Tri-Nations 06: Grand Final; Kangaroos vs Kiwis

[jenny]

League
Kangaroos team to play Kiwis


November 21, 2006

AUSTRALIA team named for the Tri Nations rugby league final against New Zealand at Aussie Stadium in Sydney on Saturday night.

Australia: Karmichael Hunt, Brent Tate, Mark Gasnier, Justin Hodges, Greg Inglis, Darren Lockyer (c), Johnathan Thurston, Willie Mason, Cameron Smith, Petero Civoniceva, Andrew Ryan, Nathan Hindmarsh, Luke O'Donnell. Interchange: Shaun Berrigan, Anthony Tupou, Mark O'Meley, Brent Kite.

AAP
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[Capital_Shark]

League
Kangaroos team to play Kiwis


November 21, 2006

AUSTRALIA team named for the Tri Nations rugby league final against New Zealand at Aussie Stadium in Sydney on Saturday night.

Australia: Karmichael Hunt, Brent Tate, Mark Gasnier, Justin Hodges, Greg Inglis, Darren Lockyer (c), Johnathan Thurston, Willie Mason, Cameron Smith, Petero Civoniceva, Andrew Ryan, Nathan Hindmarsh, Luke O'Donnell. Interchange: Shaun Berrigan, Anthony Tupou, Mark O'Meley, Brent Kite.

AAP
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Personally I would of had King over Tate and Thaiday over Tupou. But this team will still beat the Kiwis on Saturday.

[Future Star]

Australia: Karmichael Hunt, Brent Tate, Mark Gasnier, Justin Hodges, Greg Inglis, Darren Lockyer (c), Johnathan Thurston, Willie Mason, Cameron Smith, Petero Civoniceva, Andrew Ryan, Nathan Hindmarsh, Luke O'Donnell. Interchange: Shaun Berrigan, Anthony Tupou, Mark O'Meley, Brent Kite.

Brent Kite should be starting with big Willie in 2nd row and Ryan on bench.
Brent has been the form Forward of the competion.

I will say this again Thaiday > Tupou.
Ricky is playing favourites again....

[Future Star]

Personally I would of had King over Tate and Thaiday over Tupou. But this team will still beat the Kiwis on Saturday.

and i would of had Hayne over tate last game, so he couldve gotten in the mood for this big game. He was in-form, but now hes had to long a rest.

He couldv'e been the youngest to make an ausse debut, But Ricky doesnt like him.

[Capital_Shark]

and i would of had Hayne over tate last game, so he couldve gotten in the mood for this big game. He was in-form, but now hes had to long a rest.

He couldv'e been the youngest to make an ausse debut, But Ricky doesnt like him.

So everyone Ricky doesn't pick, its cause he doesn't like 'em, and everyone he does pick, its cause he's playing favourites. Even thought his apparent favourite, doesn't even play for the club he coaches.

I don't know whether Hayne should get a spot. Just being in the squad should be enough for him. Sure he scored a lot of tires, but so did Nathan Merritt, and I wouldn't have him in the team.

[Poida]

Kangaroos ready for Kiwi ambush

Tuesday, November 21, 2006 - 6:09 PM

Kangaroos backrower Luke O'Donnell says a more settled preparation will ensure the Australians don't fall victim to another Kiwi ambush in Saturday night's Tri-Nations final.

O'Donnell, one of six surviving members from the 24-0 flogging dished out by New Zealand in last year's decider, said the Kangaroos were in much better shape heading into this year's clash.

The Kangaroos were beset by injury woes heading into the 2005 final in Leeds with skipper Darren Lockyer and star halfback Andrew Johns both absent after playing earlier in the tournament.

Such was the extent of the injury crisis utility Craig Wing had to be summonsed from a Hawaiian holiday to take his place on the bench.

But there are no such worries this time around, with Matt King cleared of a calf injury, Willie Mason back on deck following a one-game ban and Lockyer playing some of the best football in his career.

"Our preparation this year has been really spot on, everyone's pretty excited," O'Donnell said.

"Having our captain right through the series has been a major factor and he's been playing some great footy.

"This is what we've worked towards the whole tournament, towards this game on Saturday night and it comes down to this 80 minutes of football - that's the exciting part I think."

