Saturday June 27, 2009 08:29 AM

JUNIOR REDS 2008/2009

PHOTOGALLERIES

Just needed to tidy up a little bit,  hopefully the above links will get you to all the old places you might like to go.  I will put a section up soon on the next Regional College and will group all the photogalleries of the last three years in one easier to find place.

Saturday 07/03/2009: Another game,  another loss to the Reds.  I doubt they can finish in the top echelon of the competition now.  The Sharks coming up this weekend will certainly be another very hard game for the Reds to win.  Both sides last night really needed to learn how to hold the football,  as Roy and HG would say,  "When someone passes you the ball,  try and catch it,  if you manage to catch it,  try and hang onto it".  Some very innocuous drops of the ball last night turned the game into a very frustrating one to watch.  Alot of talk before hand and zero fire and brimstone,  coupled with pedantic refereeing turned the game into a very flat and unentertaining affair,  nearly needed no doze to get through it.  A shame because I thought Bryce Lawrence was by far the best referee last week,  actually letting some things go,  like collapsed scrums where the ball was making it's way back,  but he must have got his fingers chopped during the week for that,  because it was no more,  except the one where Greg Holmes got destroyed,  and was sitting on his backside with McMeniman in front of him sitting on his lap.  Personally thought the Chiefs Sharks clash last week remains the best game of the competition to date,  and the best refereed.  The rest have been pretty ordinary,  mistake riddled,  stop start affairs,  with this rather stupid half arm for everything taking the game to a new and lower level,  I believe.  No doubt there were some potentially mouth watering clashes across the park,  with the Ioane-Tuqiri one billed as the biggie.  This type of game rarely has anything to do with anyone past 10,  they just make up number,  so of much more interest was the battle of the forwards.  Holmes was outpointed,  no outgunned by the man we all love to hate,  but he has delivered every game this year,  Al Baxter.  Robinson won his side of the scrum battle,  and while Houston was adequate,  Palu was always a big task for him.  The Reds lineout was smashed.  Book Robinson and Baxter props berths,  Moore the hooker spot.  Mcmeniman was good last night,  as was Higginbottom,  except for that terrible drop,  and van Humphries has probably been the Reds best in the last few games,  doing the simple things very well.  Aussie locks,  who knows,  Caldwell has played some tough footy,  and deserves a look,  as does Mumm and Mcmeniman,  throw in Horwell and Sharp,  maybe Chisholm and there is a bit to choose from.  Beale and Cooper,  both delivered games they won't rate in their top 10's as they grow in experience and stature,  they will both take plenty from the game.  Robbie Horne was special,  and will be  bolter in the Wallaby Squad,  maybe side in 2009.  Plenty of talk about our next long term 13,  this is the guy if the code can keep him.  The Force were terrible and must be ruing their inability to tackle,  another ordinary game ruined even further by one of the referees that really annoys me and has done for many years,  Matt Goddard.  "Are you going to crouch before I call it" he could be heard over the mike,  admonishing the Chiefs Front Row early in the game.  Boys and girls,  just let the big boys scrum,  cut down the resets,  and get on with the game.  Stop blowing stupid half arms at every ruck,  and let the big boys play a little more,  but the game is a mess at the moment.  One little thing,  and this will get pusled up when the Reds were about to score a match winning try,  and it is a stupid law anyway,  but one that the pedantic refs and their overseeing body will pull up one day soon,  when you take a free kick,  the ball must leave the hands.  Not many of the Reds did last night.  Hopefully some rugby this afternoon actually gets a bit more physical and a bit more exciting than my new favourite hobby of watching cardboard fade,  been more exciting than the rugby to date!

Saturday 28/02/2009:  Time to bag the officials.  The rugby has been terrible, patchy at best,  but last night Stuart Dickinson and in particular James Leckie took the honours for  a severe lack of knowledge of the game and it's mechanics.  Leckie in particular was a disgrace,  but Dickinson too had a very big influence on the outcome of the Crusaders match with a number of wrong decisions.  Both sin binnings I thought on first view were wrong,  and I am not going to sit through that again and both referees seem to have a clear misunderstanding of what the tackler can do with regards getting to his feet and taking the ball,  coupled with when the structure becomes a ruck.  Leckie's knowledge of scrums and lineouts is just a hint above zero and I bet he played fullback or something like that.  ELV's are supposed to speed the game up;  Leckie's pedanticism in continuing to bring the tap kick back  to be taken exactly on the mark,  slowed the game down and turned it into  a farce.  My personal comment on ELV's;  the game is fast becoming ruined,  it is a stop start ugly mess without structure,  with more kicking,  and the breakdown area is more of a blight on the game than ever it was before.

Sunday 22/02/2009: I note that Fast Eddie (Eddie Jones)  and Andy Slack,  our former leader of the Wallabies are both telling us that the rugby in Super 14 has been of a high quality so far in 2009.  They must be watching re runs of a former year,  surely.  I have pretty much only seen games that have turned into over refereed absolute rubbish after about 10 minutes.  All those fast guys in New Zealand,  Smith,  Sivivatu,  Masaga,  are catching/holding about 1 in 5.  Now if pace,  coupled with poor handling skills wins them a Super 14, then they have got it right.  Same with a few of the South Africans. Watching the Brumbies last night would have been the most frustrating of all,  it seems they didn't want to hold the ball for too long.  I like the big guy they brought on in the second row late,  he caught the ball,  carried it forward and kept the ball the four occasions he carried,  and he is a giant.  Most of the rest,  except for the Crusaders defence,  was rubbish.  Ah those Reds,  now already in an unenviable position after only round two.  They need to beat the Cheetahs on a Sunday afternoon and back up and beat the Waratahs in Sydney on Friday night,  tough ask,  talk to the rugby league guys about Sunday to Friday turnarounds,  very punishing.  Ah the Warathas,  how good was their scrum,  or how bad was the Chiefs,  with the Chiefs scrum getting mauled by none other than Al Baxter,  except for the one scrum that Al decided to jump in.  I thought Tuqiri's level of involvement was demonstrative of a high enthusiasm level,  I would like to see his stats.  Kurtley seemed to be a bit off week one,  where as Cooper stepped up for most of the game against the Stormers,  but had a mental sleep for 10 minutes. Cooper needs to take fighting out of his repertoire,  he doesn't look very dangerous,  and fighting a big guy above him from a position on the ground will only lead to some part of your facial anatomy being smashed,  as the ground doesn't give too much when your head gets smashed back into it. Phil Waugh,  what a man.  I very much enjoyed the blood,  and the continual taping of the wound,  the good doctor Sharon Flahiv still attending to the Waratahs.  During the interviews it is easy to see ha has had that nose far too close to too many knees,  elbows and boots.  No wonder his mate in Perth told me that he had a head like a dropped pie when we were having a chat.  Qld definitely needs to get the Bus back,  and we note the stance of the Bus everywhere,  at almost every game,  he is a cult leader.  Bring back the Bus.   The Force,  well that was pretty boring.  After round two,  I think only one Aussie side looks the goods,  NSW,  they won an ugly game,  and you have to win ugly at times.  The Bulls,  the Stormers and the Sharks look the goods from the republic and really the Crusaders look the best of a disappointing New Zealand grouping.  Outside chances will be the Chiefs,  Hurricanes,  maybe Blues and maybe the Reds,  but gee teams that have already lost two cannot afford to lose too many more.  On lineouts too,  how many pies were thrown over the weekend?  I think the worst week of lineout throwing in the history of Super Rugby.  Robbie Horne,  still looks like  a nice composed youngster in a very frustrating match.  This guy will be seeing 100 plus percentage points increases in his paypacket.  I heard he was on 30 grand plus match payments last year,  I reckon 200 grand plus match payments this year and probably double it again next year.  If I am anywhere near close to the mark,  that's alot of money to be earning before you are 21.  If he needs any assistance negotiating his package,  I am sure he knows where I am.  I also note that Rob Horne has overtaken Aidan Toua as one of the major search terms on this site.  Let's hope that week 3 is a far more skilful affair than weeks one and two.

