand are the biggest challengers to Australia's dominance of the international game, as proved by their 24-0 triumph in the 2005 Tri-Nations final.

Last year, they went within millimetres of retaining their crown when an errant Stacey Jones field goal and Darren Lockyer golden point try secured the Australians a thrilling win in the final.

"It's consistency that we're after and going up to another level with that consistency," Kemble said.

"If you're beating Australia regularly and competing with them and keeping the scores close, you're a good team.

"Over the last couple of years we've done a great job in making sure we compete with Australia, but what we want to do now is take it to another level where we're going to beat them consistently and so everybody doesn't necessarily know what the result of the game is going to be before it's even played."

Their cause this weekend hasn't been helped by a spate of unavailabilities due to injury and suspension, among their casualties arguably New Zealand's two biggest stars in Sonny Bill Williams and Benji Marshall.

The Kangaroos are similarly affected with skipper Darren Lockyer and Dally M player of the year Johnathan Thurston also sidelined, meaning the Kiwis can't use injury as an excuse.

But NZRL chairman Andrew Chalmers believes the days of the Kiwis being a one or two man team are long gone.

"We've been able to build depth in positions and that's a long-term strategy," Chalmers said.

"Ten years ago I think we would have struggled if we didn't have this player, that player, five years ago we were still struggling, but that depth has now increased."

That depth has increased due to a more vigorous approach to identifying young players with a New Zealand background.

Schoolboy star Chase Stanley is a case in point, the young St George Illawarra star committing to the black and white after Kemble and selector Howie Tamati went to his Sydney home to convince the utility back to come on board.

Stanley was left out of the final 17 for Sunday's game, but there are six players who will make their New Zealand debut this weekend.

It means when the likes of Williams, Marshall, David Kidwell, Brent Webb and David Fa'alogo return to the fold, the Kiwis will have a group more than capable of matching it with the Australians.

"It's an exciting period for New Zealand rugby league and the team with the young kids coming through," Kemble said.

"We've got seven players out at the moment ... yet still we've come up with a formidable side."

? 2007 AAP

[Old Diehard]

You know what's great about this test- THE TIME IT'S SHROWN ON TV!!! Perfect time on a Sunday Arvo to get together with mates, some beer and settle down and enjoy!

PERFECT!

(won't help the rating though ! because 10 people watching the one TV is not as good as 10 people watching 10 different TV alone!)

To those that have to work Sunday Arvo and I sympathise because I often do too! , Fox 1 is replaying the game at 8:00pm later that night.

[DIEHARD]

Yea I love the timing. We never have Sunday arvo Tests in Australia anymore but they sure do in New Zealand and god bless them for it.

A Sunday afternoon Test Match has a special magic feel and gives a great opportunity for a BBQ and get together with friends.

My friends are all over the place with tips, from the Kangaroos flogging the Kiwis to the Kiwis flogging us! It's gonna be great!

[DIEHARD]

I can pass as a pivot, says Bird

GREG Bird as Darren Lockyer's heir apparent? It may sound a stretch but one man who believes it can happen is wearing the Kangaroos' No.6 jersey in Wellington tomorrow.

Cronulla's Bird will use the Test match to show he is more than just a running pivot. He also said he would try to convince his club and national coach, Ricky Stuart, to play him at five-eighth during next year's NRL season.

Lockyer will retire from representative football after the 2008 World Cup and Bird, who has spent most of his first-grade career at lock, has a tremendous opportunity against New Zealand to show his wares as a playmaker.

"People say that I'm just a ball-runner but I have really been working hard on my passing game this year," said 23-year-old Bird, who starred in the position for a winning NSW side during Origin III this year.

"I have some quality players outside me like Greg Inglis and Mark Gasnier and I'll have to make sure I feed them the ball."

Asked if he considered himself as Lockyer's successor, Bird replied: "I haven't really thought about it like that, but I really enjoy playing there and representing Australia, and I am only young coming through, so I am in a good position for that to happen.

"I have never had a problem developing my running game, that has been a strength. I want to show people that I can also pass."

Bird's former club coach, Chris Anderson, who brought the youngster to Cronulla from Newcastle, believes he is capable of replacing Lockyer.

"There's not a lot [of depth] at five-eighth now so he is certainly a possibility," Anderson said. "It all depends on how much he wants it. He came to us as a raw kid, he always had plenty of skill.

