Honest take, lads: this Brumbies backline has more talent than the
Mean take, but I'm with ya, this backline has more raw talent than anything the Saders can roll out, and if we're not at least making a final it's a proper waste. Any punter taking us each way on the TAB knows the talent's there, question is whether the coaching guts it out of them again.
And yeah, "Canberra's calling" at GIO Stadium when the Crusaders fans went dead silent, that was magic, but it should be the floor, not the ceiling. If one night of noise stays the highlight of the season we might as well start supporting a team that finishes above fifth 🤡
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✓Mean take, but I'm with ya, this backline has more raw talent than anything the Saders can roll out, and if we're not at least making a final it's a proper waste. Any punter taking us each way on the TAB knows the talent…More talent than the Crusaders on paper, sure, Andy. But how many seasons have we said that exact sentence? Talent's only worth anything once it's actually strung together for 80 minutes, and the Saders have been doing that drill for a decade. I'd take a final, no argument, but calling the season wasted before we've seen the combinations gel sounds like setting ourselves up for a whinge. On condition the halves stay fit, though, I might actually agree with you.Hype isn't an argument.
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Nah Nick, that "on paper" excuse is dead, you just know this mob's got it. GIO went quiet for a reason, mate 🔥💪 backing them all day!Heart with the team, head on pause.
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Nick's got a point, hard out. Paper talent means nothing until it stacks across 80 minutes, and I could be wrong, but our sample of "almost" seasons is getting embarrassing. 📊Do the math before you argue.
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remembers when we used to fill the old grandstands in the amateur days and sing till our voices went. And even then, the good sides were the ones who strung it together week after week, not the ones with the flashiest names. Seen worse sides than this backline win comps on stubbornness alone, and seen prettier ones fall over in the semis. Nick's got it right in my book. ah well, we'll see 😄Seen it all, lads.
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Andy, "raw talent", whose definition, exactly? Same phrase was used about our backline three years ago. I'll believe the Saders comparison when we beat them twice in a season, not before.
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GloryDays_4Life has a point about the three-years-ago line, I had the same phrase in my own spreadsheet back then and it aged terribly. I could be wrong, but I'd add a caveat to Andy's take too: talent only converts if the midfield combination actually settles, and our selections have churned too much to judge the ceiling yet. That GIO afternoon when Canberra's calling shut up the Saders section? I was there with my brother, voices gone by full-time. That's the standard, agreed. But a wasted season only happens if we keep treating highlights like the baseline.Do the math before you argue.
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ChrisDiehard mate, how many seasons has your spreadsheet said "settle the midfield"? Wondering what the TAB line was on us making a final three years ago too 😏💸Here to argue, not to nod along.
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Spreadsheet bloke and the TAB merchant arguing with each other is proper comedy tbf 😂 settling the midfield has been the cry since before some of our juniors I coach were walking. Saders lose a heap of big names and suddenly we're the flash ones, heard that song before too. Beat them in Christchurch first, then sing whatever you like at GIO, I'll be the loudest one there 💪One love, one side ❤️
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Heard every "we're the flash ones now" chorus since the amateur days, and it's usually sung a week before the Saders turn up. I'll believe it when Canberra's calling is routine, not a memory 😉Remember when the grass was greener 🌱
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Define "more talent" before we all start planning the parade - on paper, sure, the backs look sharp, but the Saders have been winning derbies with less-heralded names for years, so a sheet of careers and caps means nothing until the midfield actually settles for more than a month. I'll happily concede you might be right, on condition that combination gets more than two starts together before we judge it. Source on the depth being deeper, or just vibes from training sessions?
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Define "more talent" before we all start planning the parade - on paper, sure, the backs look sharp, but the Saders have been winning derbies with less-heralded names for years, so a sheet of careers and caps means nothi…@Retro_Faithful I'd nudge your "settle for more than a month" test slightly: a month of stability is roughly two full rounds plus a bye, which is barely a sample. What I'd actually want to see is whether the same midfield pairing gets four or five consecutive starts with the same outside centre, because combination continuity shows up in defensive alignment long before it shows up on the scoresheet. There's a nuance here too: caps measure longevity, usage rate measures fit, and the Saders' model has always been to win with guys whose numbers looked modest because the system fit them perfectly. BadBeatKing's point about touches inside the opposition 40 is the one worth tracking, I keep my own tab on that each round, and a back three starved of phase ball can look "less talented" than a middling pairing that gets clean front-foot ball every week. So the honest answer to your question is: the talent question is only decidable once we know whether the coaches intend to use them. 📊
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Retro, I'll grant you half the point: caps and reputations on a sheet have flattered this club before, and I've got the tabs to prove it. But "more talent" doesn't need a definition so much as a usage rate, how many of those backs actually touch the ball in phase play inside the opposition 40. That's the number I'd trust over any career list, and it's been depressed by a midfield that reshuffles every six weeks. Small sample though, pre-season form tells you nothing about May. FixIsIn, chur for the reminder about GIO - that chorus goes quiet awfully fast when the Saders' pack holds our launch platform, and talent means nothing at second phase if the set piece is under the pump. So both sides of this thread are half right, which is why I'm keeping my table open rather than stamping a verdict. Ask me again after two derby rounds and the midfield will have either settled itself or settled the argument for us. 📊Numbers > vibes.
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BadBeatKing, usage rate is the first sensible thing anyone's said in here, but even that's a lagging stat. A backline can hit a tidy usage figure against the Force and look like world beaters, then get zero quick ball against a set defence and the same stat reads fine because they touched it off first receiver. Nobody's put up receipts yet on how this midfield goes against a rush defence with a wet ball. Canberra calling being routine, as the veteran said, is the actual test. Until then it's another paper team, and I've watched enough of those get munted by the Crusaders in round one to know how that story ends.Sample first, conclusions after.