Matt Giteau's decision is an interesting one.  Whatever is said,  I am sure the reason is about filthy lucre more than wanting to go home,  when you are on 40 or 50 grand a week you can go home every week.  I would just love to know where it is coming from in Canberra though,  with economic powerhouses being in Sydney and Pert,  even in these current times.

Tuesday 17/02/2009:  Fresh off a big Sunday at Ballymore with all the Junior Reds Squads from around the state.  Have a thought for the boys from the north and the distance they put in for the day,  an awesome effort indeed from our flood ravage north.  The boys played some rugby against each other in Under 15 and Under 17 age groups,  and there were some willing exchanges and some skilful individuals on display.  With the Country Under 17's myself,  it was good to see the older boys get a run,  and also good to have guys like James Gough involved,  he is a dynamo and a natural leader.  Also big Adrian Lambert must have been itching for a run and he anchored the country scrum at tighthead.  The physicality of our first clash against Country 3 (numbers mean nothing) was huge with Ryan O'Connell taking a massive shot early,  followed by another one off the same play in the next game that ended his afternoon.  The third game against Bris 1 showed us just where we need to be,  and showed those guys vying for country Under 17's later in the year just what they will be up against.  These guys were relentless and ruthless at the breakdown,  they pounced on mistakes,  and they instantly knew where space was and got the footy to it against a very tired country outfit,  and deservedly gave us a tremendous touch up.  A good lesson for us all on where the level is and will be going forwards.  I heard the Country 1 Under 15's also performed pretty well.  There are some big lads in the Brisbane Under 15 outfits.

I see Rodney So'oailo got suspended for a week for giving Phil Waugh,  aka the Pieface,  a touch up around the melon with his boot.  Thought it was John Schwalger that got him myself and did not think it warranted a suspension.  Certainly did not look intentional,  and there are times amongst those things you don't know where your feet are landing.

I note this morning in the press that the QRU have signed Will Chambers from the Melbourne Storm,  a big strapping outside back that looks like he can run pretty fast.  Has played first grade in the NRL and has played rugby in his schoolboy days.  Must be from next year,  and not just too sure where all these outside backs fit,  but I am sure the guys have a plan there on how that all works.

Sunday 15/02/2009:  Week one of Super Rugby done and gone already.  Player of the round looked to be Rob Horne for mine, watch him,  he is a young bloke going places.  Waratahs look to be the Aussie province with the best chance in 2009,  and the Reds showed some steel for a period;  they look much more composed than in previous years.  Scrums have been a disgrace,  and the New Zealand sides largely disappointing.  Marius Jonkers,  the guy that reffed the Reds vs Bulls game,  had an absolute shocker.  Sin binning for cleaning out,  thought we were supposed to do that,  penalty for an over the shoulder grab,  maybe at Under 12 level;  no wonder the league guys think this game is soft,  and some of his calls both ways at the tackle contest were disgraceful.  On to week two,  let's hope the rugby becomes a little more inspiring as the competition moves forwards.  The Reds need The Bus back in that side,  and we continue with our Bus Supporters campaign.  We like his mobile phone answering style,  and his laid back attitude to life and rugby.  We would also like to see Rob Simmons scar up,  a very nice looking young man for sure,  but he needs to get some ugliness about him or move into the backs.

Thursday 29/01/2009.  Finally finished my view of last Saturday,  and you can find it here.  Only the photos to go now,  hopefully by the weekend.

For all those good folks checking in for my thoughts on Saturday's (24/01/2009) games,  I am still writing,  in fact didn't like draft one and need to re write,  which puts the photos back another day or two,  so be patient,  this is far from a professional organization here!

Saturday 24/09/2009,  almost Sunday 25/01/2009: Boy was it hot today. Terrible,  and we played footy in it.  Then the powers that be finished the day off about 8:30pm with a heavy storm and most spectacular lightshow,  absolute cracker.  As for the games,  the Downs sides didn't fair too well,  with the Under 14's putting up a brave fight early,  and even lead a powerful Easts side at one stage,  before seeing Easts run away to the tune of about 24 or 32 to 10,  somewhere there.  The Downs Under 19's played in the wickedest heat of the day,  and put up a sterling performance.  Mitch Logan and Sean Mclellan,  footballers I have always rated,  were the glue that held the side together.  Mitch Logan has to be a shoe in for Country Under 19's in 2009,  has to be.  Very smart competent footballer.  Our game,  the Under 16 development match against the Gold Coast side was won by the Gold Coast outfit.  No question the better side won the match,  have no complaints or disagreements with the whole day.  I thought it was well refereed,  one of Andrew Coorey's better games I thought.  The Coast got the game by 20 to 12,  after actually leading 20 to nil from 4 tries.  I will write lots more on this game and how I saw it over the next few days,  also have a few photos,  although photos were difficult,  as my man on the camera was confined to the pen we all had.  Again though,  no complaints,  a big day,  we weren't the allotted photographer,  and you take what you can get at days like this and have to follow protocol,  otherwise the whole thing gets messy.  The Waratahs got over the Reds by 17 to 7 or so,  but I reckon the Reds have alot of firepower to come yet,  either back from injury or just being rested.  I think they are looking OK.  Some of these young guys look good though,  Aidan Toua,  Jake Schatz at 18 already is an imposing presence,  as is Luke Morahan.  The best of all from that group of schoolboys though has to be Rob Horne.  I still rate him up there with some of the best I have seen,  his biceps and triceps are incredibly developed,  and he has feet on a par with Aidan Toua.  If you are yet to see the Aidan Toua feet,  get along to matches he plays.  Most coaches still struggle with Aidan's feet.  Will certainly be some more over the next few days,  just be patient,  I am old,  tired and lack motivation.

Saturday 24/01/2009,  the day the Reds and the Waratahs come to Toowoomba town to face off in a trial match,  kick off 7pm.  Before all that however there is a heap of work going on,  field set ups,  coaching clinics,  coach seminars,  drug testing,  you think about it,  it's going on.  There are of course 3 curtain raiser matches,  just like the Good Old Days at Ballymore before Qld played NSW.  Usually I am happy for the good old days to be gone,  but they were indeed good days at the Queensland home of rugby.  Kicking off at 2:30 is the first curtain raiser,  between Darling Downs Under 14 and Easts Under 14.  Easts Under 14 is coached by a guy named Shaun Hourigan,  got to know him a little bit all those years ago when Dalby and Uni and other Downs sides used to play Brisbane sides early in the season.  A tough as teak number 7 that may have played for Qld at some stage but was certainly up there with the best of the era.  Shaun married a Downs lady,  I think from Goondiwindi if my memory serves me correctly.  Good man,  good footy player and still giving back to his beloved Tigers.  At 3:45 Darling Downs Under 19 play one of the Sunnybank Under 19 sides.  The Downs side should feature guys like Mitch Logan and Craig McVeigh,  amongst others.  Haven't had too much to do with the 19's over the last couple of years.  Sunnybank have 4 Under 19 or Colts sides so it will be interesting to see who comes up.  5:20pm sees the match between the Junior Reds sides from the Gold Coast and the Darling Downs.  We (Darling Downs) are short in Props and locks,  so are very thankful to three Brisbane guys for coming up to help us out in those areas.  I am sure the Gold Coast will be as tough as teak and I have heard much about their 10,  12,  13 and one winger.  I have only seen the 13,  Nick Oui,  and he is a gun,  will certainly take some shutting down,  if in fact that can be done.  Personally looking forward to the game,  and from a Downs perspective to see Joey Frey from Goondiwindi State High School and Matt Berwick,  from St Mary's College in Dalby make their marks on the match.   Matt's Dad Rod is a former Australian Under 17,  when that concept was alive,  and did that out of Downlands.  Rod, originally from Bell,  and a well know Bell farming family,  was a highly regarded centre or winger, (think he may have played Qld Country as well,  and forged a bit of a name in league too locally)  again from memory.  Matt certainly has the same or probably better abilities,  and along with Joey Frey plays league at quite a high level.  Don't know much about the Coast side at all,  except one of the coaches is the current premier grade hooker for the Breakers.  I am sure that means they will be an excellent side,  being coached by someone that wears the very hallowed, thinking man's jersey.  Given the limited preparation of both sides,  I hope it doesn't turn into to scrappy a game and that the gods shine on us and we can all see some of the talent available in both sides.

