-
See todays article from the Telecrap…
Make no mistake Farah will play a significant role as hooker in the 4N Final!..Sheens is planting the seeds in everyones mind from this game so there is no blow up when Farah is named on the Bench in the final and then plays significant minutes. Don’t be surprised if Sheens is Roos Coach next year Farah is the starting hooker, “because he gives us better speed around the ruck than Smith”…As far as I’m concerned Farah is the best hooker in the NRL, as was vindicated by his naming as the worlds best hooker last night.,You gotta love Sheens he is always supporting and pushing the barrow of the Tigers players, but he does it ever so subtlety…I have no doubt if Sheens was not the Coach of the Roos none of the Tigers in the current squad would be in the team… You Gotta love Sheens!
Australia coach Tim Sheens insists selecting Todd Carney and Darius Boyd for Saturday’s Four Nations rugby league clash with New Zealand is form-related, and not just to rest captain Darren Lockyer and Billy Slater.Carney named best player in the world
Carney and Boyd replace Lockyer and Slater at five eighth and fullback respectively, and are two of seven changes named in the Kangaroos side to take on the Kiwis at Auckland’s Eden Park.Carney, Dean Young, Chris Lawrence and Matt Scott will all make their international debuts, with Greg Bird and David Shillington also coming into the starting line-up and Robbie replacing Anthony Watmough on the bench.
Advertisement: Story continues below
The two unbeaten teams have already qualified to meet again in Saturday week’s series final in Brisbane and Sheens admitted Slater and Lockyer would be playing had this match been the final.But he said impressive form shown by Boyd and Carney, who was named RLIF International Player of the Year on Wednesday, in training and during the NRL season had been a big factor in his decision.
‘‘Billy has as shoulder injury that he has been managing and Darren has taken some pretty heavy knocks and it’s well known that at the back end of the season he had some significant issues with injury,’’ Sheens said.
‘‘Darren could play if he had to, but I am very confident with these two lads coming into the side.
‘‘Positions six and one seem to be the argument that everyone is having about the team but there is no doubt that Carney and Boyd have been in better form all year than their counterparts and I don’t think we lose anything by giving those two a chance.’’
Hooker Cameron Smith takes over as captain in Lockyer’s absence.
However, Sheens revealed that his Wests Tigers hooker Robbie Farah would see plenty of game time from the bench, in a move that could be repeated in next week’s final.
‘‘I intend to use Farah and Cameron the same way the Kiwis use their two hookers,’’ Sheens said.
‘‘Robbie will be used to improve our dummy-half speed in the same way Isaac Luke does for the Kiwis, so don’t be surprised to see Robbie come on when Luke does.
‘‘This is so we can counter-balance that threat and add some dash to our ruck area.
‘‘I am experimenting with that idea with one eye on the final. The Kiwis have named a very mobile pack and they are intending to go through our bigger men and we have to have the dash to come back through them.’’
Australia: Darius Boyd, Brett Morris, Brent Tate, Chris Lawrence, Lote Tuqiri, Todd Carney, Cooper Cronk, Matt Scott, Cameron Smith (capt), Dave Shillington, Greg Bird, Sam Thaiday, Paul Gallen. Interchange: Dean Young, Petero Civoniceva, Tom Learoyd-Lahrs, Robbie Farah, Kurt Gidley.
-
Can’t wait to see the guys have a run they would be chomping at the bit! Especially Chris go Tigers!
-
Great to see the Wests Tigers in the team like Snowy I am looking forward to watching them in action. Also interested to see how the team goes with Locky and Billy the kid rested. Nice move starting Petro on the bench and the choice between Gidley and Young would be a toss of a two sided coin.
-
Robbi needs a ripper as his last forays into rep footy were disgraceful.
and yes I do love our Aussie coach
-
Is this a gee up!!!
