The Chewsday Chew – are we there but? (Ep18-2024)

Manuia le taeao Cobbers!

I hope all is properly in your world and right here’s hoping this missive makes it a wee bit higher on this nice June Tuesday with the final ‘Staff of the Week’ of Tremendous 2024, the Staff of the Tourney that comes out of it, some ‘Random Tremendous Feedback’ and we’ll then shut it out with the now standard ‘Across the Campfires’ country-footy part.

However I’ll begin this week with an enormous congratulations to our Girls’s 7’s outfit, taking each the Madrid event late Sunday evening /Monday morning (our time) and in doing so additionally securing the 2024 World Sevens collection with their 26-7 win over the Frog-ettes within the ultimate. Alongside the best way they’d additionally knocked off their nemesis the Black Ferns in an epic semi-final encounter in-which the rating was 19-all at full time with an Aussie conversion to return. Cometh the second, cometh the lady and Tia Hinds stepped up and squirted the sauce from in regards to the 15 yard line to take the semi 21-19. It was beautiful, it was emotional, it was simply bloody unbelievable. And from there, properly the poor bloody Frogs didn’t stand an opportunity.

And for the report, the lads got here in seventh with their 21-0 win over the GB’s within the play-off. Sadly their run had been savaged by 38-5 loss to France, a 19-14 win over the GB’s within the swimming pools and a 14-5 loss to the FISM’s.

Nutta’s Staff of the Week (Wk15):

For the final time this 12 months we’ll dive into the workforce of the week chosen from the Aussie Tremendous groups. As a reminder, the choice standards is merely if you happen to performed for an Aussie Tremendous franchise then you may get picked. However remember, I’m not particularly selecting on the premise of Wobbly qualification. And likewise, contemplate that that is MY decide solely. I’m not St Joe. I’m not the Messiah. I’m barely a naughty little boy. I’m a 50yr outdated Frontie with all of the bias and outlook that type of perspective brings.

So with that in-mind, the TOTW from the final spherical is:

1. Alex Hodgeman – a extremely stable spell from the 4-test former All Black
2. Matt Faessler – in a season the place it appears Hookers are jinxed, he has stood tall
3. Alan Alaalatoa – like all good props, you don’t realise how good he’s till he’s not there
4. Jed Holloway – one of many few brilliant lights in sky blue
5. Izack Rodda – an imposing return to kind
6. Liam Wright – has been a constant performer all 12 months
7. Fraser McReight – consolidating his spot because the no1 of the no7’s
8. Rob Valetini – a rock on which the Wobbs will probably be rebuilt
9. Ryan Lonergan – had an important recreation with clear service and good creativity
10. Noah Lolesio – the quiet conductor. I appreciated his clear out work, however not his scrum-feeds
11. Corey Toole – scored one pie, saved one other and zipped in all places
12. Hunter Paisami – his recreation has developed maturity to match the ‘bash’
13. Josh Flook – I nonetheless shake my head about how he didn’t go to RWC23
14. Dylan Pietsch – actually tried exhausting, grabbed a pie and carried out properly
15. Tom Wright – some actually polished touches underline that Tom could have matured
16. Jay Fonokalafi – Mr Concrete was powerful, correct and didn’t cease attempting
17. Matt Gibbon – getting again to kind on the proper time 
18. Taniela Tupou – additionally getting again into form. Spherical is a form.
19. Jeremy Williams – a Lock picked at 6 on the weekend
20. Seru Uru – a 6 picked at Lock on the weekend
21. Tate McDermott – zippy, aggressive, opportunistic, however simply lacks accuracy
22. Max Burey – some nice, sensible touches and actually had a crack 
23. Andrew Kellaway – demonstrated actual class in how he carried himself and executed expertise

Now, given the common rounds are over, let’s take a look at how the maths stacked up throughout the 103 names that appeared within the TOTW this 12 months and so distill Nutta’s Aussie Tremendous Staff of the Tourney. A reminder that this was constructed as a mixed effort of rating and caps. Your rating was a 5 for a run-on choice and a 4 for a reserve jersey. The primary names up usually positions took most well-liked place, or else a standard reserves slot on a 5/3 break up bench. Within the case of ties on rating, it fell to the upper variety of caps. And if nonetheless tied, it was my name based mostly on a mixture of expertise and up to date efficiency. So with that every one in-mind, right here is Nutta’s 2024 Aussie Tremendous Staff of the Tourney:

Out of curiosity, right here are also the First XV names by pure rating. Of notice on this group is Lukan S-Loto who nonetheless made the highest choice regardless of being injured in Rd8 (a nod to how dominant he was), and I additionally spotlight Peni Ravai who made it on the numbers, however is of-course ineligible for the Wobbs:

The prevalence of his choice (55pts from 12 caps) implies that Liam Wright is the Captain.