Friday 09/01/2009: Plenty of emails in on GPS rugby 2009,  I'm still struggling with the level of importance it plays out for some people.  To answer a few incorrect assumptions in one place,  BSHS will not be with the services of Eddie Quirk in 2009.  I believe he is with the Reds Academy,  not BSHS.  That information came to light in about November of 2008,  may have changed,  I don't live and breathe GPS rugby,  nor live for GPS rugby,  but I am not sure why you would give up an academy contract to go back to school.

I note Ticketek started selling tickets for the Gold Park Reds vs NSW trial match yesterday.  After the players and coaching staffs get in,  there might be 27 tickets left for sale,  so rush out and grab them.  I hope the Gold Park playing surface will be up to scratch,  last time we trained there it was very patchy,  alot of unevenness in the grass surface,  an ankle nightmare.  What a potential rugby festival though,  the possibility of guys like Kurtley Beale,  Quade Cooper,  Robert Horne and Aidan Toua,  Digby Ioane,  amongst many others,  having a trundle about in the backwater of Toowoomba.

Comment of 2009 to date comes from Anthony Mundine.  Love him or hate him,  and I would be sure there would be spin doctors involved,  in advertising on Pay TV for his upcoming fight against Shannan Taylor,  Mundine's line is simple,  and typically arrogant,  but I like it: " whoever I fight,  I'll be favourite".  Go Anthony!

Monday 05/01/2009:  I keep thinking about writing about this guy I kept running into at school functions,  a bloke more into cricket than rugby,  but a guy that has left an indelible mark on my memory,  since about 1981.  I have to keep thinking that no one really wants to read about stuff that went on way back,  now almost 30 years ago,  but I guess if they don't,  they won't read it,  so I'll write it anyway.  Here for a bit of a read up on history in Downs Rugby.

Sunday 04/01/2009: Welcome to 2009.  Had a short stint over the break at Noosaville,  an obviously popular little area on the Noosa River.  I say welcome,  as I still struggle with what makes 31 December morphing into 1 January any more special than 31 May morphing into 1 June.  Too realistic maybe?  The sun goes up and the sun goes down,  and due to the commercialism placed on certain dates,  some folks make alot of money out of it.  Sitting in the passenger seat on the drive up (still unable to drive after surgery,  on docs orders),  the man on the news told me that there had been no serious road accidents in Queensland for 4 days.  Observing the traffic I am able to report,  that it wasn't through any level of skill,  patience or application.  The amount of idiots on the roads that show no ability behind the wheel of a very nasty weapon continues to grow,  and astounds me.  To be honest,  I am surprised the Road Toll is as low as it is.  Which brings me to my point.  In sport,  we spend and devote countless hours to developing the skill levels,  hopefully basic skill levels of everyone involved in the game.  There are countless people and dollars devoted to skill development in sport.  Why is the same outlook not evident in road skills,  pretty easy to get a licence.  There are plenty of issues with just how "driving instructors"  teach as well,  in fact they are just wrong in a number of cases.  I have shaken my head on a number of occasions at what is being taught,  but guess what,  the same idiocy is being tested,  so it is a waste of time in the "learning"/"testing" phase to try and change the mindsets and skillsets of young drivers,  because they will just be failed.  So as I see it,  the system of education is delivering drivers with not only poor skills,  but incorrect skills,  straight on to the roads.  Don't worry,  there are plenty of "experienced drivers that either don't know,  or are just plain arrogant in the belief that they own the roads.  Lack of judgement of distance for one is just so poor,  and a lack of understanding or ability to mentally compute that a car coming at you at 100kms per hour will deplete the distance between you rather more quickly than some seem to think.  Nothing rugby I know,  but it is a deadly serious place out there,  and you do not get a second chance.

As for 15man in 2009,  who knows,  I know I don't.  I think I continue to become less motivated.  I know I have said I should tidy the job up,  and each time I sit down and look at doing that,  the whole thing seems quite monumental in reality,  my old brain goes fuzzy,  and I decide that it is all too hard.  Certainly in the last two days,  there has been some interesting search terms hitting the site though.  "Auckland Under 16 rugby trials 2009",  "Bernies castle",  "brumbies rugby drills",  "drew nudgee",  "john bishop ipswich",  "junior reds 3 day camp pictures match merit team under 15 ballymore",  "nts under 15 squad 1st 15 rugby union queensland held at ballymore".  There was another about holiday rugby courses in New Zealand,  so some different search terms hitting on the site over the last two days.  Someone,  I think in England judging by the address,  stumbled on the site on New Year's Day and hung around and viewed 600 pages (I didn't know there were that many there),  he/she must have been really bored.  Aidan Toua however still remains in the top three search terms hitting the site,  the young guy could become a household name in 2009.  I am sure he will play Super 14 this year in any case.

GPS rugby,  well who knows.  The competition looks like it will be tight.  There are brave souls out there already tipping a TSS win,  but traditional heavyweights Nudgee and State High look to have some pretty good personnel floating around.  TGS even looks to have some excellent playing stock in 2009,  if they can just overcome their mental outlook of expecting to lose,  and playing people in the right position for their skillset and for particular matches.  Churchie looks to be a real prospect,  with some good young guys in that Met East Under 15 side,  Nick Malouf being one name I remember that will make a big impact in 2009. Terrace could beat anyone on their day,  with young Lucas and Liam Gill among others stepping into year two of First XV rugby.  Other names to watch for in 2009,  Curtis Browning at State High,  Chris Sautia at State High,  I hear really good things about a young bloke at Nudgee by the name of Billy Brittain,  he won't play First XV in 2009,  but is highly regarded amongst judges and pundits as the next big thing to wear a 10 jersey.  I am not in any loops regarding BBC,  IGS or BGS.  There have been some coaching changes at IGS and BGS and time will judge how that pans out.  Whatever happens,  the last game of the season,  BSHS vs Nudgee,  at Fursden Road,  looks like being an absolute cracker,  and maybe the playoff for 1 and two,  but a couple of losses could also see both sides finishing mid field.  It's a real tough gig for coaches,  you really have to look at being undefeated across the entire 8 games to win this thing,  and yes,  as mentioned before,  some take it way too seriously.

Tuesday 30/12/2008: A couple of things on the rugby calendar,  A Vintage Reds dinner at the Cathedral centre on Friday night 23/10/2008,  followed of course by the Qld Reds playing NSW on 24/01/2009,  at Gold Park (strange venue for mine,  capacity about 2500 with the new Telstra mobile phone tower embedded in a spectator area),  and the Downs Junior Reds squad playing the Gold Coast Junior Reds squad as I think,  the main curtain raiser.  No question we are going to struggle,  with limited preparation and a shortage in the front row and locking department,  and a backline question or two.  I hear the Coast will have a white hot backline,  spearheaded by Nick Oui,  who I thought went OK at the Under 15 schoolboys up at Noosa and recently named at Inside Centre for the Queensland Under 15 merit side.  The coast side will certainly start as favourites,  the only thing counting against them will be travel.  We could wish really hard for cold,  rain and sleet,  but in January we are only likely to get lightning,  hail and wind!

