Farah relishing prospect of Test debut

[barra]

I agree, Hayne might play mature at times but he certainly didn't sound mature with that one.

 

[senexx]

What's sheen's test record WDL

1-1-0

That right?

 

[Marshall_magic]

yep, and the kiwis get better as a series goes on.

 

[stryker]

Heaps happy for Robbie and cant wait to watch him go.
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\
But, if i have to be honest, i dont understand the selection. Gidley, while overrated, covers so many postions if there's any injuries, and they replace him with a specialist hooker? What makes it even more odd is that Cameron Smith is an 80 minute player, its sort of like having 2 halfbacks in the squad, u just wouldnt do it. What happens if an outside back gets injured?

**While i believe Robbie is the best 9 in the world,** i see this as a very biased selection by Sheens. But here's hoping he gets some good game time and gets an early jump on Ennis for the Blues job next year.

I'd really love to see Slater go down injured in the first 5 minutes and Robbie come at 6 pushing Lockyer to fullback and Farah get MOM.

This quote appears on this forum regularly and it gives me the poo's a bit as it is total nonsense. Not singling you out here Sirro a lot on here think this way, including the Australian coach, but it is just plain not true and was again emphasised today.

I can not explain why but Robbie just isn't up to rep football at this stage in his career

 

[king_sirro]

Heaps happy for Robbie and cant wait to watch him go.
\
\
But, if i have to be honest, i dont understand the selection. Gidley, while overrated, covers so many postions if there's any injuries, and they replace him with a specialist hooker? What makes it even more odd is that Cameron Smith is an 80 minute player, its sort of like having 2 halfbacks in the squad, u just wouldnt do it. What happens if an outside back gets injured?

**While i believe Robbie is the best 9 in the world,** i see this as a very biased selection by Sheens. But here's hoping he gets some good game time and gets an early jump on Ennis for the Blues job next year.

I'd really love to see Slater go down injured in the first 5 minutes and Robbie come at 6 pushing Lockyer to fullback and Farah get MOM.

This quote appears on this forum regularly and it gives me the poo's a bit as it is total nonsense. Not singling you out here Sirro a lot on here think this way, including the Australian coach, but it is just plain not true and was again emphasised today.

I can not explain why but Robbie just isn't up to rep football at this stage in his career

Your probably right. I should have said i believe he's the best club hooker in he world. Because at club level, i wouldnt swap him for anyone, but i agree he hasnt proved himself at rep level so it a bit hard to say he's the best in the world.

 

[fulleightyminutes]

Farah wasn't starting -which wasn't ideal - but Cam Smith looked the more seasoned hooker this morning. I'm sure Robbie will get better and more confident the more rep footy he plays. He didn't look out of his depth at all I just think Smith looked more polished…hate to say it.

 

[Balmain_Tiger]

i think its stupid how people say farah being selected is favoritism..
if this was the case im sure we would see lawrence and galloway also

 

[stryker]

i think its stupid how people say farah being selected is favoritism..
if this was the case im sure we would see lawrence and galloway also

Probably would have if they weren't injured…...

Point is though that Sheens has two guys in his squad that are far better suited to being the bench utility i.e. Cronk and Lewis.
You cant blame other supporters for claiming bias for chucking a specialist hooker in as the utility, the fact that he had very little impact is only fueling the fire

 

[Geo]

Heaps happy for Robbie and cant wait to watch him go.
\
\
But, if i have to be honest, i dont understand the selection. Gidley, while overrated, covers so many postions if there's any injuries, and they replace him with a specialist hooker? What makes it even more odd is that Cameron Smith is an 80 minute player, its sort of like having 2 halfbacks in the squad, u just wouldnt do it. What happens if an outside back gets injured?

**While i believe Robbie is the best 9 in the world,** i see this as a very biased selection by Sheens. But here's hoping he gets some good game time and gets an early jump on Ennis for the Blues job next year.

I'd really love to see Slater go down injured in the first 5 minutes and Robbie come at 6 pushing Lockyer to fullback and Farah get MOM.

This quote appears on this forum regularly and it gives me the poo's a bit as it is total nonsense. Not singling you out here Sirro a lot on here think this way, including the Australian coach, but it is just plain not true and was again emphasised today.

I can not explain why but Robbie just isn't up to rep football at this stage in his career

Your probably right. I should have said i believe he's the best club hooker in he world. Because at club level, i wouldnt swap him for anyone, but i agree he hasnt proved himself at rep level so it a bit hard to say he's the best in the world.

Was Robbie that bad….?

 

[Tigerdave]

he wasn't bad, did look a little out of place though, probably a little nervous

 

[Moh]

i think its stupid how people say farah being selected is favoritism..
if this was the case im sure we would see lawrence and galloway also

Probably would have if they weren't injured…...

Point is though that Sheens has two guys in his squad that are far better suited to being the bench utility i.e. Cronk and Lewis.
You cant blame other supporters for claiming bias for chucking a specialist hooker in as the utility, the fact that he had very little impact is only fueling the fire

How is Cronk a better utility?

 

[stryker]

i think its stupid how people say farah being selected is favoritism..
if this was the case im sure we would see lawrence and galloway also

Probably would have if they weren't injured…...

Point is though that Sheens has two guys in his squad that are far better suited to being the bench utility i.e. Cronk and Lewis.
You cant blame other supporters for claiming bias for chucking a specialist hooker in as the utility, the fact that he had very little impact is only fueling the fire

How is Cronk a better utility?

I believe that he is of better value in the utility role as he can cover hooker/dummy half - not as good as Robbie but still good enough for this standard and he far exceeds Rob in the halves. Add this to the fact that he is capable of ordering and leading a team around the field in big games - he's been playing finals footy practically his whole career.

