Four Wallabies in Rising squad
Four Wallabies feature in the Melbourne Rising squad after head coach Zane Hilton named his 33 man group for the 2015 National Rugby Championship.
Luke Jones and Sean McMahon headline the list of Internationals, and are joined by fellow capped Wallabies Lloyd Johansson and Dom Shipperley in the squad, as well as Harlequin’s Cook Islands international Justin Marsters.
Tom English, an Australian Sevens representative, is another allocated Wallaby in the squad.
Other highlights of the squad see home grown Australian Under-20s representative Fereti Sa’aga and Sione Tuipulotu selected, as well as former Hurricanes development squad member Taiso Silafai-Leaana.
Hilton said that his squad selection reflects upon the style of rugby he wants to play.
"We want to play an exciting, expansive style, and the law variations of the competition encourage that," he said.
"We’ve got a wonderful opportunity to take our home matches out to the community in Ashgrove, Frankston, Geelong and Morwell, and we want to put on a great show for the fans.
"Make no mistake – we want to improve from last season, and we think we’re certainly capable if we work hard enough and continue to gel as a unit."
Hilton said that it was very difficult to cull the Melbourne Rising extended training squad, after an arduous campaign that began June.
“There were some tough decisions made, but ultimately we are very confident that having watched everybody in training and in the Dewar Shield or Super Rugby, we have the right balance in the squad,” Hilton said.
"There’s a number of fringe players who will continue to be in and around the squad, and a number of players who will certainly be back better next year and ready to have another crack.
"We’ve been particularly impressed by a number of the Dewar Shield players who return from the 2014 Melbourne Rising squad, such as Junior Paila, Pom Simona and Sione Taufa; their attitude has been spot on, as they’ve worked so hard to ensure we picked them rather than assume they’d get in again based on last season’s exploits."
Melbourne Rising squad: Cruze Ah-Na, Mitch Andrews, Duncan Chubb, Steve Cummins, Jack Debreczeni, Murray Douglas, Tom English, Colby Fainga’a, Maradona Farao, Scott Fuglistaller, Stacey Ili, Sam Jeffries, Lloyd Johansson, Luke Jones, Pat Leafa, Justin Marsters, Sean McMahon, Ben Meehan, Tim Metcher, Sakaria Noa, Junior Paila, Jonah Placid, Jordy Reid, Fereti Sa’aga, Dom Shipperley, Taiso Silafai-Leaana, Pom Simona, Leo Taliu, Sione Taufa, Lopeti Timani, Sasa Tofilau, Sione Tuipulotu, Mike Tyler.
