{"id":58032,"date":"2025-08-10T16:41:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-10T16:41:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/58032\/"},"modified":"2025-08-10T16:41:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-10T16:41:15","slug":"mad-monday-with-brisneyland-local-81-the-calm-before-the-saffa-storm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/58032\/","title":{"rendered":"Mad Monday with Brisneyland Local #81: The Calm before the Saffa Storm!"},"content":{"rendered":"

G\u2019day G&GRs. Well, the BIL tour is over, and the Rugby Championship is about to begin. That Rugby tournament where only the \u2018Real\u2019 Southern hemisphere men play. Unlike that Nancy-Boy Northern Hemisphere crap.<\/p>\n

So, on a quiet non-rugby week, let\u2019s have a look at the Rugby news doing the rounds. So prepare yourself for another bumper edition, Brisney style. Pour a large cup of the good stuff\u2615, and let\u2019s talk rugger, the game they play in heaven.<\/p>\n

\"\"Jordan Petaia \u2013 Sitting on the Fence\"\"<\/p>\n

Former Wallaby wunderkind Jordan Petaia \u2013 yes, that Jordan Petaia, the youngest Aussie ever to grace a Rugby World Cup \u2013 has gone from Queensland Reds flyer to LA Chargers tight end to, well\u2026 the injured reserves list. And all in less time than it takes Eddie Jones to change his coaching philosophy.<\/p>\n

The story goes like this: Petaia, chasing the NFL dream through the International Player Pathway, got himself a three-year deal with the Chargers back in April. Blink and you\u2019d have missed his debut \u2013 a late cameo in their first pre-season hit-out last week that came with the grand total of zero stats. Now, after a minor hammy tweak (because of course it\u2019s a hammy \u2013 his old rugby nemesis), he\u2019s been waived and replaced by fellow Aussie and ex-schoolboy teammate Thomas Yassmin. The Chargers then chucked him onto injured reserves, which in NFL-speak means, \u201cWe\u2019ll call you\u2026 probably not.\u201d<\/p>\n

But don\u2019t cue the sad violins just yet. This is the NFL, where contracts are about as solid as a soggy Weet-Bix, and Petaia\u2019s keeping his cool. There\u2019s still a chance another team could scoop him up \u2013 Atlanta, Cleveland, and Kansas City were sniffing around earlier \u2013 or he could dust off the boots and head back to rugby. The Reds have left the door wide open, but there\u2019s no binding handshake here. For now, the lad\u2019s weighing his options, resting that hammy, and proving that whether it\u2019s 15-man rugby or the gridiron circus, he\u2019s not afraid to roll the dice.<\/p>\n

Queensland Reds nab two young speed merchants \u2013 Nick Conway & Finn Mackay\"\"<\/p>\n

The Ballymore talent conveyor belt just spat out a couple of shiny new models \u2014 and the Reds have slapped \u201cDo Not Touch\u201d stickers on \u2018em. Yep, Nick Conway and Finn Mackay are the latest backline bolters to ink two-year elite development squad deals. Translation? They\u2019ll be sharpening their blades in the Ballymore dojo, waiting for the day they get unleashed on Super Rugby defences.<\/p>\n

The QRU\u2019s clearly been doing laps of the local rugby nursery, because this comes hot on the heels of multi-year deals for the young guns Taione Taka, Treyvon Pritchard, Kingsley Uys, Will Ross, Bennett Armistead, and Levi Slater. All of them now get the golden ticket \u2014 top-level coaching, the flash BMS National Rugby Training Centre, and the chance to rub shoulders (and maybe even shoulders directly into) with the big dogs in the Reds squad.<\/p>\n

Conway \u2014 fresh outta Nudgee College and fresh off torching England at the U20s with an 80m intercept try \u2014 is pure pace with a bit of mongrel. The Broncos came sniffing (dad Bob wore the maroon jersey for them back in the day), but Nick\u2019s stuck with the rugby tribe. Mackay, meanwhile, has been running the show at fullback and flyhalf for Souths in the Hospital Cup like a bloke twice his age. St Laurence\u2019s College will be claiming bragging rights on this one. And as talent guru Paul Carozza reckons, both lads have been turning heads in Queensland age-grade colours for years. The future\u2019s looking red \u2014 and pretty bloody quick.<\/p>\n

Wallabies muscle up for Bok bash \u2013 LSL back, Skelton in, Lonergan finally gets the nod\"\"<\/p>\n

Well, folks, Joe Schmidt\u2019s packed the Wallaby suitcase with plenty of beef for the trip to South Africa. After sitting out the Lions series, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto has been recalled for the first leg of The Rugby Championship \u2013 and it\u2019s not for the weather. Schmidt\u2019s brought four locks, including the big French-based unit Will Skelton, because if you\u2019re going to face the Springboks, you\u2019d better pack heavy.<\/p>\n

Nic White has pulled the shortest retirement in rugby history \u2013 hanging up the boots on Thursday, only to be dragged back into Wallaby camp when Jake Gordon went down at training. But the big news is Brumbies halfback Ryan Lonergan is finally in the squad and staring down the barrel of a debut. He\u2019s been the bloke hanging at the bar all night, waiting for a dance, and now he\u2019s finally got the tap on the shoulder. He joins winger Corey Toole and prop Aidan Ross (yep, the former All Black) as the fresh caps in the 35-man squad.<\/p>\n

Tane Edmed\u2019s back too, after his head knock nightmare in Dublin, stepping in for young Tom Lynagh, who copped a high shot from Dan Sheehan during the Lions\u2019 win. Sheehan\u2019s now suspended, but it\u2019s little comfort to Lynagh after his third concussion in six months. Ben Donaldson looks set to steer the ship at 10, with James O\u2019Connor and Edmed in reserve. Rob Valetini\u2019s been named (thank the rugby gods), and Taniela \u2018I have my Mojo back\u2019 Tupou\u2019s in, though he\u2019ll need to get through a toe test before boarding the plane. Hooker stocks are patched with Josh Nasser after Dave Porecki\u2019s shock retirement and Matt Faessler\u2019s calf issue.<\/p>\n

Tom Hooper and Langi Gleeson \u2013 who were on the naughty list earlier this year for heading overseas \u2013 have earned their way back with big Lions series shifts. Rugby Australia\u2019s Peter Horne has now cleared the air on eligibility: if you\u2019re Aussie and good enough, Schmidt can pick you. The Wallabies go in as massive underdogs, but this is as close to a litmus test as you\u2019ll get \u2013 Ellis Park against a Springbok side drilled to within an inch of its life by Rassie Erasmus. Last year, the Boks smashed us. This year, Schmidt\u2019s betting on a bigger, meaner, hungrier pack to see if we\u2019ve really come that far.<\/p>\n

Anyway, enough of this old man dribbling\ud83d\udca9. Over to you, GAGRs! Have at it!<\/p>\n

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