r/RugbyAustralia

I'm still baffled why Les Kiss insists on picking rookie 10s in the Wallabies Squad while overlooking experienced game managers. Not to rag on either HMP or Mederith. There are both great players, but neither of them is ready for international rugby just yet. Unfortunately, that much was proven during the shambles that was Mederith's baptism by fire in July. More pressing is the fact that neither of them even looks like playing and are there only as a last resort. This selection policy has left Aussie teams without a genuine option at 10 far too many times recently. Basically, this is my read on the current options at 10 ranked IMO

Carter Gordon - The form 10 for both club and country currently, not world-class as of yet and his kicking and game management do leave a bit to be desired; however, his running and passing game get the Wallabies on the front foot.
Noah Lolesio - An unpopular opinion, but hear me out. Noah was the form 10 in Australia at the Brumbies for most of this decade. He is also a proven game manager at the international level and has long-term experience and connections with key Wallaby starters at both the Wallaby and Brumbies levels. Furthermore, Lolesio has an excellent kicking game both out of hand and off the tee, which, as we know, is something lacking in our 10 stocks. Noah is a very different type of player to Gordon and Donaldson; he is a system-oriented game manager who controls the team around the park, furthernore he complements Ryan Longergan really well in this attribute. His biggest shortcoming is that he's hardly a bench/utility option; if he's in the 10 shirt, the whole team is built around his play style. He's not the type of player to come on with 15 to go and change the game, but he will give you a solid and dependable 80-minute performance most weeks.
Ben Donaldson - Donaldson has outperformed my expectations for him in the past two matches where he has started. I always knew he was a genuine option, but he's basically been given the helm in the absence of CG, who was the only other real option preferred by the coaches. He's an attacking, free-flowing player who likes to run and link up in open space. Similar to CG, possibly not the most prudent game manager in world rugby, but he complements many of the Wallabies flair players like Jorgo, JAS, Ikitau and Tom Wright. He is a genuine bench option, as he possesses the dynamism to make an impact off the bench and is usually a dependable goal-kicker. His history of playing 15 also greatly helps his utility stocks, as he is pretty much a lock if the Wallabies run a 6-2 split.
Bernard Foley - Yep, here he is; I still think that I would pick a 37 year old foley over our young 10s. Nothing on them, but Foley has been there, and he's done it, and if you've cared to watch Japan League One, he's actually still doing it in a competition full of solid 10s. Do I think he will start for the Tahs in 2027? No, but I would bet he's a lock for the 22 shirt and will pretty much play 15-20 minutes every game, guiding the team home, knocking some late penalties or conversions and turning possible wins into definite wins. I would have him do the same for the Wallabies if needed.
JOC - Similar to Foley, been there, done it. Has proven that he is still an excellent game manager from his time in England and with the Wallabies in 2025. Similar to Foley, I doubt he will start for the Force, but he will undoubtedly play a big role in their success.
Mederith - I think the best thing for Mederith currently would be to go on the Aus A tour and play some competitive footy. He's hardly gonna get better holding a tackling bag while Les Kiss has Ryan Longergan as a 10 cover over him. Kiss should bring an old face in for cover and let Medrith actually go play footy.
HMP - Similar story; don't really understand what he's doing in the squad. No knock on the guy, but as demonstrated with selections against the Boks, Les isn't interested in picking anyone as a bench option, instead entrusting Donno to play 80 or Longergan to play 10 in his absence. HMP is a gun player, and I really hope, like Mederith, he goes on the AUS A tour to get some good minutes.
Max Burey - Probably the Form 10 in Super Rugby AUS, and I would hedge my bets that he will be the starting 10 for the Tahs in 2027. A truly creative and exciting player who will be great to link up with the Tahs' attacking options. I also think he should be on the AUS A tour to see if he can take it to the next level moving onwards.
Tane Edmed - Getting deep into the 10 stocks here, unfortunately his stocks have dropped massively in the past 12 months. I still have faith that he's a great player, and he's played ok when he has played for the Wallabies; unfortunately, Still off the pace currently. I'd love to see him on the AUS A tour as well, and I think it's likely he will, due to Kiss's current selection policy with HMP and Mederith.
Tom Lynagh - Similar to Edmed, stock has dropped massively, mainly due to injury and being stuck behind the prodigal son of Aussie Rugby at the Reds.
Jack Bowen - Proved me wrong when playing for the Tahs this year. was the pick of their 10s and looked a cut above when playing in the Shute Shield. I would like to see him included in the AUS A tour, which is a bit far fetched considering his commitments to his Japanese club and the fact i have already metioned 4 other 10s in the squad. It just seems a shame that Aussie rugby would completely lose touch with a guy that they have heavily invested in and who is a quality player.

Realistically, only the top 5-6 would I like to be included in an RWC Squad come next year, but form and availability may have me eating my words in 12 months.

Firstly, go and give this a watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnnFc9yfeZQ

Few observations:

⁠Marky M’s post-contact metres are insane, he's essentially unstoppable from 5-10m out. There are several examples of him carrying 3-4 defenders from 5m out and further, and still scoring easily. Simple plan: get the ball to him close to the line every time.
⁠I can see Andre Piardi (probably) penalising him based on the way he jumps for a high-ball where he leads with his knee (as they do for a specky in AFL). Would be a very union thing to do to stop a highlight package try. Luckily he won't play any international Wallabies games until it's too late for WR to implement a new 'safe jumping' law in a WC year.
⁠League doesn't have the same severity of consequence for a failed intercept as Rugby does. Whilst MM reads those interceptable passes better than most (who remembers his full field one against Argentina), I wonder if teams will exploit this by throwing intentionally difficult balls for him to bite at and spill, therefore warranting a line-break spoil and yellow card. We've never seen it adjudicated where the pass has to be reasonable in order to mitigate the failed intercept penalty. Watch this space.
⁠God it's exciting to see him back.

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