I love seeing Robbie do his thing at Wests Tigers level, but in the high pressure rep arena, there is something missing from either his preparation or just his game in general. He's just not there yet…...

 

[king_sirro]

U know what i think it is Stryker, Robbie does things a little too slow for rep level. He needs to work on doing everything that split second faster, and when he does, i think he can be just as dominant at that level as he is at club level.

I'll have to disagree with u when u say Cronk far exceeds Robbie in the halves. I think Robbie would be up there with Thurston and Prince as a halfback….........but of course thats un-proven and just my prediction.

 

[Moh]

I do agree that he hasn't proven himself at rep level Stryker, totally. Been very average. I'm a big fan of Cronk too.

But I do agree with King Sirro in that Robbie is quite a good half. And a very good point made about his speed out of the ruck, he does seem very hesitant. Was evident with his first two touches especially.

 

[G_Strombolli]

Looks like Robbie is going to get another chance:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/lhqnews/half-empty-lockyer-jt-to-lift/2009/11/03/1257010197212.html?page=fullpage" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Cameron Smith will be rested and Robbie will be starting hooker. I hope, for his sake, he goes into the game with the nerves under control and he has a blinder. There will be plenty of points on offer, Robbie has to take advantage.

 

[Guest]

Looks like Robbie is going to get another chance:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/lhqnews/half-empty-lockyer-jt-to-lift/2009/11/03/1257010197212.html?page=fullpage" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Cameron Smith will be rested and Robbie will be starting hooker. I hope, for his sake, he goes into the game with the nerves under control and he has a blinder. There will be plenty of points on offer, Robbie has to take advantage.

The Aussies should towel France and Robbie really should carve them up around the ruck if they play to potential.

 

[Guest]

FARAH TALKS OF HIS TEST DEBUT
Wednesday, 4 November 2009

Wests Tigers captain Robbie Farah has spoken of his pride in pulling on his first Australian jersey.

Farah spoke to Wests Tigers Media Officer Wayne Cousins about his Test debut and playing against Gareth Ellis. Farah has been named as starting hooker for the Test against France this weekend after Cameron Smith was rested by Australian Coach Tim Sheens.

WC: Congratulations Robbie on behalf of everyone at Wests Tigers and our members on making your Test debut. Take us through the moment when Tim told you were in the team.

RF: Firstly, I like to thank everyone at Wests Tigers for all the support that I’ve personally have had in my career. From everyone in administration, the coaching staff, my team-mates and our great fans, I’d like to say thank you. You have all been a big part of my life for the last seven years now and I hope seeing me making my Test debut brought you some joy. Without all of you, it wouldn’t have happened. Tim named the side on Tuesday just before training and at first, I had to make sure I really heard my name read out. He only named 17 and told me I was playing. I think the six man bench that was named in the media was to throw the Poms off a little. I was that excited at training. As soon as we finished, I messaged my friends and family back home to tell them the news.

WC: Did any of your family fly over for the match? What did you think of when you stood there lined up for the national anthem. I suppose number 17 is now a favourite number?

RF: The family didn’t come over because of the short notice but my brothers and my dad are planning to come over for the France Test this week and the final. It will be great to have them here with me. I can’t wait. The thing I remember most was being presented my Australian jersey from Alfie Langer before the game and then putting my gear on thinking to myself “I’m now about to play for my country". It was hard to believe. Singing the national anthem was something I’ve always dreamed about. Yeah, I guess 17 might be a good number for me from now on but I still prefer 9!

WC: You came on in the 30th minute replacing Cameron Smith. Tell us what the pre-game plans were for you and Smith in terms of sharing the role. You defended strongly. Were you happy with your Test debut?

RF: Yeah, coach told me I’d only be playing about 25 minutes, just before and after half-time. It was a bit different coming off the bench and trying to get into the flow of the game but I will learn from that experience. I was happy with my defence but didn’t get too many opportunities in attack. When JT got sin-binned late in the game, I came back on at half-back to defend three in on the edge which I thought I handled ok.

WC: How was it playing against Gareth Ellis. I remember he ran the ball up hard from a penalty tap and you were the first to greet him. What about his try. Did you say anything to him about not scoring one for the Wests Tigers?

RF: I knew he was coming straight for me. Trust him not to pick on someone his own size, ha ha! It was good playing against him. I thought he went well. In the papers during the week, he promised Sheensy a try for his birthday. I can’t believe he scored one! It took him long enough but he deserved it.

WC: Australia is now in the box seat heading into the final round. You are expected to roll France quite easily but you can’t go in thinking that?

RF: No, we can’t. We need to build some momentum going into the final so not only is the result important this week but so is our performance. We were not happy with our second half last week so it is important we put a good 80 minutes of footy together.

WC: Any off field news or fun you like to share with us?

RF: It has been a pretty quiet week actually. We are based in Leeds now and because I knew I was playing, I tried to really relax on my free time. It was Halloween on Saturday night and Halloween is huge over here, so it was interesting to see all the locals dressed up and walking around town. I got to catch up with Paul Whatuira for lunch during the week too. I’m sure everyone back home will be glad to hear he is doing well now. Benny Galea also made the two hour trip to come and see me make my Test debut and we caught up for a chat after the game. It is always good to see some familiar faces. Also, I was very pleased to hear the news Wests Tigers will be playing four games each at Leichhardt and Campbelltown. Bring on 2010!

 

[joe_s_magpies]

It's time for Robbie to "Step Up". :slight_smile:

 

[tigergirlz]

Shocked given the performance in the game against the poms.
Come on Robbie - there are lots of black and golders cheering you on.
I'll touch wood and suggest the frogs aren't worth much anyway.