Random Feedback from a Random Man:

• I invite our Expensive Readers to again to 6min & 25sec within the Rebs vs Drua recreation and inform me if Drua No14 Waqa Nalaga did or didn’t spit on Andrew Kellaway after the strive was scored. There was dialogue among the many Craparazzi Crew over this on the weekend. My vote is ‘Sure’, he seemed straight at Kellaway and spat.
• Additionally in that recreation, I sit up for resident Regulation Professional KARL explaining on Wednesday how Drua firebrand Frank Lomani didn’t see pink for his shoulder to the top of Rob Leota.
• How poetic was the Tahs displaying on Friday evening? It highlighted a lot about their season. That mentioned, it could have been a one-off ‘flash within the pan’ run, however wasn’t it clear to one and all how a lot enjoyable Paddy Ryan was having? No he’s not 40. He’s a sprightly 35 (born 1998). But when he wasn’t the epitome of the ‘Previous clubman prop referred to as out for yet one more recreation’, then I don’t know what’s. Once more, it reveals the doldrums NSW are in. And yeh, he misplaced. However he went down ‘swinging’. And that’s all you may ask of Crom.
• I hear chat that Jake Gordon is being thought of for Wobbly no9 and probably even Captain. I remind people that this man is the no9 for the worst franchise within the nation AND was overtly attempting to stroll away from the workforce he IS captain of. Expensive God say it isn’t so Eddie Joe…
• I echoed the remark of others a number of weeks in the past, saying that the Reds had been enjoying to the extent of their opponents. And we noticed that once more on Friday as they let a workforce so clearly inept as NSW get again into that recreation. Now that bodes properly for Finals within the sense that the Reds will rise to the event and opponent. But it surely additionally bodes poorly because it means they lack the emotional fortitude to face on their very own and set their very own requirements – slightly they’re emotionally tied to their opponents. The Reds ought to have put 50pt on the Tarts on Friday evening. And that incapacity to place the foot down isn’t the stuff of winners.
• I ponder if the Brumby’s will FINALLY get a crowd value opening the gates for this weekend? It’s prime time stuff with a 7.30pm Saturday evening kick-off in a quarter-final in opposition to the Highlanders. They’re two good sides, enjoying good rugby, and can placed on a cracker of a match. So I ponder if that’s sufficient to get CBR people to trouble displaying up? Or will they only moan some extra about not having gold-plated buses to the entrance gate? And the chilly? Pfffttttt. Harden up.

Across the Campfires…

Up within the Western Plains competitors, the desk is beginning to take form because the Warren Pumas proceed to set the tempo and prime the desk with 4 wins from 4 begins for 19pts following their 57-12 win over the middle-table Coonamble Rams. In the meantime, Walgett Rams are holding 2nd spot with 4 from 5 for 19pts following their 36-10 victory over the Nyngan Bogan Bulls. However the recreation of the weekend was a extra middling of the desk affair because the Bourke & Brewarrina Barbarians did conflict with the Gulargambone Galahs at Gulargambone Oval.

Up first, the Flamin’ Galahs took on the BaaBaa Ewes in tri-tag rugby. The Gular ‘backbone’ mixture of Sarah Chandler, Caitlynn King, and Pete Bradley shortly established management of the ruck space and that allowed Kelsey Hutchison to make a ‘screamer’ of a debut into the workforce within the centre place to bag a pair of pies and set sail from there. By the tip of the present it was 36-0 to the Flaming Galahs, which all conceded was most likely not a good reflection of the BaaBaa’s tenacity and resilience. Factors had been awarded as 3pts to Kelsey ‘2-pies’ Hutchison on debut, 2pts to Alanna ‘On line casino Child’ Clark and 1pt to Sharna ‘Simply Sharns’ Steedman.

That show of working rugby had solely whetted the urge for food of these assembled and in such environment did the perfect of Gular and Bre/Bourke then meet head on. Given the heaviness of the pitch and the widely prevailing situations, it was to be a day of ‘direct’ play and heavy collisions. And neither facet did disappoint with hard-hitting and nice tackling from the beginning. Each groups received into the grind and continuous exhausting runs by forwards Mitch Graham, Will Bowman, Jack Bradley, Steve Owens and Luke Vagg for the Galahs had been carrying the BaaBaa forwards out. And within the absence of Archie Haling, Zac Ferguson and Tim Bowmen had been marshalling play remarkably properly.

