Jim Tucker
April 17, 2008 12:00pm
MATT Giteau will turn millionaire waterboy tomorrow night so he can act as a miked-up on-field "coach" to guide the Force backline around Suncorp Stadium.
Even though concussion has ruled Giteau out of the derby against Queensland, the Wallaby will be on the plane to Brisbane today with the Force playbook in his head.
Giteau's presence is to help comeback flyhalf Lachlan MacKay and exciting backup James O'Connor, the former Nudgee College prodigy picked on the bench for the first time at just 17.
Giteau is following the trend set by ACT Brumbies captain Stirling Mortlock, who was a water runner for the opening six rounds while getting over his shoulder reconstruction.
Mortlock was a valuable on-field voice to settle the "Baby Brumbies" backline while relaying miked messages from the coaches' box or offering his own calls on the run.
"Tactically, Giteau knows everything about the running of the Force backline so he'll be of some strategic value to them, but we'll only start worrying if he throws away the water bottle and starts kicking goals," said Reds backs coach Damon Emtage.
"At the end of the day, it's the players winning or losing games, not the guy running messages."
SANZAR regional tournament director Peter Rowles said there were still guidelines to make sure a water runner did not overstay his welcome on the field.
He said it was up to referee Stuart Dickinson to police water runners such as Giteau so they did not enter the field of play except at the designated breaks for injuries and tries.
"You see water runners trying to stretch the boundaries, so refs are chipping some fellows for hanging around during penalty shots when they should be back on the sideline," Rowles said.
Reds coach Phil Mooney put the acid right on MacKay yesterday when querying just how much the Force loses without Giteau's silky skills.
"The guy coming in at flyhalf is no Matt Giteau. He limits their kicking and the team is more limited in passing," Mooney said.
He did not mention the loss of Giteau's sparkling footwork and pace, which will force in-form backs Drew Mitchell, Cameron Shepherd and Ryan Cross to create far more on their own.
Having Giteau nearby will be especially reassuring for O'Connor, who is just 83kg but with superb footwork, just like his role model.
"I like the way Matt Giteau plays. He's really dynamic and was a big influence on me moving over to Perth," O'Connor said.
"I've really learnt a lot from him, Lachie and the other guys. This is going to be awesome. The nerves will be up there but hopefully I can play well in front of family and friends."