Monday 29/12/2008: A quite fascinating year in sport.  We are currently witnessing the demise of Australian cricket from it's lofty position for so long,  and all the posturing and emotion that goes with it.  Yesterday was a prime example,  with the Africans at 7 for at the start of play and batting almost all day.  Someone once said,  a commentator,  that Warne took most of his wickets at the tail,  sadly missed yesterday was that ability to clean up the end quickly and efficiently.  The rugby codes have seen plenty of turmoil,  Sonny Bill Williams,  who doesn't appear to be going anywhere quickly in the 15 man code,  a kiwi becoming Aussie coach,  Wayne Bennett an Aussie coaching the kiwis to World Cup victory in the rugby league.  More young men with lots and lots of money,  and lots and lots of time behaving badly,  the last of which was young baby faced James O'Connor,  arrested on the Gold Coast a week or so ago.  This follows other seemingly,  and allegedly very ugly incidents over the year.  I say seemingly and allegedly,  because what you see in the newspaper and what you see on television is not necessarily the bona fide truth,  and is presented to sell papers and get you to watch that channel.  Coaching and playing sport in the professional era has become and will continue to be a ruthless,  friendless,  cut throat business,  with words like loyalty a thing of the past,  and words like "brand" and "sponsor responsibilities"  and "entertainment" at the fore.  Loyalty will be to the dollar,  and  will be to the detriment of the individuals involved.  There will be plenty more controversy and turmoil in 2009,  as young,  fit men with heaps of money,  heaps of time can't do anything but find themselves compromised.

As the new year rolls out,  school footy,  something that is taken far too seriously by far too many will start to gather momentum in people's thoughts and people's minds.  For some,  and in particular many adults,  be they fathers,  mothers,  spectators or coaches,  school footy takes on a far greater meaning and importance than it really holds in society,  and the real world in general.  No one should hold 8 or 9 games of footy in a year as anything more than it is,  8 or 9 games of footy in a year.  Anyone that tells you any different is fooling him or herself,  and trying to fool you.

Plenty of highlights in year 2008 here, the key one being daughter followed number 2 son as dux of the school,  and she did it as a 16 year old,  having skipped grade 5.  This makes us no longer parents of school aged children,  and maybe now able to make some changes in life,  on reflection,  that enhance the quality of life,  reduce stress and get out and smell the roses so to speak.  Surgery and a little time off certainly give time for these reflections,  and just what is important.  Sporting highlights,  there would be a few,  but I will give them some thought,  and maybe put them up later.

Thursday 25/12/2008,  Christmas Day of this quickly passed year.  Hi all and seasons greetings and best wishes to you all.  Thanks very much for your patronage,  and at times,  comments.  I'm not really a festive season freak,  in fact the industries I have worked in over the last 20 years,  Public Holidays are a great hindrance,  and I find it an excessive over commercialized rort.  I also find it a time when we kill ourselves with the gayest of abandons on the roads and highways,  and therein lies my greatest fear,  the number of people that end up dead on the roads.  So take care when you step into the dangerous weapon in your driveway.  Been an interesting year here at 15man.  Two lots of surgery,  just recovering from the second slicing now.  Even stranger this occasion to be cut by a very good mate of mine,  but no doubt the best and most compassionate surgeon in this region.  He has done a fine job.  I have come to hate two words this year,  "financial crisis".  What has happened was made through human greed and what I call reckless spending.  Alot of us now see "buying opportunity" on a sharemarket front and a real estate front.  Rugby wise,  I have been a bit quieter in 2008 than I was in 2007,  and a few folks have passed the jibe that the site was not as good in 2008 as it was in 2007.  The beauty of it being a pure hobby I guess,  I have no need for any number of readers to "make a return",  I do what I want when I want,  so yes,  when I am not motivated,  it is a bit hit and miss.  However,  it is still a bit of fun,  and an outlet,  and I continue to meet some fantastic people from all codes and all walks of life,  and that is a great thing.  So be sure and enjoy whatever it is you do over the festive season,  whatever your beliefs are,  but be safe and considerate in what you do.

Tuesday December 09,  2008.  Meant to mention yesterday,  a week or so ago I was in Brisbane at rugby headquarters.  The Reds guys were all there and I notice one rather large lad,  who I didn't know,  and of course asked who he was.  Was told Ezra Taylor.  Boys and girls,  let me inform you he is one very angry looking individual,  and quite large,  and with what seems mandatory for rugby and rugby league players these days,  some good ink.  I think ink is the terminology in any case.  Big Ezra looks like he would bite the heads off chickens without any worries at all.  Hopefully he will be ripping them off opposition players come February!

Monday December 8 2008.  Fresh off the first Junior Reds camp in the Darling Downs region.  The weather wasn't kind to us,  but the QRU and ARU  was with plenty of coaching heavyweights joining us for the weekend,  which makes for a great learning ground for we two guys up here as well.  I would be sure that the boys all went away with a bunch of acquired knowledge and improved skills,  coupled with some severe sunburn.  More here,  with some pics eventually.  OK,  got a few pics up,  you can access them here.  Also fixed a typo or two in the original writeup,  so all you 15man junkies can go and read it again.

Tuesday November 25,  2008.  Plenty going on.  The Aussie scrum was a disgrace against France.  I can only assume the English scrum was just bad.  Someone should tell AL Baxter not to turn around in scrums,  and Steven Moore's place in scrums is actually in them,  not standing beside them when the heat is applied.  It seems Baxter has read the English press headlines of "Bax-ter the wall" and thought that turning around might be a better option.  Another rip roaring deadset boring game of football,  helped along by pedantic refereeing.  Giteau,  like Benji Marshall,  is at his best when he plays straight and direct,  as was witnessed by  Peter Hynes' try.  Not sure what is going on with the Aussie Lineout,  but there are not too many creative attacking options happening from them at the moment.

The Australian rugby league team,  the Kangaroos,  become the second best rugby league team in the world,  for the next 5 years.  Ricky Stuart needs to calm down,  become a humble loser,  and realise that his team lost,  and that he is the coach of the second best rugby league team in the world,  he is the first coach of an Aussie rugby league team to lose the world cup,  and history will remember him for that.  The Aussie boys were just not good enough on the night,  the two wingers had absolute shockers,  and while it doesn't seem to matter much on paper,  teams that take only two front row forwards into a match,  inevitably lose them.

Deeply disappointing,  more so than any football match,  was the cancelling of the Angels concert in Toowoomba on Sunday night.  Doc Neeson and the boys were returning after 20 odd years.  I have probably seen these guys a dozen times here in Toowoomba during the 80's,  in fact they were part of our "rugby culture" of the time.  I asked my sons if they wanted to attend with me,  and was told it would just be a room full of old men.  Nice!  Looking around the crowd,  they were probably right.  Imagine the disappointment then when just before the start,  we were told that one of the band members was gravely ill and in hospital and we would be getting a refund.  Shattering news.  I had prepared well,  with a Nanna nap during the day so I could stay up late,  plenty of coffee in the afternoon to create a buzz,  and then major let down.  Oh well,  we are all old men now I guess!!

Tuesday November 18 2008:  Heard the Wallaby scrum smashed England,  and beat them up badly.  Didn't watch it live and haven't seen it at all,  but I guess the question then needs to be asked of consistency.  One convincing,  destructive performance needs to lead to another,  and so on and so forth.  Now we wait and see if they can beat up the French with similar ease.

