QC

[jono]

i wouldnt say no, however, how long would his contract be? would his comming here de-place someone else who we have already invested money and time into?

[jombi]

If he were signed I'd assume it would be the standard 2 or 3 years. And no he wouldn't be taking anyone elses place. Hill was only signed for this season and Hunt is far too green at the moment.

[jono]

yeah fair point. is he mature enough to mentor hunt?

[jombi]

Assuming he stays off the booze (which he has so far this season) then I think he would be.

O'Connor, Pocock & Sharpe would be a good influence for Cooper aswell.

[BDAVEY]

Assuming he stays off the booze (which he has so far this season) then I think he would be.

O'Connor, Pocock & Sharpe would be a good influence for Cooper aswell.

and spanner........

[Burgs]

Sadly, not sure I would include JO'C in that "good influence" group just yet, but there are plenty of other senior players. That was an unsung trait of Taipan.

Agree with you earlier Jombi, I get a bit jaded by the obsession of #10 being seen as some super star "Quarterback" type while the rest of the Backline can be hacks.
I guess it has evolved in the Pro era with Bernie, Jonny and Carter with the dominant position they held on controlling the match, but all of them required great players feedign them and running off them to reach the heights they did/have in the game.
I would be far more comfortable with a serviceman type #10 (such as a Hilgendorf or Hill) to be feeding a JO'C or Giteau at #12 than to expect miracles from these naturally gifted playmakers from the high pressure (tackling pressure I'm talking) closer position. It is only a modern trend to have this duel playmaker role and I think it will prove to be just that, a trend that will pahse out and rear its head again in another decade or so.

With our current wealth of quality S14 level Scrumhalves I would be interested in seeing Turner &/or Swanepoel being trained/tried, if not played in a couple of the SA Tour matches, at Flyhalf for 20 ,minutes or so.
And Hunt certainly needs some more exposure during this train wreck for next seasons benefit.

Hunt 182cm 86kg 11/08/91
O'Connor 180cm 84kg 05/07/90
Swanepoel 180cm 92kg 26/10/90
Turner 180cm 82kg 12/03/90

[James]

I'd prefer Hilgendorf to Cooper too but I don't think he will come back. The thing about Cooper is not that he is some kind of superstar but he passes the ball incredibly well which is conducive to the type of attacking game I want to see the Force play. In that mind, I'd take Stephen Larkham over Cooper too but again I don't see that happening. Another Hill or experienced 10 would also be fine. But we do need someone.

[jono]

if we can keep hill i think we would be ok. but like i said before i wouldnt say no to cooper.

i do think it would be a huge loss to the reds if he was to go. but thats professional sport. if he is going to benifit my preferred team i wont complain

[AndyS]

As I wrote earlier, I prefer to think of them as a grouping to be lined up as necessary. As James has noted, the real requirement for 10 is simply that he is an accurate and fast pass of the ball, even over distance. That applies equally to "star" or merely "serviceable" 10s, as the flip side of not expecting miracles is that the entire backline can be counterfeited by poor service. Nor can he always be afforded the luxury of standing too deep, for the same reason. Ideally he would also be able to kick long and accurate out of hand when required by the defensive patterns or weather....so the requirements do start to mount up a bit if you want consistent team performances in all conditions. It is either a star, or horses for courses.

Swanepoel is a hefty unit, isn't he? Interesting idea to give him a try at some other positions.

[Burgs]

Swanepoel is a hefty unit, isn't he? Interesting idea to give him a try at some other positions.

Yeah, he is the heaviest of the "agile" (as opposed to "power") Backs.
I dare say he would have been adding some extra to that pre-season weight with some non selection angst power sessions in the weights room too

[BDAVEY]

if we can keep hill i think we would be ok. but like i said before i wouldnt say no to cooper.

i do think it would be a huge loss to the reds if he was to go. but thats professional sport. if he is going to benifit my preferred team i wont complain

I would like to see Digby back as well I think he would benifit from having JOC inside him.... there was mention Hynes may follow QC. Get those three over would be interesting.... there must be another mining company with some $ TOCC would have something to post then!!!
Hill is committed to jAPAN FOR ANOTHER YEAR i HEARD

[jono]

buy his contract?

[BeeJay]

We're forgetting another excellent Reds flyhalf prospect that both Genia and QC are keeping out in the cold and that is Ben Lucas. I rate him as an excellent young flyhalf, who can kick, pass and run. What is the state of HIS contract? Does anyone know?

[GIGS20]

I don't rate Lucas all that highly, and neither did Phil Mooney (you know the guy who gave every man and his dog a run in Super Rugby) who played him at 9

[James]

He'll probably already be contracted otherwise the Force/Melbourne would have taken a crack at recruiting him. Between him, Tim Walsh and a couple of the Reds academy guys they would probably cope well enough without Cooper. Given the shitstorm that would follow you kind of start to hope Cooper won't sign with the Force. Mind you they kicked up that much of a fuss when Giteau did the same and its not like that heralded the end of the world.