‘We haven't got a good player under 25': Blues powerbroker calls for complete overhaul
The outspoken critic slammed the list saying the club were once again five years away from having real success and said he could not point to one player under the age 25 who was an A-grader.
He said as difficult as it might be the club had no option but to restart the journey again.
'We are five years away, at best, from having a good side. We have got to start again,' Mathieson told The Age.
He said 21-year-old Ollie Hollands was a good player but not an elite player while No.3 pick from last year's national draft Jagga Smith has been sidelined with a knee injury. The injured Sam Walsh turns 25 next week.
'We have not got one good player under 25, other than Ollie Hollands and is he an A-grader? We haven't got one,' Mathieson said.
'You have got to start again; how do you do otherwise? I admire Richmond, look at the players they gave away to get those young blokes. You look at North Melbourne, they have got young blokes coming on. We have got no one.'
Since selecting All-Australian midfielder Walsh with pick one in the 2018 national draft, the Blues went five seasons without a top 10 pick before they traded up to select Smith with pick three in last year's national draft. Smith suffered an ACL injury in a pre-season practice match ruling him out for the season.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘I want to protect my team': Why the Wallabies' wrecking ball is a force of nurture
The same first-half recipe must be the same (and last longer) on Saturday for the Wallabies to win, only this time Valetini won't be there due to injury. Skelton has a job on his massive hands. 'We saw that when we're physical from the off, we can score points, we can play our game,' Skelton says. 'We saw that in the first Test, that first 30, they dictated everything. And then we sort of switched it again, on the weekend [in Melbourne]. It'll be our job out there on Saturday to do the same. 'I just wanted to do my job [at the MCG], that was it. Try and get my hands on the ball, and I focus really hard on my set-piece. I'm very aware that if I do play, I'm not the best jumping option, so things around me change. So I try and make sure that I give as much as I can in other areas of the game. 'I thought I played OK. But I've got really high standards, too. I know I am going to be able to push out longer for the team this weekend as well.' After drawing criticism for not firing up in response to Tom Lynagh getting tackled midair in Brisbane, the Wallabies were far more combative in the second Test. And Skelton was right in the middle of most flare-ups, particularly when taking on Lions captain Maro Itoje. But it wasn't a deliberate focus, he said. 'That's just in the moment, mate,' Skelton says. 'I don't go out there thinking I'm trying to rough someone up. I want to protect my team, but if I'm not doing my job after that, then I shouldn't be doing that at all. 'That's probably what I used to do when I was a bit younger. Try and look for scraps which aren't there, and then I am not thinking about what I've got to do on the field. There is definitely a balance.' But in what many say what his best Test performance, the sight of Skelton at his best at the MCG was a double-edged sword for Wallabies fans. It served to remind how rarely the big man has been seen, in his prime, in a gold jersey across an 11-year Test career. Having departed Australia in 2017 to play in England, and now France, Skelton has just 34 Test caps - and only 16 as a starter. Since he debuted in 2014, Skelton has only played in 25 per cent of the 135 Wallabies Tests that have been staged. Skelton performs a delicate balance between club and country, trying to keep both mostly happy with partial presence. As such, he is likely to return to France and his club side La Rochelle, after the weekend and not carry on and play in The Rugby Championship. 'That's the plan, yeah. So I'll go back, have a few weeks off and then do a small pre-season were before I start again in Top 14,' he says. Skelton clarifies he still has some final discussions to come with Joe Schmidt, but with his small family currently camped up at his parents place in western Sydney, is a return to their home in France is likely, before a possible reunion with the Wallabies for the spring tour. Loading 'Hopefully, if I'm playing well enough,' Skelton says. 'Because they're coming to sort of my neck of the woods, too [the Wallabies play games in France and Italy]. I'm already there and like I said, if the body's right and I'm playing well, if I am in form, and I get picked, I'd love to play. 'I love playing for the Wallabies. It's always refreshing coming back into camp. I learn so much as well from the coaches and from the boys. You always want to be a part of it.' At 33, Skelton feels in great shape. Unlike in the grind of a Top 14 season, where the focus is to be fresh for games, the demands of Wallabies training always shocks Skelton.