Friday 14 Nov 2008: Incredulously we read that the Aussie scrum is getting better,  that it dominated Italy last week,  and from one of the commentators in that test match,  that Matt Dunning was one of the best,  that's right,  one of the best,  tight heads in the world.  Alot of you weren't born when we last had a really good tight head.  Folks will throw up Blades,  but I think the Aussie scrum was heading backwards then too.  Andy McIntyre would be the one I would toss in,  maybe Ewen McKenzie who replaced McIntyre.  Don't be mistaken,  the Aussie scrum got dished up really badly against the Italians,  and wheelchairs are possible this weekend against the English pack that contains Andy Sheridan and Phil Vickery.  Best and tight head should never be mentioned in the same sentence as Matt Dunning and Al Baxter,  and it is a disgrace that Baxter is Australia's most capped tighthead,  because our system has not developed anything else.  the Australian scrum has been getting whipped for years,  and all we do about it is come up with ways of cheating to get around the situation,  clever thinking yes,  but setting a good strong first phase platform,  no!  Big Al Baxter will really have to Grimace hard and stick his chest right out this weekend as he faces the scrummaging fury of Andy Sheridan.

Good news through yesterday from Qld Rugby headquarters.  Our little Junior Reds training group here on the Downs will get to play the Gold Coast Junior Reds Squad as a Curtain Raiser to the Reds Trial match on January 24 2009.  I think ex Downs man,  big Garrick Morgan heads up the Gold coast coaching staff,  and recently coached or co coached the Qld Red Under 16 side,  also coaches the Gold Coast Premier Rugby side.  It just raises the stakes a little bit,  but the boys do always want to play,  and this will be a great opportunity to test their mettle against some extra good players from the Coast.  I hear their squad is little short of exceptional.

Sunday 26/10/2008:  For those still with an interest,  the rest of the photos from the Country 10's carnival in Dalby are up here now.  Probably best to grab a coffee,  there are a few there.

The Junior Reds programme kicks off this week,  Wednesday in fact,  and again I think there have been significant improvements to the programme.  Initial players and an explanation of the programme can be found here:

Tuesday 21/10/2008.  Not much rugby left to play now in season 2008,  in Aus anyway,  I believe there is still a schoolboy competition or two happening out there,  but locally,  and by locally I mean the vast expanse of the environs of the Darling Downs,  our thoughts turn to the Junior Reds programme,  which will be shorter and sharper in 2008/2009,  and comprise two camps,  that will allow us access to those from further away,  with a few games at the February camp.  Letters in the main have gone out,  and we plan on getting underway next week,  so looking forward to that.

What a fantastic day in Dalby,  for the country schools rugby carnival.  Some exceptional rugby played,  some very good performances from some really good athletes,  one in particular,  Matt Berwick served big notice to anyone playing in a 12 or 13 jersey and thinking of Qld Under 16 next year,  that if he wants to trial,  the others will have to be very,  very good.  There were plenty of Qld Rugby people on hand to witness his very polished display across the whole day.  Good enough to walk into any first XV next year with ease.  Better still,  how does Joey Frey and Matt Berwick as Downs Opens Schoolboys centres sound.  Again I am thinking that as 16 year olds they would probably dominate all comers.  With Downlands allegedly to supply zero players to the Open Schoolboys tilt in 2009,  due to a clash with Grammar Day,  there are phenomenal opportunities for those outside the system to step up and have a  crack at rep rugby.  We saw plenty of good,  tough stuff on our journey to Goondi and Dalby in recent days.  Lots of photos to go up as we road test the brand new Canon EOS 50D digital for the first time,  so stay tuned.  Dalby State High School got the money over Goondiwindi State High School in the Under 13's by I think 20 to 17 with a last minute try.  This was an entertaining game of footy.  St Mary's won the Under 15's,  again over Goondiwindi State High School,   well it used to be St Marys,  now Our Lady Southern Cross College,  and Dalby State High School won the Opens,  over St Mary's,  or OLSCC.  The day here:

Thursday 16/10/2008:  The final afternoon of the Qld Rugby travelling roadshow (in South Qld at least) moved into Dalby yesterday.   The contacts in Dalby did a great job,  with alot of people in attendance,  and definitely not enough coaches to go around in a full on afternoon.  It was excellent to see so many turn up with an interest,  and plenty that have never played the game,  turning up to have a look.  It will be good to see these guys actually go around on Sunday in the "non traditional rugby schools" tournament hosted for the second year by Dalby.  I have heard there is another Michael Bermingham heading down from the South Burnett to rattle a cage or two; can't wait to see that.

Wednesday 15/10/2008:  Been a little while since I have been in here.  Still getting stuff rolling in about my final write up of the under 16 tournament.  Thanks for the compliments guys.  It's all good fun.  I note the Aussie Schoolboys knocked over those Kiwis in New Zealand,  two years of dominance over the old rugby enemy is a good thing,  and BSHS boy Eddie Quirk picking up the Man of the Match award after originally not being in the squad.

The Queensland Junior Reds programme moved to Goondiwindi yesterday.  What a great roll up out there in the border town.  While I don't make the decisions on who joins the college/Junior Reds programme,  I thought there was a very nice array of talent and toughness turn up to Goondi.  A key coach in the Goondi juniors informed me of a couple of gun prospects that were there,  and Qld Junior under 15 squad member Joe Frey turned up to showcase his wares.  A really good afternoon,  followed up with a nice storm,  might be a bit late for some of the wheat,  but beneficial to the later stuff and the summer crops,  and city folk,  trust me,  you need this rain out here as much as the rural folks.

Sunday sees the schools rugby competition in Dalby,  with schools like Goondiwindi State high School and Dalby State high School competing over the day.  Still plenty of rugby going on if you know where to look.

Saturday 04/10/2008:  All over,  Queensland Red won it and of course Queensland White get second,  in what was a great game of footy,  in fact it was a great day of footy.  Fantastic relaxed,  almost carnivale  type atmosphere.  Prior to the game I was very lucky to be able to get to speak with one of the Red Team's coaches,  one of the Red Team's players,  and one of the Red Team's player's mums.  Now the details of those chats will never be released,  but the mood of the camp and the feeling for the day was certainly encompassed in what was said.  A day in which Sydney Juniors beat their NSW Schools arch rivals to claim third.  There will be more to follow,  sometime over the weekend,  and photos,  just a few photos.  Match writeups here.  Qld Red vs Qld White Photos

Thursday 02/10/2008:  Pretty much my last offering now until some time Saturday,  I have to head down the coast after the footy for work,  and will not be home until late Friday night.  There will no doubt be plenty of other reports up before I get mine up so be sure and enjoy them.  Plenty of messages today,  and they all carried the one theme,  and naturally got me thinking.  Plenty of reasons to be happy,  Qld will come first and second,  for the first time ever in the Under 16's.  We should be very happy as rugby supporters that this has occurred.  We should be very supportive of those playing and those coaching and supporting;  the campaign and methodology has proved a great success.  Moreover,  many congratulations to the Qld boys,  you have done yourselves,  your state,  and your mums and dads very proud.  On a wider note though,  we should congratulate and thank every team that has made their way to Nudgee for the week,  without you all there would have been no tournament.  I for one hope that the last day is seen as a success,  that you have all enjoyed your time in Qld,  supporters too,  and that the rugby memories and friendships last a lifetime,  that is what the game is,  was and always will be about.  Trouble is,  you often don't realize it until it is too late.  Savour the moments,  and have a safe journey home.  I have lots of photos of many games,  do bear with me you guys from other states.  Qld Red vs Sydney Juniors Photos.  Qld White vs NSW Schools Photos

Wednesday 01/10/2008:  Finally a boilover,  Qld White nail NSW Schools for a spot in the final against Qld Red.   The NSW Schools side plays for 3 and 4 against Sydney Juniors,  and NSW country play for 5 and 6 against The Brumbies.  More to follow,  but I am slightly deaf at the moment from the amount of whistling,  and some really bizarre stuff from over zealous touchies.  The guy standing beside me said it all:"Officialdom gone mad".  I am also temporarily blinded from the reflection of sunlight hitting my eyes  due to the over use of Yellow Cards.  Never seen so many!  The day's action here:

Tuesday 30/09/2008:  NSW Country get really close to eliminating NSW Schools from the finals race,  but just fall at the final hurdle.  All the National Under 16 stuff here:  Qld White vs Vic photogallery:  Qld Red vs Brumbies Photogallery

Monday 29/09/2008:  The National Under 16 rugby tournament is only hours from kick off,  over there at Nudgee College.  See the day's draw here:  Looks like the weather will be perfect,  but not for rugby,  maybe 35 degrees,  blistering sunshine,  clear skies.  That's what you get this time of year in Brisbane.  QRU offices will largely be empty today,  I expect a large contingent of observers over at Nudgee,  along with any number of rugby league scouts and the usual array of parasite "player managers".  What most of these blokes know about management could be engraved on a pinhead,  there will no doubt be plenty of grief ahead for young players that will be told by them you "need" a manager,  when nothing could be further from the truth.

