Be honest, mates: this Brumbies backline is the best we've had since
Sad to break it to you, but you're actually right for once π This backline rewinds the clock nicely. The centre pairing is putting up assist numbers most games that make old boys go quiet quick. Was watching a mate of mine squirm trying to argue the Mortlock crowd ran prettier angles, then he checked his own memory and shut up. I threw NZ$20 on them topping the Australian conference before the season and the TAB line looked generous then, looks charitable now. Keep dying on that hill, I'll bring the win rates π€‘πΈ
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βSad to break it to you, but you're actually right for once π This backline rewinds the clock nicely. The centre pairing is putting up assist numbers most games that make old boys go quiet quick. Was watching a mate of miβ¦Quiet quick because they've got no answer, or quiet because nobody's actually shown a comparison? You're waving at "assist numbers most games", against which defence, over how many rounds, measured how? Mortlock played through proper finals campaigns, so until someone puts the two records side by side I'm not buying the 2004 talk off vibes alone.
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GloryDays has got a point buried in there, to be fair, "pass the eye test" is how blokes talk themselves out of looking at the actual sample. I keep my own column on these two every round, and the honest answer is: the assist rate compares nicely with the Mortlock-era pairing on a per-game basis, but the caveat is we're working off a much smaller sample of matches. Mortlock and Giteau stacked those numbers across years of Super 12/14, including finals footy where the defences were Rugby World Cup-hardened. Current pair's doing it against this season's field, which has been generous in the midfield more than once. So yes, they're tracking well and I won't argue the direction, that's a genuine comparison with Mortlock's rate, roughly on par, maybe ahead depending which rounds you count. But anyone asking you to die on the hill before they've done it against a proper finals defence, over multiple seasons, is getting ahead of the tape.Numbers > vibes.
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Back in '04 I was standing on the hill at Canberra with a warm flat white watching Mortlock pull defenders out of the frame like he was rearranging furniture, and I'll tell you what. The numbers only half explain that bloke. His pairing didn't rack up assists every week because the game was different then: tighter defences, ruck rules that slowed everything down, and you earned your width the hard way. So when the young fellas today put up per-game assist numbers that look comparable, my honest read is they're doing it in a game that hands you more chances to shine. Which, funnily enough, makes it a fairer comparison than the old boys admit, more opportunity, sure, but these two are converting their share of it. GloryDays is right to ask about the sample though, and the Guru's column is the closest thing we've got to a proper one.Seen it all, lads.
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SamUltra, mate, you're remembering the highlights reel and forgetting the workers, who do you think fed Mortlock all those wrecking-ball moments? Larkham and Giteau put in tidy, clever shifts every week so Stirling could do his thing, and this current pair are doing the same job for their finishers. Seen worse debates than this one, but tidy hands won us a Super 12 back in the day too π
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SamUltra, mate, you're remembering the highlights reel and forgetting the workers, who do you think fed Mortlock all those wrecking-ball moments? Larkham and Giteau put in tidy, clever shifts every week so Stirling couldβ¦@FrontRow88 nah mate, fair call, the tidy workers always get forgotten eh π₯ But Retro nailed it, feeding finishers behind a pack getting bashed every week is a different job entirely. Watched the juniors I coach, even they know good service needs front foot. Judge them in two seasons, ah well, nowt to do πͺHeart with the team, head on pause.
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FrontRow88 makes the fair point, but the comparison only holds on condition that we're measuring the same job. The '04 crew fed Mortlock in a side that dominated possession up front; the current pair are doing it behind a pack that loses the collision battle more weeks than not. Same assist numbers, harder conditions, which actually strengthens the argument if anything. What I'd want to see before anyone declares this the best since 2004 is the same rates against the top two or three defensive sides, bro, anyone can clock tidy numbers against a leaky midfield. Beat the well-drilled defences at the same clip and I'll concede the hill is worth dying on. Until then, I'll believe it when I see it in the business end of the season.
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Retro_Faithful has hit on the real caveat: assists per game mean sweet nothing if you don't weight them for the pack serving them up π Even a couple of games against a fat forward deficit won't settle this either way - sβ¦@Retro_Faithful this is bang on tbh πͺ Fed the ball behind a retreating pack myself for years and it's a whole different game, you're passing off the back foot hoping the bloke outside pulls off a miracle π± '04 pair had front foot ball served up, no comparison really. You just know that counts for plenty π₯Heart with the team, head on pause.
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FrontRow88 makes the fair point, but the comparison only holds on condition that we're measuring the same job. The '04 crew fed Mortlock in a side that dominated possession up front; the current pair are doing it behind β¦Nah @Retro_Faithful, but the raw service they deliver is still next level bro. You gotta give 'em credit for even making it work, tbh. π€―β¨One love, one side β€οΈ
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Retro_Faithful has hit on the real caveat: assists per game mean sweet nothing if you don't weight them for the pack serving them up π Even a couple of games against a fat forward deficit won't settle this either way - sample's too small to crown anyone yet. So colour me unconvinced in both directions; keen to see how the pair travels against a top defensive line before I pick a hill to die on.