While victory at Aussie Stadium on Saturday night won't make up for the disappointment of last year's defeat, O'Donnell said reliving the experience wasn't high on his list of priorities.

"We haven't talked about it as a group but for me personally you remember how it ended for us last year and you definitely don't want to revisit that again," O'Donnell said.

"But when it comes down to it you can use all the motivation in the world, but all it comes down to is 80 minutes of footy."

O'Donnell said the return of Mason would provide a massive boost to the Kangaroos pack, which will need to be at its aggressive best against a Kiwi forward line-up boasting the likes of Roy Asotasi, skipper Ruben Wiki and fiery second rower David Kidwell.

The general consensus seems to be that if the Australian forwards can hold their own against the Kiwis pack, the Kangaroos have enough of an advantage out in the backs to get the better of the Kiwis.

For his part, O'Donnell said he would need to lift his output in what will be the final game of a gruelling campaign and season.

"I've been pretty happy with the way things have been going but I don't think I've reached anywhere near my potential at this level, I'm learning still," he said.

"I'm just excited again to be playing another Test match."
Source: AAP

[Poida]

Happy Hape Calls For Kiwi Support

Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 11:40 AM

Kiwi flyer Shontayne Hape believes the fan support the Kiwis received in London for last year?s final was a major reason they got over the line, and even though they will be underdogs again he believes this team has the desire and balance to once again lift the Tri-Nations trophy.



?It will be tremendous if we can get plenty of support from the fans at Aussie stadium on Saturday night. Last year we had all the English supporters cheering us in the final, and this year we have had good crowds in Melbourne and in New Zealand out there supporting us.



It is important to us if we can get good support from the crowd then it can really lift us when we are tired out there?.



If the fans do get out to the game they can be assured of a hard fought encounter between two teams who always play with plenty of passion and pride, and despite recent injury concerns Hape is raring to rip in, and is expecting the game to be full of passion.

?Yeah I am just happy to be playing it has been a controversial series but a good series?.



The controversy has come on the field and off it, however it is the fire shown on the field that really has Hape excited.



?This series has brought more focus on to the international game and has everyone being really passionate about playing for their country which is bringing a bit more spite to the game but that?s good for the players and the fans?.



Despite losing both games to the Kangaroos so far, with the second being a heartbreaker Hape believes that the Kiwis can once again lift the Tri-Nations trophy citing the believe by many that last years victory was a fluke as a major driving factor.



?Yeah that is driving us more, but beating Australia is the pinnacle in Rugby league. We are going to go in as the underdogs. The Kangaroos have only lost one game in the build up but the final is a different game and all the other results don?t mean anything now, they are in the past and only the final matters?.



There is no reason why the Kiwis will not win the final either, they have a good roster made up of players who have shown that they have serious quality about them, and lack a weak spot on the park, something that Hape is quick to point out.



?I think that the squad is one of the best we have ever had. We have a good balance between the older more experienced guys kike Ruben (Wiki) and Stacey (Jones) who have a lot of experience, and then we have some good younger guys like Soliola and Matai and they are doing the business for their club and playing great football.



His wing partner Manu Vatuvei is another player who has loads of talent and Hape is somewhat in awe of his national performances.



?Manu has been injured for a bit of this year but whenever it comes time to pull on the New Zealand jersey he lifts his game and gives his all?.



While establishing himself in the United Kingdom Hape has learnt a lot about himself and greatly improved his game, but he is still largely unnoticed when he is in Australia as is the Kiwis prior Tri-Nations victory which is largely unheralded here, but backing it up with another would mean a lot to the Kiwis.



?It will mean everything to win it again for the fans and our families it will mean a lot but also for the players personally it is big, especially seen only hal;f the team is left from last year. We are pretty much set on doing this for ourselves?.



And on his own game Hape has a warning.



?I am feeling pretty confident, I have learned a lot while I have been in England and had a lot of good coaches too. But this is my third year with the Kiwis and I know I can get better in the final?.



Having seen what he can do in the Tri-Nations NRL fans might like to see Hape back over here before the 25 year old ends his career and along with a host of others he admits it could happen.



