Eagle 7's/Aussie S14

Eagle 7's
The Dubia Tourament was on TV and I got chance to see Kevin Sirwin. This kid can play watch out for him in the future.

Western Force
The force had and up down campaign in 2008. The number one concern for the Brumbies is the fate of Matt Giteau. Apparently Gits has not be receiving the money in his contract from a 3rd party sponsor and might be headed back to the Brumbies. Without Gits the Force are a bottom tier team. He might be the form 10 in the world, and can turn a game on its head in a moment. Beyond Gits, look for David Pocock, Drew Mitchell, Tai McIssac, and Ryan Cross. Ryan Cross had a huge 2008 campaign and 2009 should be better after a long tour. Regardless of the A Giteau – Cross – Staniforth conection could be deadly. With Giteau the Force fight for a semi, but I don’t think they have it in the Engine room. Without Giteau, this is a bottom of the table team.
Brumbies
2009 – the Year of the Brumbie. They had a ton of talent and a great schedule – one thing missing Laurie Fisher. How will this affect them? Time will tell. If they gain Matt Giteau they have to be a favorite for a home semi. In the Second week against the Crusaders in Canberra we’ll find out if they are the real deal. They have tested experience and leadership in Mortlock and Smith, youth in Christian Lealiifano. They have several Wallabies in the squad and the one too look out for in 2009 is Stephen Hoiles. He was a barnstormer for Aussie A in the Pacific nations cup and this Randwick number 8 has some serious pace and skill. With Giteau the Brumbies might be your 2009 S14 favorite with out, they are still a playoff team.
QLD Reds
Queensland was for so long a great feared team packed with Aussie legends. Those days are no longer. They have some fantastic talent but not enough to win at this level. Their key off season signing of Daniel Braid will help – but this team needs far more than him. Quade Cooper and Berrick Barnes give you some Wallaby skill and speed in the midfield – but this is not enough. The Reds similar to the Lions & Cheetahs, have some great first team talent but after that it falls off a cliff. Australia’s lack of a domestic professional competition shows more here than anywhere else. 2009 will be another long year for the boys of Ballymore.
NSW Waratah’s
The Tah’s had a great 2008 but 2009 will not be the same. Ewan McKenzie is gone and so are Ben Jacobs(Saracens) , Matt Dunning(Injury) Dan Vickerman (Cambridge) Rocky Elsom (Leinster). Any time you have a coaching change things are never as smooth as you would like, so on the very least it will take them a season to find their footing. These four players were huge parts of the of fantastic 2008 campaign. The Waratah’s also played with something to prove as their coached was sacked three weeks into the season. They still have heaps of talent with Kurtley Beale at fly half and Tom Carter in the midfield – I don’t see any line out or scrum dominance and losing their coach the Waratahs best shot will be mid table.