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Markus

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Joined August 2014

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Harrison a surprise for sure. He was good in the 2003 world cup but that was the only he went to, and don’t think it tops his 2001 Lions tour where he dominated in the decider on debut.

Vickerman did go to 3 world cups which potentially set him apart from the other lock options in this round.

Greatest XV: 'Big imposing bear you wanted to be around'- Dan Vickerman was the 'hardest worker' on and off the field

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Today

Criteria being open to interpretation has made for some good discussion 😊

Greatest XV: 'Best player I've seen' - Australia's magnificent 7, despised by All Blacks and cherished by Eddie

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3d

Strong over the ball, nabbed multiple clutch breakdown penalties during the SR season.

'We've got a few out': Slipper set to miss RWC opener as Eddie opens up on 'fascinating experiment' campaign

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3d

And as a captain, knowing to work with what you have too. Unless your kicker’s last name is Steyn, opting for the shot at goal from +45m out and/or 2m from the sideline is generally not the best decision.

'It's special': Gordon won't shy away from kicking as Wallabies open up on Gregan's timely RWC advice

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3d

I get that reasoning, but when a player is only as good as the team around them, I had to lean toward how much an individual contributed to the team’s overall standing in their RWCs.
David Wilson for example. As great as he was, with the quality of that 1999 team they would have won with another 7. With someone like Pocock, the Wallabies were 100% not making it out of the Quarters in 2011 or to the final in 2015.
EDIT: I’ve somehow been completely overlooking this whole time that Pocock was able to be strapped back together long enough to be a part of the 2019 RWC too.

Greatest XV: 'Best player I've seen' - Australia's magnificent 7, despised by All Blacks and cherished by Eddie

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3d

Realistically Smith as winner was never in question, but I like that the scoring shows just how blessed the Wallabies have been at openside for so long.

I think Pocock’s strong ratings for second are absolutely fair too when the voting is strictly for world cup showings, and how critical he was for the Wallabies getting as far as they did in both the 2011 and 2015 tournaments.

Greatest XV: 'Best player I've seen' - Australia's magnificent 7, despised by All Blacks and cherished by Eddie

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3d

Tied at 2 each – Smith in 2003 and 2007 Pocock in 2011 and 2015.
Smith greater impact for the Wallabies over the course of his longer more durable career, but Pocock was team of the tournament in 2015 and literally stole the 2011 QF win against the Springboks.

Greatest XV: 'Bloody special': Three meat pies and flailing fists announced Toutai Kefu to the world

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4d

Fantastic player, seems he is finally being truly appreciated even by die hard Waratahs fans who spent years insisting Whittaker was better.

Farr-Jones also a great of course, but hard to go past someone who started at 4 world cups, won one and captained to a hard-fought runner up in another.

Greatest XV: 'Like reffing in a train station': Sublime skills and scathing sledges sum up Australia's top No.9

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5d

The early exit was the forwards being completely smashed off the park. Having a very rookie flyhalf in Barnes definitely didn’t help, but weren’t too many options after Larkham Flatley and Rogers all became unavailable the year of the RWC.

There were no other Aus scrumhalves on Gregan’s level in 2007. Connolly was running with Giteau as his emergency backup scrumhalf and no bench scrumhalf because of how far the drop was after Gregan.

Greatest XV: 'Like reffing in a train station': Sublime skills and scathing sledges sum up Australia's top No.9

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5d

“If refs let the game flow, Ireland are cooked.”
The irony being that refs who have let the game flow have always let the breakdown become a slow unmanageable mess. NZ refs were really bad for this all SR season, Doleman in particular.

World Cup Top 10 Power Rankings: Wallabies' missing piece, ABs still possess super power, and why France edge Ireland

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6d

“He will also guarantee we end up on the wrong side of an abominable penalty count”
How do you actually figure that one? White is the one forcing the team to have horrendous discipline year in year out? The team doesn’t actually have horrendous discipline at all, just every referee in world rugby is determined to penalise the team because White annoys them at a personal level?

People’s personal dislike of White makes for some utterly radical takes.

'Couldn't blow out a candle': Vunivalu vindicates Eddie's huge call as ex-NRL star finally delivers for Wallabies

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6d

Not an athletically gifted x-factor prodigy lacking refinement, nor a monster kicker, nor a safe as houses wise above his years.
Donaldson is just sort of okay.

WILL GENIA: Why Eddie had to choose between Nic and Quade, moment I felt Hoops was done, hardest done by duo

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3w

How they compare to each other is not relevant.
They are the two strongest ball running scrumhalf options, and among the weakest passing and kicking ones.