?I won?t rule it out. Coming back has always been a goal of mine, but England has been good for me and I didn?t intend to stay as long as I have, but my family is here in Sydney so I certainly won?t rule it out?.








Source: NRL

[DIEHARD]

Great to see some constructive articles.

Kiwi flyer Shontayne Hape believes the fan support the Kiwis received in London for last year?s final was a major reason they got over the line, and even though they will be underdogs again he believes this team has the desire and balance to once again lift the Tri-Nations trophy.

The Final wasn't in London!

[hugebrianfan]

aww...GB didnt make it into the Grand Final...so i guess i'l have to go for the aussies lol...GO THE AUSSIES!!

[Poida]

Kiwis bait Mason
Wednesday, 22 November 2006 @ 10:35 AM
sportal.com.au

The Kiwis have responded to Willie Mason's threat that he will put up a fight in Saturday night's Tri Nations final, saying that if Mason wants to go at it, the visitors will fight back.

Mason has had an interrupted Tri Nations series. In Australia's first clash with New Zealand, Mason was left concussed and with a black eye after a tough, but legal tackle from David Kidwell.

When he returned in the Kangaroos' first match against Great Britain, Mason was suspended for punching Stuart Fielden.

And Kidwell said he was aware Mason would be looking for revenge despite dismissing suggestions that tension between the pair would heighten this weekend.

"I don't think so but obviously he wants to square up - that's football, mate," Kidwell said.

"I'll just be playing my normal game and we'll see what happens after that."

Kidwell's coach Brian McLennan has said that his team will be going out to get Mason, but they will be using legal methods.

"He's tall timber Willie. If you want to bring down tall timber you've got to get the legs first," McClennan told the Daily Telegraph.

"It's a little bit of a goal of ours to have it so that Willie says at the end of the game that he's never been tackled so hard around his legs."

Former Kiwi Kevin Tamati believed that even if Kidwell is happy to play his normal game, the history of the series shows that Mason is likely to be involved in a stoush or two at Aussie Stadium on Saturday night.

"Willie feels as though his manhood has been tainted," Tamati said.

"He'll feel he has something to prove. I don't think Kidwell is going to let Willie run all over the top of him."

"If a flare-up happens, it will be the 1960s, '70s and '80s all over again."

Tamati would know. He was involved in a famous incident in 1985 when two minutes from the end of the match, he had a spectacular sideline dust-up with then-Kangaroo prop Kangaroo Greg Dowling.

[Poida]

haha mason falls for the bait

[DIEHARD]

Come on Willie get 'em.

[Robbie_Dee]

Australia: Karmichael Hunt, Brent Tate, Mark Gasnier, Justin Hodges, Greg Inglis, Darren Lockyer (c), Johnathan Thurston, Willie Mason, Cameron Smith, Petero Civoniceva, Andrew Ryan, Nathan Hindmarsh, Luke O'Donnell. Interchange: Shaun Berrigan, Anthony Tupou, Mark O'Meley, Brent Kite.

Now thats a team!

But I would have rathered Thaiday instead of Tupou!

[Poida]

Stuart fears Lockyer burnout

Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 6:41 PM

Kangaroos captain Darren Lockyer is at risk of following Golden Boot winner Anthony Minichiello in suffering burnout, Australian coach Ricky Stuart warned.

Stuart called for a revamp of NRL and representative schedules which he believed were taking a heavy toll on the game's best players.

Speaking just a few days before the 2006 season finally comes to a close with the Tri-Nations decider at Aussie Stadium, Stuart said it was too much to expect the likes of Lockyer to keep churning out big performances on such little rest.

Stuart has seen it all before with several of his former Sydney Roosters players including Minichiello, who capped a stellar 2005 campaign by taking out international player of the year honours.

Lockyer's stunning season in which he led Brisbane and Queensland to triumphant victories was rewarded with a second Golden Boot award earlier this week, but Saturday night's final will come over 10 months after the champion playmaker began pre-season training with the Broncos.

"Burnout hits you and it can hit you without you knowing it's coming," Stuart said.

"Because they're fit and healthy now it doesn't necessarily mean they can handle another one or two seasons with such a workload.

"It's important that we look at the structuring of our rep season and our NRL premiership because we just can't expect them to endure the workload they're under."