The rugby league this particular weekend just gone was not of the quality of previous weeks.  The Grand Final could be a little banal itself.  However the week was dominated by talk of grapple tackles,  and post match the Bellamy/Waldron spray at the NRL.  Some of the grapple tackles are quite nasty,  but don't think that outlawing the grapple will take wrestling out of the game,  and nor should it,  winning the battle on the ground,  be it 1 second or 10 is a key to resetting your defensive line or running at a jagged defensive line.  The focus of the wrestle will just change to the middle of the body,  torso somewhere,  they will have it worked out by next season.  If you want to witness violence,  real violence,  get yourself a copy of the Manly vs Cronulla 1973 Grand Final.  While any twisting and manipulation of the neck and head is or can be ugly,  there was every form of violence available in this game,  and plenty of it,  and the football was about a 10th as fast,  and a 10th as skilful.  The continued increase in the pace of the game has brought about the need to win the contest on the ground,  call it wrestling,  call it what you will,  but it will be a key part of both rugby codes,  particularly rugby league for a long time to come. 

Saturday 27/09/2008.  I hear Robbie Deans is running a coaching session for the NTS lads and coaches in Brisbane today.  Suffice to say it is closed and yours truly is not allowed to attend.  Rest assured,  I would have been there in a heartbeat.

Word is that the Sydney Juniors Under 16 side are favourites for the Nationals tournament this year.  I have to admit,  the draw is set up for a NSW Schools vs Sydney Juniors final next Friday,  a real old grudge match.  I do like an underdog and the Juniors would be them,  selected out of the club system in Sydney obviously and always play good,  bruising rugby.  Qld Red have a tough draw ahead of them,  Brumbies on Monday,  and assuming they win that,  Sydney Juniors on Wednesday.

The 2008/9 Junior Reds (formerly Regional Colleges) are set to get underway,  with a key meeting taking place yesterday with a potential service provider here in Toowoomba.  The programme will definitely take more steps forward this time around,  and it is really looking exciting in it's structure.  Can't give too much away yet,  but there are some very good developments about to be delivered in this current programme.

I hear many good things about Quade Cooper,  how competitive he is for one.  Looking at him last Sunday at the QJRU vs NSWJRU Under 17 match,  he also looks incredibly fit,  and has perhaps lost some of the excess muscle bulk he seemed to carry last year.  Let's hope from a Qld perspective that he gets back to the form we know he can deliver,  but also develops the supreme ability to concentrate through a whole game.  From my perspective,  it has been his mental application that has let him down.  It will come with age,  and he might turn 21 in 2009,  so he could play for a year or two yet.  He looks best when he underplays his hand for most of the game,  and unleashes the freakish impossibilities every now and then.

I am going to tip that in 2009,  James Slipper and Aidan Toua will make their Super 14 debuts.  Aidan Toua,  whose name as a search term still attracts hundreds in to this website is one thing,  he is a back,  but big James Slipper wears a number that is under 4,  and at 19 will have taken huge,  huge strides to butt down against the lies of Tony Woodcock from Auckland and The Beast from South Africa.  James is a big boy in his own right at about the 120 kilo mark but it was always his ability with the footy that impressed me when he was playing schoolboy footy.  Anyway,  write those two down,  see how I go in 2009.

Thursday 25/09/2008:  Finally got the Downs Under 16 photos up,  find them here.  Enough of Goughy at inside centre to have a gallery of his own.

Looking forward to the rugby league actually this weekend,  some cracking match ups again.  Cam Smith and Jeremy Smith out of that Melbourne lineup look to have weakened an already flat side,  but,  how many matches will/can Inglis be flat for.  I'll be in the Warriors camp,  get in with the underdog,  some really good footballers in that side,  and a genuine tough man in Ruben Wiki,  that started his career way back when in Canberra as a centre,  now a pretty fine prop.  I was told yesterday,  and I'd have to check,  that 4 of the Warriors players come from the Downs area.  I know Pricey is one but not dure of the other names mentioned.

Tuesday 23/09/2008:  I have been hearing lots of good things out of the Queensland Under 16 preparation,  which is a good thing.  Word is that the attitudes are right,  and that players and coaches are working together well.  Let's hope so,  and look for a big tilt against all the other competitors that will be flocking to Qld this coming weekend for the tournament at Nudgee.  Very much looking forward to a few days off watching the tournament myself.  There certainly has been some excellent underage,  free to attend rugby on over the last few weeks,  now unfortunately coming to an end,  with just the three days of Under 16's remaining.

Rumours abound already about the 2009 GPS season.  I already have several tips for the 2009 premiership,  and gun players better than anyone has ever seen before just "turning up" at schools.  Here's a tip guys,  we have got the rest of 2008,  then a long break,  then cricket and other summer sports,  some guys swim,  then the rugby will start.  It's a long,  long time to season 2009,  so let's not get too fussed about what might,  will or could happen in 2009.

Monday 22/09/2008: Plenty of rugby on over the weekend just gone,  too much to get to it all to be honest.  Friday night was the semi finals of the Ballymore Cup,  at Ballymore of course,  and on the main oval Mountain Creek State High School edged out Forest Lake State High School in semi Final one,  and Rockhampton Grammar touched up Helensvale SHS in Semi Final 2.  Gee the 13 and 5 looked the goods for Rocky.  Rocky did not go on to win the tournament though,  getting knocked over by Mountain Creek on Saturday.  I would have backed them for all money given Friday night's performances.  All of the other results are on the QRU website.

Yesterday,  Sunday 21/09/2008,  and the Brisbane Junior Rugby Union Under 15 side took on a similar club based outfit from NSW,  and lost narrowly,  31 to 22.  NSW had a very efficient backrow,  ably lead by their number 6 from Canterbury,  a big,  bruising ball carrier that may end up in the front row as the years roll on.  Boy he did some serious damage with ball in hand.  Second game for the day was the QJRU (club) Under 17 vs a similar side from NSW,  and the NSW side stitched Qld up by 40 odd to zero.  NSW were again lead by a very efficient backrow in their 7 and 8,  and were well served by their bone rattling Ma'a Nonu look alike at inside centre,  also named MOM,  their massive 13 and some other pacy operatives out wide.  I noted Fox Sports senior rugby commentator Greg Clark there at Ballymore yesterday,  and a Clark on the wing for the Under 15 NSW side,  so guessing they may be related.

And again some absolutely riveting rugby league over the weekend just gone,  two absolute blinders of games.  You would have had to watch these two matches (Warriors vs Sydney City) and (Broncos vs Melbourne Storm) to appreciate the speed and sheer physicality of the contests,  big,  big men hitting each other very,  very hard.  Melbourne are flat,  their big stars,  as good as they are just seem a little off the boil.  Not sure if they can win this thing from here.  If the Sharks hadn't lost their five eighth,  they could look the goods,  along with Manly,  but as the NRL has thrown up in the last couple of weeks,  there may be surprises in store in the final round of semis.