The Age
an hour ago
- The Age
‘I want to protect my team': Why the Wallabies' wrecking ball is a force of nurture
The same first-half recipe must be the same (and last longer) on Saturday for the Wallabies to win, only this time Valetini won't be there due to injury. Skelton has a job on his massive hands. 'We saw that when we're physical from the off, we can score points, we can play our game,' Skelton says. 'We saw that in the first Test, that first 30, they dictated everything. And then we sort of switched it again, on the weekend [in Melbourne]. It'll be our job out there on Saturday to do the same. 'I just wanted to do my job [at the MCG], that was it. Try and get my hands on the ball, and I focus really hard on my set-piece. I'm very aware that if I do play, I'm not the best jumping option, so things around me change. So I try and make sure that I give as much as I can in other areas of the game. 'I thought I played OK. But I've got really high standards, too. I know I am going to be able to push out longer for the team this weekend as well.' After drawing criticism for not firing up in response to Tom Lynagh getting tackled midair in Brisbane, the Wallabies were far more combative in the second Test. And Skelton was right in the middle of most flare-ups, particularly when taking on Lions captain Maro Itoje. But it wasn't a deliberate focus, he said. 'That's just in the moment, mate,' Skelton says. 'I don't go out there thinking I'm trying to rough someone up. I want to protect my team, but if I'm not doing my job after that, then I shouldn't be doing that at all. 'That's probably what I used to do when I was a bit younger. Try and look for scraps which aren't there, and then I am not thinking about what I've got to do on the field. There is definitely a balance.' But in what many say what his best Test performance, the sight of Skelton at his best at the MCG was a double-edged sword for Wallabies fans. It served to remind how rarely the big man has been seen, in his prime, in a gold jersey across an 11-year Test career. Having departed Australia in 2017 to play in England, and now France, Skelton has just 34 Test caps - and only 16 as a starter. Since he debuted in 2014, Skelton has only played in 25 per cent of the 135 Wallabies Tests that have been staged. Skelton performs a delicate balance between club and country, trying to keep both mostly happy with partial presence. As such, he is likely to return to France and his club side La Rochelle, after the weekend and not carry on and play in The Rugby Championship. 'That's the plan, yeah. So I'll go back, have a few weeks off and then do a small pre-season were before I start again in Top 14,' he says. Skelton clarifies he still has some final discussions to come with Joe Schmidt, but with his small family currently camped up at his parents place in western Sydney, is a return to their home in France is likely, before a possible reunion with the Wallabies for the spring tour. Loading 'Hopefully, if I'm playing well enough,' Skelton says. 'Because they're coming to sort of my neck of the woods, too [the Wallabies play games in France and Italy]. I'm already there and like I said, if the body's right and I'm playing well, if I am in form, and I get picked, I'd love to play. 'I love playing for the Wallabies. It's always refreshing coming back into camp. I learn so much as well from the coaches and from the boys. You always want to be a part of it.' At 33, Skelton feels in great shape. Unlike in the grind of a Top 14 season, where the focus is to be fresh for games, the demands of Wallabies training always shocks Skelton.
7NEWS
an hour ago
- 7NEWS
Australia's Mollie O'Callaghan pipped by Dutch swimmer Marrit Steenbergen in women's 100m freestyle final
Backstroke star Kaylee McKeown and freestyle sprinter Cameron McEvoy will lead the charge as Australia attempt to claw their way back above the US at the swimming world championships in Singapore. A silver and bronze medal on Friday night dropped Australia (five gold, two silver, six bronze) into second spot on the medal tally behind the US (five gold, 10 silver, five bronze). Mollie O'Callaghan started as the hot favourite in the women's 100m freestyle final, but her late charge wasn't enough to beat Dutchwoman Marrit Steenbergen, who prevailed by 0.12 of a second. It means O'Callaghan's bid to surpass Ian Thorpe's Australian record of 11 world championship gold medals will have to wait for another day. 'Look, I'm tired,' O'Callaghan said after the race. 'Like, I'm not gonna lie, last night was a big night. None of those girls did what I did last night. 'I'm happy to walk away with a medal. 'Honestly, I would always love to win. But honestly, to get on the podium after such a s***-show of a year, I'm pretty happy. 'It just shows the strength that I have and the block I can do in the future knowing that I've barely done any training for this.' The only other medal for Australia on Friday night was a bronze to the men's 4x200m freestyle relay team of Flynn Southam, Charlie Hawke, Kai Taylor and Maximillian Giuliani. The quartet entered their final as big underdogs, but they came within a whisker of nabbing silver. Great Britain won gold in a time of 6:59.84, with China (7:00.91) just edging Australia (7:00.98). While day six didn't result in a gold rush for Australia, things could be different on Saturday night. McKeown is a two-time Olympic champion in both the 100m and 200m backstroke. The 24-year-old won the 100m world championship backstroke final ahead of arch rival Regan Smith on Wednesday. And McKeown will have the chance to add the 200m crown to her name on Saturday night when she goes up against the likes of Smith, Xuwei Peng, Anastasiya Shkurdai and Claire Curzan in the final. McEvoy qualified fastest with a time of 21.30 seconds for the men's 50m freestyle final, and the Olympic champion is hoping to come up trumps on Saturday night. 'I can't complain, it's only 0.05 off what I did to win Paris,' McEvoy said of his Friday night semi-final swim. 'It's good, but the job's not done. I've got one more tomorrow. 'I need to let the finals atmosphere kind of lift me up a bit. Don't think about the end time. Don't go down that rabbit hole. Let the body speak for itself and see where I end up.' Australians Alexandria Perkins and Lily Price both qualified for the women's 50m butterfly final, while Matt Temple qualified sixth fastest for the men's 100m butterfly final. During the daytime heats on Saturday, Isaac Cooper will feature in the men's 50m backstroke, Meg Harris and Olivia Wunsch are in the women's 50m freestyle, while Sam Short will be hoping to overcome illness to compete in the men's 1500m freestyle. O'Callaghan said tiredness from a busy schedule meant she wasn't at her best in Friday night's 100m freestyle final. Thorpe is sure it's just a matter of time before the 21-year-old surpasses his record mark of 11 world championship gold medals - possibly even in Saturday night's 4x100m mixed freestyle relay final. 'I'm certain and I can't wait to see Mollie surpass that,' Thorpe told the Nine Network. 'What she has the opportunity to do is create her own legacy in swimming, which will continue to inspire people in future generations … leading into the Brisbane Olympics in 2032.'