Sheens… love …lol
Astute bluffer sure… yeah right Sheensy Slater the Grub and Locky where always gunna play…
Ive warmed to Locky btw…never thought id say that,
I hope Lawrence scores 4 and sets up Lortay for a tripple…
LAWRENCE OF LEUMEAH…ROCKS… :sign:
Oh and Cammy does a hammy so Robbie comes on and Benji stays injury free…
When is it on and is it live?
-
@Geo.:
When is it on and is it live?
Poms v PNG Fox 1 3:55pm-6pm Saturday
Aus v NZ ch9 6:30pm - 8:30 SaturdayI think they’re both live but not 100% sure.
-
i thought robbie would get a run because if he didnt and cam smith got injured then it would mean robbie hasnt played in a game of footy for quite a while which wouldnt be good going into the final. good to see lawrence as lote’s centre instead of tonga
-
Marshall enjoys a playful dig at club coach Sheens over Test selections
Glenn Jackson
November 5, 2010AUCKLAND: A cheeky psychological grenade has been lobbed at Australian coach Tim Sheens by someone close to him. New Zealand five-eighth Benji Marshall is questioning whether his club coach has made the right call in revamping his squad so drastically for tomorrow night’s dead rubber.
All seven of the players yet to play in the Four Nations tournament have been named to face the Kiwis - a week before the final, between the same two teams in Brisbane. With the Australians missing key players Darren Lockyer and Billy Slater in a match that is effectively a dead rubber but could still provide some assistance to a stuttering outfit, Marshall couldn’t resist the opportunity for a slight dig.
‘‘I probably wouldn’t have done it,’’ Marshall said. ‘‘Maybe he wants to give some of their players a rest and some of their players a run. But to us, it doesn’t really matter. It doesn’t change what we’re going to do.’’
Advertisement: Story continues belowNor what they have done. Kiwis coach Stephen Kearney has appeared to approach the match with a different philosophy, picking arguably one of his strongest line-ups. Sheens will argue he has been forced into trialling for positions out of necessity - his players have underperformed so far. Slater, Lockyer, Nate Myles and Luke Lewis have also been struggling with niggling injuries.
The fact remains key Australian players will have played little football for two months before the final, and the prospect of another weekend on the sidelines will do little to provide momentum.
‘‘I suppose that’s nice for us,’’ Marshall said. ‘‘I don’t really know what Tim’s thinking. Sometimes you do, sometimes you don’t. I don’t know where he’s going with it, but that doesn’t bother me when it comes to what I’m going to do.’’
Sheens admitted Lockyer and Slater would have played had it been the final but reacted strongly to any suggestion he was devaluing a Test by making so many changes.
‘‘It’s not a matter of resting players, it’s looking at your options,’’ Sheens said. ''Steve looked at other options last week, and that’s what I’m doing this week. In saying that, I’m also resting Billy and Darren, because Billy’s not a hundred per cent, and neither’s Darren.
‘‘It’s about next week, when it’s all said and done. And I’m not disrespecting a Test match, not by a long shot. Anyone who thinks that Todd Carney playing five-eighth and Darius Boyd playing fullback is a disrespect doesn’t know what they’re talking about. Both boys arguably have been better players form-wise in the NRL this year than their counterparts. The Australian side is not putting out a second-rate side. We haven’t been that happy with the form of the side, and I think the guys who haven’t played deserved an opportunity.’’
That was echoed by Kearney, who said the Kangaroos had still picked ‘‘an impressive team’’. ‘’[Carney] has won every individual award there is this year, Darius Boyd got best player in the grand final and fullback of the year,’’ he said. ‘‘It doesn’t matter.’’
Even though the Australians have tried to claim the high ground when it comes to how much improvement they had left, Marshall was adamant his squad could raise the bar too. ‘‘We still haven’t been playing as best we can,’’ he said. ‘‘We still think we’ve got a lot of improvement. We have belief in our side at the moment. Belief and confidence are a big part of football now. In the past, we used to play little brother to Australia, but now we think we can be competitive … We don’t want to play little brother any more.’’