Monday 15/09/2008: The Darling Downs junior rugby grand finals yesterday showed some spirited and entertaining rugby across four age groups, U13 to U16.  My thoughts on them and some pics here.  Pics of the Under 13 and Under 14 grand finals up here now,  and a special 15manography feature photogallery on old props coaching rugby.  This is done at great risk to my personal health!  Under 15 Grand Final Pics.

Wednesday 17/09/2008:  Still plenty of good junior and schools rugby on offer in 2008,  with semi finals and finals of the Ballymore Cup on at Ballymore this Friday 19/09/2008 (Semi Finals) and Saturday 20/09/2008 (Final).  This is another competition outside the "purist" area,  and involves boys from lots of schools around Queensland.  For example a tough tackling Goodniwindi State High School side (Joe Frey Under 15 and Ryan Howles Under 16 attend Goondi SHS) was knocked out just last week.  There is a strong chance I will make the Friday afternoon match up.  I do like non traditionalists playing the game,  they have no preconceptions of how the game should be played.  Of course on Saturday,  the Dalby club takes on a touring Kenmore side,  in Under 14 at least,  out in Dalby.  Probably have a look at that one as well to round out the weekend.  The Under 14 match is at 10:30am.  I understand the matches at Ballymore on Friday night kick off at 5:15pm.

Sunday 14/09/2008:  Hasn't there been some magnificent rugby league this weekend?  I know that I'll never be admitted to the hallowed halls of leather patch jacketed rugby followers that don't want to believe that another code exists,  but,  can anyone go past the confrontational physicality of the Broncos vs Roosters on Friday night,  and isn't a correctly delivered shoulder charge something to behold.  I have to agree with Phil Gould that rugby is a little soft in it's stance on this physical part of the game.  Personally,  as a coach,  I'd be happy to see guys trying to shoulder charge,  because it rarely comes off,  and the ball carrier can hit,  spin and dive into the space behind the hitter and create some real havoc.  I see it as being much more risk for the hitting side than the side being hit.  O'Meley's and Shillingford's were absolute crackers on Friday night,  putting guys to sleep with massive hits.  That's one of the reasons people will keep watching rugby league,  they enjoy the brutal conflict and big hits as much as anything.

Locally yesterday,  Saturday 13/09/2008,  junior rugby league grand finals took place.  I went and watched the Under 16 match up that featured Ben Reuter (Gatton) (TGS) (Qld Red) number 6,  Michael Bermingham (Souths) (St Mary's Toowoomba) (Qld Red Under 16 tighthead prop),  Brandan Purcell (Souths) (Qld Under 16 triallist in the centres) (TGS,  ex St Marys Toowoomba), Luke Ferry, (Souths),  (Qld Under 16 triallist in the centres),  (TGS),   Ellis Jensen (Souths) (Concordia College) (Qld under 16 triallist at breakaway),  Ned Mott (Souths),  (TGS),  (initial Qld Under 16  Squad member) and Nick Bergen (Souths) (Downlands outside centre).  They were the dual code operatives that I knew.  Pretty impressive list.  For mine the players of that final were Ellis Jensen and Brandan Purcell,  with Ellis wearing the number 12 jersey and Purcell getting alot of carries and weaving alot of magic out of lock forward,  which leads me to my next point,  Ned Mott and Brandan Purcell have been played hopelessly out of position by their schools.  Mott's passing game and kicking game yesterday were very astute,  and I think he is probably very suited to 10 or 12,  Purcell definitely 10 or 12.   I have to ask, and have been asking for years,   why do these kids play much worse football at our local schools than they do, in what I would see as a much more physically confronting environment of club rugby league?  I know I have the answer but to publish it would kick up a mountain of trouble on rights and  wrongs amongst other things. Of course my old mate big Berm was reasonably damaging in limited forays,  until he delivered a shoulder charge as good as any you would see in the NRL,  putting old mate out for the count,  and getting himself a send off,  shoulder shots are illegal in junior rugby league,  but it was one of the biggest I have seen including those on Friday night.

Of course we had the Bledisloe test match last night as well.  Personally I thought it lacked something,  far too stop start and mistake riddled.  Giteau did some good things,  but in reality if you analyze it had a shocker.  I thought New Zealand were much more potent and dangerous with the subtle change of Nonu for Donald,  and moving to the much more traditional New Zealand rugby style of dual playmakers.  It really happened for them post that change,  some clever substitutions there by Henry.  I see plenty written and spoken about the test.  I thought Kaplan,  through over judicious refereeing took Richie McCaw out of the game.  I like what the All blacks do at the tackle contest,  if you note they get past the ball,  well past the ball and turn their shoulders or one shoulder down and seal the ball.  May be illegal under the Laws, but they are doing it at pace and with power,  and asking the referee to "referee" the game.  Australia just have to be faster and stronger to and at the tackle contest.  It's of little use bagging the ref when he will probably referee both sides in the same fashion,  and ref his perceptions of the laws,  a thick publication with many grey areas,  one of the things that makes the game great,  the ability to find out how a ref perceives the laws,  and the ability to apply alot of pressure to the man in the middle at test level.

Today of course is the Club junior Rugby Grand Finals here from Under 13 to Under 16,  so I will be heading along there for a look and some photos as well.  Would have loved to have taken some photos yesterday at the league,  but I didn't have any permissions in place,  so gave it a miss.

Saturday 06/09/2008:  Regional College 2009 is about to get up and running.  Hopefully the programme will show continued improvement over what we have delivered in the past.  The structure will certainly be different,  not quite so long and tedious,  but with some camps in there,  and hopefully access to the Reds staff at these things as well.  Looking forward to getting into it,  and hopefully helping to develop the next round of players from the Darling Downs.  We have some names on paper,  and there will be a series of regional spotting days very soon,  so watch this site and see when and where.  I hope to attend them,  but we want to take the programme to the regional areas this year as well,  spread the net so to speak.  Guys like Ellis Jensen and Big Berm will be expected to drive the programme's intensity in 2008/9,  and that should be good,  they are both nice,  physical,  direct players that are very easy to coach.

The week has seen two great coaches finish with their respective clubs in Brisbane,  Wayne Bennett after 21 years at the helm of the Broncos,  and Leigh Matthews at the Lions.  Not being a real AFL fan,  it is hard to comment on Matthews,  but Bennett,  has to go down as one of the greatest coaches of all time,  in any code,  up there with Jack Gibson.  He is certainly one that develops better people,  and develops mental toughness,  and if you don't develop that way under him,  then you go.  Not much question he could coach rugby,  and he is a sad loss to Qld.  I also see this morning that the great talent spotter,  former BSHS headmaster and 1st XV coach,  and just all round great guy,  Cyril Connell is to step down from the Broncos this year as well.  The guy is 80 odd,  and I have been hearing very ill.  Quietly spoken and respected and revered by all,  he will be another sad,  sad loss to the Broncos.  I can only say I was very privileged to have met him and shot the breeze with him over footballers he has seen over the years.  I will never forget the day out at Dalby that we were chatting,  amongst other greats like Rod Reddy,  Arthur Beetson (name dropping there),  and we were talking about the best footballers we had seen.  I said that Berrick Barnes was the best I had seen; Cyril said he was the second best he had seen (as a fifteen year old).  Upon asking,  he had no hesitation in naming Darren Lockyer,  and took me through how he heard about,  went and watched and recruited this great man of rugby league.

