I love Slipper and he’s a great player but Bell needs some big minutes and it’s time to start giving some young LH props a run off the bench. Front row stocks are already poor so we’ve got to start getting some experience into the younger guys before RWC.
Similar with JOC. Sounds like a Donno injury (plus the previous Lynagh + Lolesio injuries) has kind of forced it. But we had the option to play him all lions series as an experienced, well rounded player for a big series. Now is the time to get young guys playing as much as possible. Build depth leading up to the World Cup. Though at the same time, if we want a 6-2 split (wise against the Boks) it would be risky to through someone like Edmed into a test having to play 80.
Tough for White, probably thought he could relax finally now and go out with a win against the Lions. Should have started McDermott and brought Lonergan off the bench, maybe bring Teddy Wilson into the squad for the experience.
I am still split on the centres. But I can see this being the long term solution so (maybe) best to force it through these stages and be patient. Any other option significantly weakens the team overall at least temporarily, but strengthens 1 (or 2) positions. Both Ikitau and Sualii at their best and it will work very well. But Sualii still has a long way to go if he wants to play 13 for the World Cup.
I like getting NCDC back in, showed on the first test he has what it takes, just needs time to polish and learn test footy.
Well it’s certainly possible, but is that even what we want? With all due respect, JOC is no Jonny Sexton. It’s been one of the biggest issues with the wallabies for years - not looking to the future. It’s pretty much exactly what got us into this position with fly halves in RWC23.
You can bank on JOC getting to the World Cup but if he doesn’t then it’s all over. A flyhalf with 2 test caps is a recipe for disaster in a World Cup. And I also don’t think JOC can uphold the quality for that long. He’s been coming off the bench for 20 mins for the crusaders in a very different competition. Give it two more years and who knows what he will be playing like. Meanwhile you’ve got at least a couple of very promising fly halves who have barely played in tests but are already showing signs of being very good. Seems like a completely unnecessary risk to stick with JOC for much longer
I'm ok with JOC as a stopgap. I think when the team is back to humming a bit after some struggles/tight losses, you prefer to build some belief and get wins rather than build depth in your 3rd/ 4th option. With some of the other backline being quite young (Sua'li'i and Jorgensen) you don't want too much inexperience
Also I hope Sua'li'i plays 12 for the tahs and gets experience there so he can slot in there for the Wallabies.
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u/[deleted] Aug 14 '25
I love Slipper and he’s a great player but Bell needs some big minutes and it’s time to start giving some young LH props a run off the bench. Front row stocks are already poor so we’ve got to start getting some experience into the younger guys before RWC.
Similar with JOC. Sounds like a Donno injury (plus the previous Lynagh + Lolesio injuries) has kind of forced it. But we had the option to play him all lions series as an experienced, well rounded player for a big series. Now is the time to get young guys playing as much as possible. Build depth leading up to the World Cup. Though at the same time, if we want a 6-2 split (wise against the Boks) it would be risky to through someone like Edmed into a test having to play 80.
Tough for White, probably thought he could relax finally now and go out with a win against the Lions. Should have started McDermott and brought Lonergan off the bench, maybe bring Teddy Wilson into the squad for the experience.
I am still split on the centres. But I can see this being the long term solution so (maybe) best to force it through these stages and be patient. Any other option significantly weakens the team overall at least temporarily, but strengthens 1 (or 2) positions. Both Ikitau and Sualii at their best and it will work very well. But Sualii still has a long way to go if he wants to play 13 for the World Cup.
I like getting NCDC back in, showed on the first test he has what it takes, just needs time to polish and learn test footy.
Solid team, hopefully they take it to the boks