"He doesn't need to go and change his game too much. You don't really want two ball players. He is playing for Australia [and may be playing] with Johnathan Thurston who is a wonderful ball player, so he could stick to what he does and also pass it on when he needs to."

The Kiwis privately feel Bird can be exploited with a rushing defence, and will attempt to unsettle him early in the Test match.

But the West Maitland product is welcoming the challenge.

http://www.smh.com.au

[DIEHARD]

Stuart calls on senior service to steer rookies home

KANGAROOS coach Ricky Stuart has told his senior players to lead the way as Australia prepare to blood eight debutants in tomorrow's Centenary Test against New Zealand at Wellington's Westpac Stadium.

With Australia fielding one of the biggest contingents of new faces in the 100 years of trans-Tasman Tests, Stuart revealed he had discussed the inexperience in the line-up with Petero Civoniceva, Nathan Hindmarsh, Mark Gasnier, Willie Mason and Steve Price.

He said it was up to the five, who have 88 Test appearances among them, to show the rookies what is expected of Australian players on and off the field.

"Usually a lot of the senior players have been in form and have kept their positions, but this year there has been a lot of changes and it gives it a different flow," Stuart said.

"I've sat down and spoke to the senior players about showing the younger boys how and why they've been involved in the Australian team for so long.

"It just an attitude thing and I've asked Hindy, Willie, Pricey, Petero and Gaz to lead by example in regards to … how you dress, how you present yourself, and how you act as an Australian representative."

With the Kiwis also having six Test debutants in their side, there is an air of uncertainty about how the two teams will perform.

The weather is also expected to have an impact, with wet and windy conditions predicted after a week of rain in Wellington.

As a result, the Australians decided to switch training venues yesterday and had a lengthy session that included an opposed session against the Junior Kangaroos at Rugby League Park, now the home of the Wellington Hurricanes Super 14 team.

"The conditions do weigh heavily in favouring the style of game that the Kiwis play. Their strength is obviously their forwards and they've got very aggressive outside backs," Stuart said. "They've got a team of very much power players that these conditions can help in regards to that type of game.

"We'd probably prefer a dry track but that's why we came over here on Monday, to acclimatise to the conditions and experience what the ground is going to be like. They're predicting gale-force winds so we'll probably get a couple of seasons in one game."

Of the newcomers, those under most pressure are the rival halves pairings of Australia's Cooper Cronk and Greg Bird and New Zealand's Jeremy Smith and Ben Roberts.

While Cronk and Bird are viewed merely as back-ups to the injured Johnathan Thurston and Darren Lockyer, the Kiwis have few other options for the No.7 and No.6 jersey,s and Stuart promised to fully test Smith and Roberts.

"It's an area we can certainly attack, it's no secret we will be doing that but, in saying that, they are playing at international level, so they'd have to be fairly handy players," he said.

With two Jeremy Smiths in the New Zealand line-up, the South Sydney halfback and the Melbourne back-rower, the Kiwis have been struggling to find a nickname for one to avoid any confusion with on-field calls.

There has also been some off-field problems, with one of the pair having their flight to England on Monday for the Kiwis' three-Test series against Great Britain and next weekend's historic All Golds match inadvertently cancelled in the belief there had been a double booking.

Both players go by the nickname "Jezza", and plans to call one of them JJ also failed, as Souths' Jeremy Smith has the middle name James and the Melbourne one's is Jon.

The Kiwis had a light run at Westpac Stadium yesterday, enabling their kickers to practise in the swirling conditions.

Cronulla winger Luke Covell has bee given the goalkicking duties, with Parramatta's Krisnan Inu as his back-up. Kiwis v Kangaroos

Sunday 1pm (AEST), Westpac Stadium, Wellington. Referee: Steve Ganson

http://www.smh.com.au

[DIEHARD]

Gaz finds the blood runs gold and green

Until this season, Mark Gasnier would never have considered going to the annual Kangaroos reunion. Until this season, the St George Illawarra co-captain never really understood what it meant to play for the Dragons.

Until this season, Gasnier hadn't fully appreciated the benefits of his famous surname.

And he didn't care much for the media, either.

While he played only four premiership matches for the Dragons, Gasnier admits 2007 was his most important season of development.

Sidelined for 19 weeks from the pre-season Charity Shield with a ruptured pectoral muscle, the player regarded as the world's best centre gained a fresh appreciation of why he plays league and the club he plays for.

As a result, the 26-year-old international has now taken it upon himself to ensure younger players coming through are aware of the history and unparalleled success of the Dragons.