Sitting around watching the Broncos vs the Knights last night,  the conversation turned to a dream backline for Aussie rugby,  suffice to say,  not many of my "dream" are currently playing rugby.  How could you go past a backline that looked like this:  9.  Keiron Landers (I honestly believe that he would have made his international debut this year had he stuck with rugby,  what he did in his Aussie Schoolboy year to fight back early from a broken jaw and displace Josh Holmes in the Aussie Schoolboy side was very tough and adult.),  10.  Matt Giteau,  11.  Tuqiri,  12.  Greg Inglis,  13.  Israel Folau,  14.  Billy Slater,  15.  Karmichael Hunt.  Tough to leave Lockyer out,  but I did as he is at the end of his career,  but Hunt could play 13 and Lockyer 15.  People keep asking me where to play Greg Inglis,  and I say one of two things,  1.  Any two positions in the backline at the same time,  2.  If he wanted to play tight head prop,  I'd let him. (Forgot about this bloke,  I would also throw Cooper Cronk into the 9/10 equation,  and maybe even Cameron Smith.  Are Melbourne going to be hard to beat in this year's NRL or not?)

Thursday 28/08/2008:  So nice to see the Downs contingent still intact in the Qld Under 16 trials,  also good to see what most would term the "dark horses" still in the mix,  proving that you don't necessarily need to go to one of those elite schools to be able to mix it with those considered "the big boys" of rugby.  In fact I think those that may consider themselves "big boys" in rugby because of where they go to school,  will all struggle to mix it with Mick Bermingham,  he is a human wrecking ball.  We should also remember that Ben Reuter and Brandon Purcell were not at "rugby schools" in 2007,  first year at TGS in 2008,  and I will say I thought Purcell's talent set was poorly used there as well. Also excellent to see a dark horse there from Pittsworth High School,  being another red head from the escarpment,  I sure hope he is laying them in the aisles like his red headed mate,  Mick Bermingham   And a last word for Ellis Jensen,  from Concordia,  I will write something on Ellis after he is either cut or the whole thing is over,  just so you can understand what a world of pain he trialled through,  and just so you can understand what tough does and can mean. 

A short page here on my views on the Under 16 trialling,  page should get some hits,  readership needs a lift at the moment.  Good to see the Wallabies get up in Africa,  paid a heavy physical price though,  week two will be enormous in Johannesburg,  almost impossible to win there at the best of times,  let alone with key players out.

Saturday,  day 3 of the Under 15 tournament,  photos that I grabbed can be viewed here.

Sunday 17/08/2008:   What a spectacular day at Noosa.  The footy field was very dry,  but the day,  what a cracker.  Plenty of QRU and ARU hierarchy and dignitaries in attendance at the Under 15 titles.  Lots of players going around,  and a few that can really play,  a few really hot prospects from Peninsula,  Jordan Tighe the young flyhalf from Met West and IGS,  but again,  in the games that I watched,  awfully hard to go past Chris F'Sautia (how it is spelt in the programme) in the game against the Darling Downs.  He scored 3 or 4 or 5 tries,  and missed a couple of others,  demonstrated a big hit in defence,  and has a marvellous fend,  not unlike the big Greg Inglis one.  Expect to hear plenty more of this lad.  The 13 from South Coast also showed he can play the game pretty well.  The Downs boys got a bit of a touch up in this game,  and they didn't really react to how they should play against a side like this.  It looked like a few boys went missing under the physical onslaught,  which can happen,  the scrum got ripped open and it all fell apart from there.  Anyway,  we will write some more as the day goes on,  and put some photos up over the week.  I probably will be in strife for taking them,  but I did,  so we will see what happens on that front.  I think the Downs boys can beat a very poorly disciplined Met North side this afternoon. Read my wrap on a single day's viewing here:

Friday 15/08/2008: Word through from the Schoolboy Under 15 tournament that the Downs boys won both their encounters yesterday.  The gentleman that rang me also said that players performing well were Macalister Gee (flyhalf,  very impressed with is vision and game sense),  Angus Ryan and Keiran Fitzgibbon.  The Downs side was expected to win one game,  but apparently not two.  Nothing beats a good start in these tournaments.

That young schoolboy,  Jordan Rankin,  16 years old,  making his debut for the Titans on Monday night.  I have to hope they know what they are doing,  at 16 you have to be something special to be even considered,  but had the game been against the Sea Eagles,  or Melbourne,  he may have got killed.  Imagine someone like Cement Gillespie whacking a 16 year old.  I wish the lad luck,  just hope that he has not been blooded with the really big boys too early.

Sunday 03/08/2008 saw Darling Downs Junior Rugby kick off it's club premiership round,  and it was very good to see alot of boys turning out for this competition,  an Under 15 team from Warwick as well.   I remember turning up to grounds 5 or 6 years ago hoping that an opposition would turn up, this day saw plenty of action,  on two fields,  accredited refs,  grounds ready to go,  ambulance or medical personnel in place.  For those of you that believe rugby revolves around 9 games of school footy each year,  I have never seen it that way,  and club footy is a great forum allowing people that don't attend these schools to play and enjoy the code.  I am sure that there are more names out there than this one,  but watch the name Caleb Stoddard over the next few years,  currently Under 14,  outside the "school" system,  big tough,  ball playing lock.  This lad will go a long way,  and I have some great shots of him among others from Sunday to put up later,  so check back for them.  Caleb will also be in action for the Darling Downs under 15 schoolboy side next week at Noosa.

This week (Wednesday 06/08/2008) also sees the third term schools rugby get under way,  again an alternative competition that takes rugby to more people. This competition was fiercely contested 5 or 6 years ago,  with the league rivalries of St Josephs,  St Mary's Toowoomba and Dalby and Harristown making for some very physical and hard fought encounters.  The competition has died off of late,  but Russell Jackson from Mt Lofty has taken on the running of it this year.  Jacko is a local rugby stalwart,  and teacher at Lofty,  that will run the show pretty well.  Already a name to watch here is Blake Johnson,  a 12 or 13 with a really strong skillset,  has impressed us all so far.  I am sure there will be more that do,  there always are from this competition.

From the two rugby areas mentioned above,  remember the following names,  Mark Appleton, St Mary's Dalby,  Qld Schools 1 in 2007,  Michael Bermingham,  St Mary's Toowoomba,  Qld Under 15 2007 and I am sure will give Qld Red under 16 a tremendous nudge in 2008.

Saturday 01/03/2008,  Friday night club rugby was interesting last night,  and some comparisons were drawn to league programmes,  I give myself and my counterpart a massive rap here,  probably important that you all get yourself a coffee and read this,  I was taken to task last night over Broncos programme vs College programme,  and we are doing just fine.  I expect some heat over this piece,  but what the hell,  I am pretty pumped up at the moment,  few things starting to come together.

I go out to have a look at Friday night footy up here on the Downs,  and I'm in strife with referees,  standing on my own,  minding my own business and I'm still in strife with them,  we sure have had an ongoing relationship over the years,  read my latest stoush here:  I haven't watched any games yet,  but I note Qld went down,  and McMeniman may be out for a long time,  they can't afford that,  he is the starch of the pack in the limited time he spends on the field,  and also note the Force got up narrowly.  I'm two from two in a good tipping start to the weekend.  A little on the games of the Super 14 in week 2 to date here,  will update as we go.

Here is a little continuation of my tough guy outlook,  using as an example,  the Darling Downs' own version of tough,  Michael O'Leary.  Have a look at it,  seems you all just lap up everything I write,  as poor as it is at times,  and has been lately.

I meant to mention in my book review,  on Andrew Johns' book "The Two of Me" about one of the strange characters he outlined in one of the chapters.  The guy was Adam McDougall,  and he was allegedly before his time in his diet and training regime.  One of the bizarre things he used to do was suck egg white out of a bladder all day and all night,  and used to drink down alot of eggs worth of egg whites every day.  One can only hope that he was sucking down Sunny Queen Egg whites.  As good as Sunny Queen Eggs are,  I just couldn't suck down a couple of dozen raw,  chilled egg whites every day,  but if I could,  I would only choose Sunny Queen!

Here is the very first of my 2008 offerings,  a book review.  I was going to rush out and buy "The Two of Me",  but decided it might turn up at Christmas,  and it did,  twice.  Have a look at my book review here.  Also a very brief look at 2007