Stuart's concerns come from first hand experience with the former Roosters mentor having seen it have a massive effect in his final year at the Bondi Junction club.

"I've seen it with Anthony Minichiello, I've seen it with Craig Wing, I've seen it with Craig Fitzgibbon," Stuart said of his former Roosters Tests stars.

"They just got worn down by the amount of football they were playing."

The heavy workload finally told on Minichiello this year with the former Test custodian not playing again after the Roosters round six tussle with Brisbane.

Minichiello underwent surgery on his back to repair a herniated disc, three straight end of season tours to Great Britain deemed partly responsible for exacerbating the wear and tear on his body.

Lockyer, who is participating in his fourth straight end of season representative campaign - all as captain - said footballers were learning to deal with the heavy workload.

Saturday night will be Lockyer's 35th match of the season, including 26 games for the Broncos, three matches for the Maroons and five Tests for the Kangaroos.

"It's been a long year there's no doubting that, but I just think the players in today's game are used to that, they're used to playing football this time of year," he said.

"It's the Tri-Nations final and everyone's motivated to play and play well.

"It's (the Tri-Nations) been a success this year and it's only going to get better as the tradition grows."

There is some respite on the horizon for Lockyer in 2007 with the Kangaroos scheduled to play only two Test matches - the mid-year Anzac Test against the Kiwis followed by a trip across the ditch after the grand final for a one-off Test.
Source: AAP

[Poida]

Lockyer Throws Down Challenge to Sydney

Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 2:16 PM

Australian test captain Darren Lockyer has reacted to his New Zealand counterpart Ruben Wiki?s call for a black out at Aussie Stadium by calling on Sydney fans to turn out in numbers for Saturday night?s Gillette Tri Nations final.



Earlier this week Wiki led the call from the New Zealand team looking to fill the stadium with Kiwi supporters in the traditional Black.



?I hope that there?s lots that turn up and they make it a black out it?d be great, the more Kiwi supporters the better.?



Lockyer says his team is still on a high from the fantastic support they got in Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium last week, the best test match crowd in Australia since 1974, and he urges the fans to get out and support the Kangaroos first home Tri Nations family.



?It?s a great concept the Tri Nations, it?s only in its third year, and it?s been a success in Great Britain now it?s come to the Southern Hemisphere.

It?s always great to play for your country and to play on your home soil is also special as well it?s be a good night on Saturday night for both teams and hopefully the Sydney team can get behind it and come and see a good spectacle.?



24,953 fans turned out at Aussie Stadium 3 weeks ago to see Australia go down to Great Britain and Australian coach Ricky Stuart says he would be disappointed if the crowd was around that mark for Saturday night?s final.



?Yeah for me it would be. It would be very disappointing I think the Brisbane people set the bench mark in regard to enthusiasm and support for rugby league.

Last week we had 150 to 200 people for every training session and I didn?t close any session because I thought it would be unfair to the families and the children who are the grassroots of our game.

To have their support and enthusiasm last week was a great buzz to our players and to have that crowd at Suncorp Stadium was a privilege for the players to run out in front of and that?s what test match football is all about. The players are providing the product on the field and I think it?s important we get the interest off the field.?



New Zealand coach Brian McClennan says the size of the crowd also matters to him.



?For rugby league it does. I went up with Tony Iro to watch the game at Suncorp Stadium and I just thought it was fantastic everyone turning up, supporting their home team and the English had great support.

I think its good for the game and I urge any ex-pat Kiwis living in Sydney to come along and support our team and the Australian supporters get along and support your team, it?s going to be a great Grand Final.?



Lockyer has challenged the Sydney fans to match the support shown in Brisbane for last week?s test against Great Britain.



?Obviously Queenslanders love their rugby league and I think maybe the fact we won the origin and the Broncos won the Premiership may have helped the crowd in Brisbane.

But they saw a great spectacle and I don?t think I?ve played a test match anywhere in Australia with any better atmosphere than last week. And this ground here (Aussie Stadium) it generates a good atmosphere too when there?s a big crowd.

So just come along and support your country, the Ashes are on and you?re supporting an Australian team there come and support the Australian rugby league team as well.?
Source: NRL