Think that any suggestion of Garrick to centre can be dismissed , Parker will most likely be selected at least in the early stages as a centre on the reliability factor . Weekes really should be in the 17 somewhere but hardly in his best interests or the clubs to just spend most of the time on the bench but could still occur in the early stages also . Still would not rule out the option of him in the centres , no doubt could play wing but Saab, Garrick and Tippy Toes would have i st option call . Then of course Fletcher - Myers , not that far off being considered there as well [ centre ] . Schuster looks like he will be holding down the 6 role on an ongoing basis . Going to be hard and sadly to retain Weekes if he is just going to be considered as a depth player though .. Have to think that Fifita has earned the right to be included in the 17 . Alioia just looks so underdone but would assume he may still be picked . Bulimor, Burbo and Sipley to contest another spot on current indications
Agree on Garrick, his our best winger, moving him doesn’t strengthen the side, therefore makes no sense, then we also need to replace him with ???? Garrick’s untried in the centre’s and has possible defensive question marks.
On Weekes far too talented to leave out, his support play, speed, skill set, cover for Tom are all to valuable, he injected himself into the game the other night, like a typical FB (because he is one) he followed the ball and provided 3 try assists, should be starting in IMHO, so where? Well most won’t like it and I think I agree it may be hard to swallow, but at 1, Tom is probably the best FB in the world and should play there, but Garrick on the wing is best for the team, Tom can and has excelled in the three quarter line, ( his proven there and is unquestionably a better option than Parker, Garrick or Weekes) I wonder if Weekes and Turbo could operate in a NFL style way, role sharing the between the 3 and 1? Would sure keep the opposition guessing and take some of the predictability away from closing Tom out. Give turbo the license to roam in offence, as per SOO.
Weekes is to good to be a depth player and will be stolen if his not given the opportunity to hold down a spot in the starting 13, I believe his development will reap us far greater rewards than sticking with the tried and tested, its pretty obvious he has a high ceiling, don’t want to see the Gutherson/Hynes Syndrome bit us again.
Tom would defensively strengthen us in the three quarter line, especially in D, but I totally get it, how do you move him from FB? He wants to play FB, rightfully sees himself as a FB and deserves to play there, the million $ question remains though, what gives us the stronger side?
A similar case could be built around Fifita, here’s an even more controversial one, we lack a dominant prop, thing is we potentially have one, it just so happens his also becoming one of the most destructive edge forwards in the game, again what’s best for the team? Quac could be the aggressive 80 min prop we so badly need, which would allow Fifita to play as edge forward, physically it makes sense, I haven’t seen enough of Fifita‘s game to say he may offer us something extra in that role, again, it comes down to a question of what makes us a stronger side? More a case of the team first as opposed to the individual!
We could field this side, it’s a sweet backline and possibly a more aggressive pack.
1 Weekes/Turbo
2 Saab ( pick one until Saab returns, possibly Tui, but has major defensive issues and a speed? )
3 Tommy/Weekes
4 Pepsi
5 Garrick
6 Shoe
7 DCE
8 Guac
9 Frog
10 Jake
11 Fifta
12 Kelma
13 Keppie until Lawman returns (his the workaholic with the speed and an 80 min game to keep us competitive at 13)
Bench depends on who we play, either 3 big men or an extra utility type.
14 Gordie ? Contract details pending.
15 Burbo ? ( Keppie if Lawman nails down 13 and we play 3 middles)
16 Paseka
17 Sipley / Keppie ( pending selections) / JA (Still think we need another prop (maybe Boyle if he ever gets to play, or offload one) to harden our engine room, would love to see us do what’s necessary to get Fleggler here next year, kind of sad we resigned JA his money would be better invested into an alternative, watching Spencer yesterday, if the dogs don’t get him he would also be worth chasing)
Just my 20 cents worth, I’m sure there will be plenty of rejection on those couple of key positional swaps, anyway felt like throwing it up, apologies for the essay.