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My two cents:
2-3 years ago Wykes put together a good run of games at lock/6 when we had some horrendous injury problems but then got injured himself. This year he's got himself back to that level and maybe even surpassed it. I don't think he'll ever get a Wallaby gig, and suffers much like KBomb in being a touch too small for an ideal player in their position, but more than makes up for it in application.
Pek, Darwin and KBomb are an awesome front row; not surprised that KBomb is heading off if he can't get the call up for the Wallaby long-squad after this season. I'm not sure Ollie is ready for Super Rugby yet, or if one of Pek and Faulkner can switch sides for next year.
I'm not quite sure what to make of Steenkamp; certainly our line-out looked very good earlier this season with him in the team, but he didn't seem to do much round the park (I don't know the stats - maybe I didn't see much of him because he was at every ruck). Coleman has potential but is still young.
The back row have been simply amazing, especially considering we lost Alcock and MMM for most of the season. The back row quartet of Cottrell, Hodgo, Benny Mac and Rhino rivals Hodgo, Pocock, Brownie and Benny Mac in their prime, and getting Alcock back next year (I hope) will only improve things. I won't miss Madness - good player but replaceable.
Alby had an up and down season. At his best he's among the top 9s in the comp, but had off games where he was slow to the breakdown, slow to pass and/or kicked stupid box kicks (which may have been a planned tactic, but wasn't one which worked often enough). Prior looked OK but I'm not sure is the 9 to take us to the next level (yet, anyway).
Sias was also Jekyll and Hyde. His place-kicking has improved massively (the Cheetahs fans bemoaned he couldn't hit a barn door when he was with them!) and some of decision making has been great, but again he kicks too often and too inaccurately (ie, straight to players rather than to space). He's improved in two seasons, but has he improved enough to warrant keeping him, or should we put faith in Holmes? Might be a tough one for Foley to decide on.
Losing Godwin to injury was tough; he didn't make the breaks this year that he did last, but was a fantastic defender covering the 10-12 channel and seemed to have a good understanding with Junior. Junior's improved a lot from last season and provides us with a bigger 13 which seems to be the way Australian teams are heading these days. CTM covers both spots and possibly the wings, too. Ledys looked good in the limited time I saw him play.
Losing Morahan was more of a blow than I think people realise; he nailed one wing spot and was possibly outplaying the Badger. DHP can nail down the full-back spot if Jayden is leaving, and Brache might get the other wing, or we recruit a full-back and let DHP play the other wing. I think we can cover losing Badger and Jayden, but it'll hurt our depth at the one time when our backine has actually looked like having some.
As to the tactics - I think we have to think less conservatively. Too often when the ref has put the opposition on a warning we've taken the 3 points on offer; kick for the corner (or a quick tap) and stay on the offensive. Only getting 3 try bonus points hurt us this year - the Highlanders made the finals with 8 wins but we lost out with 9 by not going for the jugular.
Also - stop kicking! We look a far more effective team when running the ball.
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Originally Posted by chibi
