ID :
212410
Wed, 10/12/2011 - 13:01
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/212410
The shortlink copeid
League Test could be dogfight: Sheens
SYDNEY (AAP) - Oct 12 - Australia coach Tim Sheens says the foundations have been laid for a physical encounter to rival a State of Origin atmosphere in Sunday's rugby league Test with New Zealand.
With both coaches opting to pick big bodies on the bench, and international referees more conservative when it comes to awarding penalties, Sheens has prepared his players to expect the toughest contest imaginable.
New Zealand mentor Stephen Kearney has gone with noted hard-heads Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Fuifui Moimoi and Sika Manu to form a ferocious bench alongside hard-hitting South Sydney hooker Issac Luke.
And Sheens didn't miss a beat either - picking in-form Manly monster Tony Williams, Wests Tigers enforcer Keith Galloway and 111kg Canberra prop David Shillington as the men to rip and tear off the bench.
The veteran Australian coach says it is a calculated decision from both coaches who realise the international game is played at a different pace - and under different rules - to regular NRL fixtures.
"It will be a Test match. As I explain to my guys, it's not NRL," Sheens said on Wednesday.
"It's played under a State of Origin atmosphere, in other words they don't like blowing a lot of discretionary penalties.
"If you're going to hit a bloke high, sometimes that's not even a penalty in this sort of game.
"... the NRL are so clean that anything (tackle) that comes anywhere near the chin is put on report, whereas the Test matches are different, State of Origins are different, grand finals are different, so we've got to have that mentality."
Sheens believes Kearney has gone with the likes of Waerea-Hargreaves, Manu and Moimoi because they have a "State of Origin mentality" that is perfectly suited to this level of football.
"Those sort of players have that tough mentality and of course we've picked a pretty tough side ourselves, for the same reason - you just understand that this is a different standard," Sheens added.
In the mid-year Test this season, won 20-10 by Australia, Sheens noted the Kangaroos were unable to pick up a single penalty from English referee Richard Silverwood.
"Not one," he smirked on Wednesday.
"I've never played or coached a game and not received at least one penalty, and they only got two because they were mandatory. One was tackled in the air and the other was a fairly good high shot, who wasn't suspended. You've got to see it as a different type of game."
Kearney said he hadn't picked his bench for any particular purpose, suggesting they were simply the best four players to miss out on the starting line-up.
"It wasn't intentional, I know (Australia) have got a fairly big side," he explained.
"We felt that they were the best guys this week that were going to do the job for us."
With both coaches opting to pick big bodies on the bench, and international referees more conservative when it comes to awarding penalties, Sheens has prepared his players to expect the toughest contest imaginable.
New Zealand mentor Stephen Kearney has gone with noted hard-heads Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Fuifui Moimoi and Sika Manu to form a ferocious bench alongside hard-hitting South Sydney hooker Issac Luke.
And Sheens didn't miss a beat either - picking in-form Manly monster Tony Williams, Wests Tigers enforcer Keith Galloway and 111kg Canberra prop David Shillington as the men to rip and tear off the bench.
The veteran Australian coach says it is a calculated decision from both coaches who realise the international game is played at a different pace - and under different rules - to regular NRL fixtures.
"It will be a Test match. As I explain to my guys, it's not NRL," Sheens said on Wednesday.
"It's played under a State of Origin atmosphere, in other words they don't like blowing a lot of discretionary penalties.
"If you're going to hit a bloke high, sometimes that's not even a penalty in this sort of game.
"... the NRL are so clean that anything (tackle) that comes anywhere near the chin is put on report, whereas the Test matches are different, State of Origins are different, grand finals are different, so we've got to have that mentality."
Sheens believes Kearney has gone with the likes of Waerea-Hargreaves, Manu and Moimoi because they have a "State of Origin mentality" that is perfectly suited to this level of football.
"Those sort of players have that tough mentality and of course we've picked a pretty tough side ourselves, for the same reason - you just understand that this is a different standard," Sheens added.
In the mid-year Test this season, won 20-10 by Australia, Sheens noted the Kangaroos were unable to pick up a single penalty from English referee Richard Silverwood.
"Not one," he smirked on Wednesday.
"I've never played or coached a game and not received at least one penalty, and they only got two because they were mandatory. One was tackled in the air and the other was a fairly good high shot, who wasn't suspended. You've got to see it as a different type of game."
Kearney said he hadn't picked his bench for any particular purpose, suggesting they were simply the best four players to miss out on the starting line-up.
"It wasn't intentional, I know (Australia) have got a fairly big side," he explained.
"We felt that they were the best guys this week that were going to do the job for us."
