R6's RLWC2013 Rooster Reviews

[kakaruk]

Im tipping the kiwis by at least 15 and Sheens to get the boot in the washup.

[Guest]

I for one hope that sheens get punted. Seriously I know we are all coming from a bias perspective, but whats the go with CORDNER being on the bench? This was a nothing game, with Australia all but certain to win, and he plays him off the bench. Not only that but doesnt get on until the second half, how can you justify that?
.
For the first time in my life I may end up cheering on NZ at least they pick players on form and they just happen to be mostly Roosters.

[Guest]

Im tipping the kiwis by at least 15 and Sheens to get the boot in the washup.

You might not be too far off mate.. The Kiwi's pack should rip the Roo's a few new ones.. NZ's fullback seems to be their only weakness?

[Kingbilly]

I can't see Cordner on the bench being a problem. Remember it was not that long ago he was reasonably seriously injured.
He is still a kid, but plays well above that status. But even though he thoroughly deserved his spot he still has a long way to go.
We don't know what is happening at training especially in regards to ball handling which is BC's weakness.
This was also a nothing game so I would not read anything into it.
I do think Thaiday and Tate are extremely lucky to be there so I agree with those points.

[Rooster_6]

Papalii & Bird are the two best second rowers currently going around for Australia in my opinion, even if Thaiday does get dropped which I agree he should, I don't think Cordner should be the one coming in for him.

[Tommy Smith]

Bird has massive runs on the board so hard to argue there. And he's still performing at Origin level.

But in no way, shape or form is Paps better than Boyd.

He's too inconsistent whereas Cordner was incredibly consistent in 2013. Prior to his injury he was ripping the comp to shreds on the fringes.

Again, perhaps it's bias but then I suspect I rate Boyd higher than most on here. Outside of SBW and Sam Burgess there's not a backrower who was as impactful in 2013.

[roostersrule2]

I'd say Papalii's more talented then Boyd but Boyd is and will be the better player.

[Rooster_6]

Bird has massive runs on the board so hard to argue there. And he's still performing at Origin level.

But in no way, shape or form is Paps better than Boyd.

He's too inconsistent whereas Cordner was incredibly consistent in 2013. Prior to his injury he was ripping the comp to shreds on the fringes.

Again, perhaps it's bias but then I suspect I rate Boyd higher than most on here. Outside of SBW and Sam Burgess there's not a backrower who was as impactful in 2013.

Papalii had an inconsistent year but I think that's more due to the fact he was at a club with a poor & inconsistent environment. I don't believe in picking players based on form, when in the right environment class players will perform to their ability, we see it time after time at Origin level. Ability doesn't just disappear, as we've seen this year with so many of our players finding their feet under Robbo.

Papalii had an awesome 2012 season and was very good in origin this year, at this point in time he's far more established and proven that Cordner. Cordner's time will come but it wont be at this world cup. He might snag a bench position if Sheens dumps Thaiday but that's being optimistic.

[Guest]

Did anybody watch the England/Fiji game?
I'm curious to know how the Burgess bros went against the Sims bros. I remember Tariq inviting the Burgess bros to a game of backyard footy earlier in the year.

[Roostarz]

Napa is the man, plain and simple. Without him Cook Islands don't win I reckon.

[Yak]

Napa is the man, plain and simple. Without him Cook Islands don't win I reckon.

Without a doubt. Every time he came off they Wales would get on top. Then he'd come back on after about 8 mins off and Cook Islands would get the upper hand again. Was reminiscent of the effect JWH has on us. Made a very important tackle on Wales second last set after their try when a half break was made. If he doesn't cover across or misses the tackle Wales get the win. Loved his interview at half time. Had Robbo written all over it!!

[Rooster_6]

Day 16

Cook Islands 28 defeated Wales 24

Dylan Napa - 8/10

Brilliant game in attack and defence. Not only just yardage carries but was creating some opportunities for his team and had a hand in the last try, was playing before the line and got a couple of offloads away too. Really lead from the front which is impressive for a 21 year old and I can't speak highly enough of his workrate. Not just carries and tackles but decoy runs, support runs & cover tackles. very impressive performance.

18 runs, 144 metres, 1 try assist, 20 tackles, 2 offloads & 2 penalties conceded(both for shoulder charges )

Tinirau Arona - 7/10

He's had a really strong world cup, plenty of carries, good footwork and looked their most threatening ball player. If he was 10cm taller this guy would be an absolute beast of a first grader, just a shame he doesn't have the physical presence to really make it in First Grade. I hope he does though, even if it's not at the Roosters he's got all the talent and the workrate to back it up.

12 runs, 85 metres, 33 tackles, 1 error & 1 penalty conceded

Tonga 16 defeated Itlay 0

Samisoni Langi - 6.5/10

It's really hard to rate him because he looks promising in everything he does but as a half a lot of what he did wasn't beneficial to the side. He did have the best kicking game on the field though which had a big affect on the result in the end but again I don't think he's a half. His running game looked very strong & he made a great try saver.

Daniel Tupou - 7/10

Very solid at the back, no errors and pulled off an amazing try saver right at the beginning of the game. Didn't see a lot of ball on the wing but did come in for quite a few carries. Made a nice linebreak towards the end of the game but pretty quiet otherwise.

Nafe Seluini - 6/10

Ended up playing nearly the full 80 due to an injury early on. Did ok, had a couple of good scoots but was hard because the play the balls all night were so slow. His defence was solid and his service was.... adequate but not great by any means.

Aiden Guerra - 5.5/10

Ineffective with a lot of his carries tonight which isn't something you usually associate with him. He worked his ass off though coming in for carries all the time and running good lines just didn't have any halves who could feed him properly. I think he was wasted in the centres for Italy in the world cup.

Anthony Minichiello - 4/10

Felt for him, he was quite clearly gutted at the end when it became clear Italy were knocked out of this world cup, this meant a lot to him. Tried his hardest but often to the detriment of his team. Got way too involved with the ball playing side of things, put in a couple of shocking kicks and made a really poor attempt of a tackle to stop Tonga's first try.

[Hawkeye]

Daniel Tupou - 7/10

Very solid at the back, no errors and pulled off an amazing try saver right at the beginning of the game. Didn't see a lot of ball on the wing but did come in for quite a few carries. Made a nice linebreak towards the end of the game but pretty quiet otherwise.

Minichiello caught him from behind !

[Tommy Smith]

I couldn't be happier with Napa's development by the sounds of things!

The young guy is development into a beast.

It'll be fun watching both he and Jared on the field at the same time in 2014.

[rwbfl]

I'd say Papalii's more talented then Boyd but Boyd is and will be the better player.

I think they are different type of players, as papalii tends to be all about using his size and strength to get over the top of his opponents, in both defence and attack, which he does fairly well. However, Boyd is more about hole running and, as we have seen under Trent, especially on Anzac Day, seems to have greater ball playing ability then papalii.

I wouldn't mind it papalii ended up a rooster at sometime but, a very damaging player who under the guidance of Trent and in our attacking systems could be become one of the most feared back rowers in the game. In saying that I feel we don't really need him with SBW, fpn, napa, aubo, cordner, guerra and langi in the team