OPERATION “Get Carter” is being hatched at the Waratahs’ Moore headquarters this week, with NSW defence coach and hardman Nathan Grey devising a special strategy to smash Crusaders superstar Dan Carter out of the grand final.
The world’s greatest pointscorer stands in the way of the Waratahs first premiership, and the Tahs plan to ensure that Carter has no room to breathe when the teams collide in the decider at ANZ Stadium on Saturday.
Waratahs enforcer Wycliff Palu successfully targeted Brumbies playmaker Matt Toomua in last weekend’s semi-final, and Tahs five-eighth Bernard Foley said they will have similar plans for Carter.
Asked if Grey — a renowned hitman in his playing days for New South Wales and Australia — would have “something special” lined up for Carter, Foley replied: “I think so.”
“I don’t think you want to change too much. “[The Palu ploy] was more of a one-off… there might be a couple spanners that he’ll throw in.”
“I think Nathan Grey’s got a couple of ideas, he always likes to keep attacks on the edge. “He’s got a number of little tricks like that that he loves to play.”
“All year we’ve done little things like that. Some have been successful, some haven’t, but he’s putting his brain together and I think we’ll try to nullify them somehow.”
Foley and winger Rob Horne will defend in the middle channel from where Carter and Crusaders five-eighth Colin Slade will be running their slick backline.
Foley said Carter’s threat is enormous, particularly when he is running the ball. “Myself or Rob Horne normally take the first two, whether it be Dan running, or they might play him out the back or at first receiver distributing with a bloke short,” Foley said.
“Giving him time and space, his running game is probably undervalued or people don’t talk enough about that because he can really take on the line as well as distribute to the likes of Israel Dagg and Nemani Nadolo out wide.”
“I think he’s got all the class and experience as a footballer, he’s the world’s best and he’s been there for a long time. His composure, his ability to influence a game and control the match and just keep it on their terms is definitely a massive strength of his.”
“We know that whether they’re behind or in front, they’re just going to continue doing the same thing, the Crusaders way. That’s been so successful over the years I don’t think they’ll change much.”
“Whenever you come up against national players you want to test yourself against them, and get one over them. Saturday night will be the same.”
The Waratahs might be on a 10-year, 11-game losing streak to the Crusaders but Foley declared there would be no mental disintegration within the group.
“In the short time I’ve been here there is definitely a different feeling to the squad,” Foley said. “The environment has changed, everyone is a lot tighter, the workrate has definitely improved.”
“There’s no moaning or whingeing, not saying there was in the past, but guys are just putting their heads down and getting on with it and really buying into the cause rather than having personal agendas or their own influences.”
“Everyone has bough into the cause here that we’ve been doing and hopefully it’s paying off. It’s been 11 years, but I’ve only played them once in my time here. It’s more the fact you’re in the grand final, if it’s tight at the end you’ve got to step up.”
“I don’t think much changes, it didn’t change much last Saturday night when it was tight there.”
“We weren’t going away from what we knew. We’ve just got to have that belief in the players, that everyone is going to do their job, and if it’s not good enough on the night we’ll sit back and lick our wounds, but if it is then it will be pretty successful.”