George Gregan

[Flamethrower]

Has George shown that he deserves his spot???
He is getting slower but which other half back could have made a tackle like that to save a certain try.

[Darren]

I was thinking alongf similar lines - be made some great plays, but 2 minutes later I was just cringing at how slow he was. Overall he did well against this particular opposition on the night - lets see what next week holds, I'm guessing the english will be all over him...

[Happy]

he showed last night he is still the best half-back we have to offer.. I'm not sure what that says about australian rugby though...

[The InnFORCEr]

Sure he's back in pretty good form however by continually starting him and not giving others a chance in his spot could leave us very vulnerable in a key position come RWC 2007. My thinking is if he's still good enough come the time, then great, but we should have other options covered.

[Burgs]

I think he is certainly the best Half we have in the near future and, baring injury, this performance shows that he will lead us into the World Cup.
While "That Tackle MkII" was inspirational on the night, it also demonstrates the steely resolve that Gregan has to not be a passanger and to lead by example. It was exactly the type of incident that he needed to get the blood pumping again.
That said, I also agree with you TIF, we do need the others coming through in case of injury etc.
Valentine gave a fair account of himself on debut with limited time and deserves another run for sure. I would save Cordingley for Ireland to allow him plenty of time to heal from his injury.
This match was far more about stopping the rot rather than trying new combinations that weren't vital (such as the Front Row), so Gregan was always going to stay on until the game was safe.
Now that a win is under the belt I would think that the Reserve Half will get more time in the next two matches.
In that same line, there are only so many positions that Knuckles will want to expose in one go, so I think it may be more appropriate to leave Gregan on as the General while they work through other positions such as the Front Row, Back Row and Centers and then next year start fiddling with the back up Scrumhalf-5/8 combinations, following exposure during the next S14, once a few questions have been answered in those other positions.
This will leave the first pick combination of Gregan-Larkham fresher for the WC and have the back up info more current on possible replacements.

[shasta]

I voted 1, but we need another option in the poll. I reckon "the cavalry" has already returned in Cordingly, when he's fit. For mine he'll strongly challenge for the starts and I think Connolly may well rotate the two for a while.
He must see more in Valentine than I do. I'd have given Brett Sheehan a shot.

[Burgs]

Made the change and changed your vote for you Shasta

[The EnForcer]

I was one of those who was writting off Gregan earlier this year but after his performance on Sunday he deserves his no. 1 spot. He bugs the living crap out of me when he starts gobbing off but if he can continue to play like that then I can tolerate it.

[Sagerian]

He's the best we've got to offer but others need to be given time in that spot. Hopefully we can smack England and Ireland around so some of these backup scrummies can get on before the 70 minute mark.

[Burgs]

Well, regardless of our opinions, the media has reported today that with Cordingley fit again and Gregan nursing a corkey, the preseason plan of resting Gregan and starting Cordingley in Melbourne can go ahead.
The best bit of that is, assuming Gregan runs out at Subiaco, we will be there to witness his record breaking appearance of 120 International caps, finally putting to bed the poms tenious hold on the title by including Lions caps!
I have a vague memory that last year his National record was set at Subiaco?

[Happy]

100 games ... certainly was Burgs!!!

[shasta]

putting to bed the poms tenious hold on the title by including Lions caps!

Hmmmm. Don't the home teams award caps to their players on Lions tours?
Seems fair if they do.

[Burgs]

Not 100% there Shasta however also a case of only one Lions Tour to each SH Nation every 12 years, where as the Lions players get two or three cracks during their careers.
Don't get me wrong, I think Jason Leonard was a terrific player and it is only five matches either way.
In any case, it is bound to be broken this year and, if he does play right through to the WC, the new mark could be in the low 130's and unlikely to be broken again.

[Burgs]

Just looking at his record Shasta, it would appear that Gregans does include the three matches for Australia v Lions but I think it does not include turning out for the Southern Hemisphere XV last year.

[shasta]

Just looking at his record Shasta, it would appear that Gregans does include the three matches for Australia v Lions but I think it does not include turning out for the Southern Hemisphere XV last year.

Anyone see any merit Southern Hemisphere XV touring every 4 yrs between World Cups. Probably hypothetical unless the Kiwis put it forward as their idea. Otherwise they would probably refuse to take part - just to piss the Aussies off

Not sure myself, but with the demise of "real" tours it might be of some interest.