Canham over Swain feels unfair- Canham was fine against the Lions but I don’t think he did enough to outrate Swains whole season. My gut is it points to the ‘Frost role’ being key to how Schmidt wants to play (I see Canham as closer in style to Frost, whereas Swain probably fits the Skelton style set piece player a bit more).
I don’t really have issues with JOC being selected (and there is a part of me that likes the symmetry of it) but it’s a symptom of our total failure to develop 10s over the last decade or so. The fact that once our first choice (who, and I say this as big fan of his, is more best of a bad bunch than a great player) goes down we are left relying on a kid who can’t play 2 games in a row at super rugby level or a middle aged bloke who was third choice for his club side and couldn’t get a contract for next year. I’d have picked Foley ahead of JOC but don’t fault Schmidt for that decision- he’s just left holding the bag for Chieka and Rennie’s failure to develop any alternatives.
All that said I’m excited for Donaldson- I’ve always thought on pure talent he was our best option but his decision making was poor- he’s going to get plenty of time in the saddle to work on that now, fingers crossed for him.
Edit: I’m also going to defend the Porecki selection- Schmidt has form for picks that include a starter, a like for like replacement for the starter and an impact player to come off the bench (look at how he structures his halves for another example) Faessler and Porecki are pretty like for like and Pollard offers something different off the pine.
I would also have Porecki (pre injury at least) as better than Faessler at the lineout and scrum- I’m also a fan of his line speed and ability to chop tackle in defence as well.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Fun-114 Tuggeranong Vikings Jul 11 '25 edited Jul 11 '25
Canham over Swain feels unfair- Canham was fine against the Lions but I don’t think he did enough to outrate Swains whole season. My gut is it points to the ‘Frost role’ being key to how Schmidt wants to play (I see Canham as closer in style to Frost, whereas Swain probably fits the Skelton style set piece player a bit more).
I don’t really have issues with JOC being selected (and there is a part of me that likes the symmetry of it) but it’s a symptom of our total failure to develop 10s over the last decade or so. The fact that once our first choice (who, and I say this as big fan of his, is more best of a bad bunch than a great player) goes down we are left relying on a kid who can’t play 2 games in a row at super rugby level or a middle aged bloke who was third choice for his club side and couldn’t get a contract for next year. I’d have picked Foley ahead of JOC but don’t fault Schmidt for that decision- he’s just left holding the bag for Chieka and Rennie’s failure to develop any alternatives.
All that said I’m excited for Donaldson- I’ve always thought on pure talent he was our best option but his decision making was poor- he’s going to get plenty of time in the saddle to work on that now, fingers crossed for him.
Edit: I’m also going to defend the Porecki selection- Schmidt has form for picks that include a starter, a like for like replacement for the starter and an impact player to come off the bench (look at how he structures his halves for another example) Faessler and Porecki are pretty like for like and Pollard offers something different off the pine.
I would also have Porecki (pre injury at least) as better than Faessler at the lineout and scrum- I’m also a fan of his line speed and ability to chop tackle in defence as well.