WILL GENIA: Why Eddie had to choose between Nic and Quade, moment I felt Hoops was done, hardest done by duo

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3w

And credit for trying. Even his original signing and contract value struggled to stand up to scrutiny, even harder now given the complete lack of form he has shown in 3 years in the game.

WILL GENIA: Why Eddie had to choose between Nic and Quade, moment I felt Hoops was done, hardest done by duo

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3w

Was talking in the context of attracting interest from league followers, and yes Dell was a beloved Broncos and QLD origin member.

Definitely caused some resentment among rugby fans who thought he wasn’t good enough to warrant Wallabies selection, but he was still a very likeable character.

WILL GENIA: Why Eddie had to choose between Nic and Quade, moment I felt Hoops was done, hardest done by duo

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3w

Fines’ strengths and weaknesses are identical to McDermott’s though, they offer no point of difference to each other. They just don’t seem to align with Eddie’s commentary either – if possession rugby is dead why select two ball running scrumhalves with weak kicking games.

And as the Sgt says, if he was a good choice then he should have had some game time to make sure he can gel with the team, or cut it at test level, before taking him to a RWC.

WILL GENIA: Why Eddie had to choose between Nic and Quade, moment I felt Hoops was done, hardest done by duo

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3w

Rogers and Tuqiri were Origin and Kangaroo stars. Dell was too, in addition to being a larger than life character and fan favourite.

Vunivalu never played Test or Origin. He didn’t even play for a team based in NSW or QLD. He has no interest from rugby league followers, nobody outside the Melbourne Storm cared he signed for rugby, and the Storm have long since moved on.

WILL GENIA: Why Eddie had to choose between Nic and Quade, moment I felt Hoops was done, hardest done by duo

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3w

Tate box kicked possession away in literally the first phase of the game. Multiple more times after that he kicked it back uncontested to a rampaging McKenzie and Jordan.

Say what you want about the strategy, but the box kicking happens under every scrumhalf the Wallabies have, even back under Genia. But criticism of the quality of White’s box kicks is just baseless, because he is without question the best in Australia at it.

WILL GENIA: Why Eddie had to choose between Nic and Quade, moment I felt Hoops was done, hardest done by duo

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3w

The one potentially saving grace for the Wallabies would be Wales remaining as terrible as they have consistently been for the last 2 years.

Exclusive: Quade, Hooper to miss World Cup selection as Jorgensen rockets into squad

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4w

Wallabies started to give the ball back to the ABs at literally the first touch of the game.

ANALYSIS: One huge weight off Eddie Jones' shoulders - but several glaring weaknesses he still must fix

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4w

It’s favouritism that White has been consistently the best 9 for the Wallabies the last 4 years. Gordon and McDermott both got ample chances to prove they were a better option and were unsuccessful every time.

The latest Tate hype will wear off soon enough too, when the Wallabies don’t start magically winning and people realise he still can’t pass left to right.

Why Nic White can’t be on the plane to France

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4w

You should watch the replay some time if your heart can take it.

After Nic White kicked a 52m penalty to get the 6 point lead, the Wallabies needed to hold the ball for 3 minutes to close out the game. They turned over the ball to the ABs twice in the first 45 seconds of that, and luckily got it back a third time after White dived on a loose pass. The ABs had pushed the WBs back 10 metres in 3 phases and had a completely set defensive line.
The box kick might not have been the right decision, but nothing else they were trying was saving that game for them either.

Why Nic White can’t be on the plane to France

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4w

They are also conditioned to only have such a visceral reaction when Nic White is doing it.
How many did Tate put up on the weekend, and how many of those did Will Jordan turn against us?

Why Nic White can’t be on the plane to France

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4w

Kerevi didn’t singlehandedly turn around a decade of systemic issues for the Wallabies, so we have to turn against him and move on to the next saviour.

Wallabies star to have operation on broken hand in latest Rugby World Cup speed bump

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4w

Disagree. Being part of a world cup winning team does not mean you were a fundamental and irreplaceable part of the winning team. Whereas there are players from unsuccessful teams who were critical to the team even making it out of the pool stages.

Openside flanker is probably the perfect example. David Wilson was a great player but falls well short of George Smith or David Pocock, whose MOTM performance in the 2011 QF against the Boks singlehandedly got the Wallabies into the semis and would be up there as one of the greatest Wallabies world cup performances of all time.

The Roar's Greatest Wallabies Rugby World Cup XV Poll closes TONIGHT!

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4w
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