Within the to & fro, an early unsauced pie to the BaaBaa’s was properly answered by the baby-faced Galahs backs maneuvering Elten Walker into house down the left facet and, displaying a number of the velocity of his father from about 25 years in the past, he set sail to bag the pie and tie up the scores. Jaylem Peters squirted the sauce and the Galahs held the ticket. Unsurprisingly within the heavy situations, tempers received a bit frayed thereafter and, 3 items of cheese later, the BaaBaas grabbed the crucial ‘first and final 10min’ unsauced pie earlier than oranges and the break was referred to as at 10-7 to the BaaBaa’s.

Regardless of the perfect of endeavours, the 2nd spell was just about simply pig on pig impacts. And while entertaining, these actions have a tendency to not hassle the scoreboard man. As such, while the half was predominantly spent in BaaBaa’s territory, neither sides chalk was disturbed and full time was blown as nonetheless at 10-7 in favour of the BaaBaa’s. Gulars factors had been awarded as 3pts to Jack Bradley, 2pts to Tim Bowman and 1pt to Lachy Ferguson on a tricky time out.

Over within the South Coast & Monaro competitors, it was billed because the conflict of the titans as, scorching from their 80-7 demolition job on the Corridor Bushrangers the week earlier than, the Braidwood Redbacks had been eyeing off giving the Jindabyne Bushpigs their first defeat in over two seasons on the weekend simply handed in sunny and salubrious Jindabyne. Nevertheless it was to not be. The table-topping Jindy had been at their polished and opportunistic greatest in coping with the 2024 second-placed upstarts by 36-21.

Elsewhere within the SC&M, Corridor Bushrangers bounced again from their Redbacks chunk to report a formidable 38-13 win over Crookwell Canine, whereas Yass Rams continued their latest pattern of shut wins by pegging the Taralga Tigers by 26-21. In the meantime it’s turning into a tricky outdated season for the Cooma Purple Devils, dropping to the ADFA people by 57-13.

These outcomes go away the Jindy Bushpigs as nonetheless the table-topping front-runners at 6 from 6 on most 30pts, adopted by the Braidwood Redbacks on 4 from 5 and 20pts. The Mudchooks are 4 from 6 and 20pts as properly and from there the desk falls away to the Bateman Bay Boars, nonetheless battling away however but to jag a win (maintain truckin’ lads).

Lastly for at this time, a fast take a look at Central West (South) reveals that the Cootamundra Tricolours had an emphatic 66-10 win over Grenfell Panthers, whereas the Harden Purple Devils had been fortunate to get away with a 19-17 win over the Blue Rams within the ever sunny and welcoming Blayney over the weekend. In the meantime the Younger Yabbies had their nips up in taking down the Temora Tuskers by 49-21. However within the fixture of the spherical, the Boorowa Goldies welcomed the West Wyalong Weevils for a days ‘set to’ on the Goldies Women Day.

The day opened with the Goldilocks taking up the Weev-ettes in an important recreation of working rugby. From a little bit of a sluggish begin, with a variety of stoppages while some rhythm was discovered, the second half opened up as mixtures gelled whereas fatigue kicked in, culminating in a unbelievable piece of play and a pie as Jessie Abnett mixed with Emily down the western contact line. All up the tight end was a becoming end result with the Boorowa ladies taking the candies, solely to be sharing them wholeheartedly because the Women Day festivities kicked into gear.

For the lads, it was a rugged, typical ‘small city meets small city’ affair. As ever, the Weevils confirmed up dedicated to make a stand of it and the scoreboard was not a mirrored image of their tenacity. However in the long run, it was the Boorowa reserves bench that meant contemporary and succesful legs overcame drained ones, irrespective of how exhausting they might have tried. 69-0 to the Goldies in what changed into ‘a little bit of a flogging’.

Anyway, there are my musings for this week. Do not forget that rugby is just rugby as a result of all of us make it so. So get all the way down to your native membership – be they a thumping massive metropolis membership or a one workforce assortment of misfits and freaks akin to Common Joe’s – and pay the gate guys, purchase a beer or six, and possibly even pull on the boots. Play exhausting. Run straight. Deal with courageous. And all the time keep in mind that Saturday is rugby day (someplace).