"I think it's been a really good year of learning for me," Gasnier told the Herald on the eve of tomorrow's Test against New Zealand. "I guess it wasn't until halfway through the season that I made a decision that I wanted to make a difference.

"It wasn't that I didn't care before but I now realise what an influence I can have and I really want to make the most of it.

"Besides really wanting to win a premiership, I just think we are a club with so much tradition and so much pride and that needs to be bestowed upon the players.

"I don't think a lot of the young guys coming through know enough about that."

But it's not just at St George Illawarra that Gasnier is keen to ensure traditions are passed on.

Gasnier and Australian teammates Willie Mason and Nathan Hindmarsh last month became the first current Test players to attend a Kangaroos reunion in recent memory when they joined former internationals Craig Fitzgibbon and Andrew Ryan at the annual get-together the day before the grand final and he is now urging more players to go.

"We thought we hadn't really earnt the right to go, we thought you had to play 20 or 30 Tests and be one of the greats," Gasnier said. "But it was a really, really good night and when you looked around the room it was unbelievable. All of the legends of the game were there and just to hear the way they talk about the jersey when they played just blows you away.

"I'd been sort of oblivious to a lot of that before but it was really good. You meet, have a few beers, they put on a smorgasbord, then a few of the guys get up and basically say thanks for coming and some others tell some funny stories and you just enjoy each others' company. It's funny, everyone sits down and they all sit on tables of the tours they went on.

"I'll definitely be going back and they said 'we want all the young guys to come, we want this tradition to continue'.

"It's a bit of a changing of the guard in the Test team, there are a lot of debutants here now, so I think it's important we bring them into an environment where there is a lot of tradition and pride in the jersey so they can pass it on when they are the senior guys."

But where exactly did this new-found maturity and sudden desire to be a leader come from? Gasnier was, after all, the player sacked from the NSW Origin team in 2004 for leaving a lewd voicemail message on a woman's mobile phone.

He credits some of it to the media work he did with Channel Nine while recovering from the injury, saying he began to change his views: "I've never really been a fan of the media but I really enjoyed it and the people were nice. I guess with my name I was always going to come through with a lot of scrutiny."

But mostly it would appear to be simply a case of Gasnier growing up.

"When I first came into grade at 17, I was just living the dream but now I'm a bit more settled," he said. "I've got more of a balance in my life and I think you definitely need that. I remember Phil Gould telling me you need to find a balance to make football as enjoyable as it should be so, between travelling, surfing and family, I try to do that."

After the one-off Test, Gasnier and his girlfriend, Claudine, are flying to Cairo and will spend 3? weeks travelling in Egypt, Oman and Saudi Arabia.

He tries to do one big trip at the end of every season and wants to learn to speak Spanish.

But winning a premiership is Gasnier's biggest goal and he challenges suggestions that the Dragons blew their best chance to do so when they were eliminated in the 2005 and 2006 grand final qualifiers.

"I can see why people think that and it still hurts, but we're blessed at St George Illawarra, we're always going to have young talent coming through because the Illawarra just keeps producing good players," he said.

"I'm only 26 and we've still got those young blokes coming through, so the main message I want to get across is for them to make sure they appreciate the opportunity when it comes and don't take it for granted. A premiership is for a lot of players a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so make the most of it."

http://www.leaguehq.com.au/

[Old Diehard]

Yea I love the timing. We never have Sunday arvo Tests in Australia anymore but they sure do in New Zealand and god bless them for it.

My friends are all over the place with tips, from the Kangaroos flogging the Kiwis to the Kiwis flogging us! It's gonna be great!

I'm tipping a close one. Apparently it's going to be in the wet - so I expect a lot heavy forward stuff.

You know after the All Blacks were knocked out of the Rugby World Cup , the timing couldn't be better for League in NZ to have a win! Would be good for the game, Big Time over there.

And Diehard is right- love the fact that the Kiwis are keeping the tradition going in afternoon tests and I hope the lousy weather doesn't deter a big crowd turning up in Wellington!

Who am I picking - ah hell gambling isn't one of my vices so I really can't choose but I reckon she'll be a CRACKER!

[DIEHARD]

I'm going for the Kangaroos, that's for sure.

[Old Diehard]

Yeah I want the Aussies to win naturally enough - but I'm not confident enough to put my money where my mouth is!

(PS - Hey Diehard -I'm getting paid to be up at this time of night . What's your excuse?. )