Ok - just under 4 hours to go till the team announcement.
Against my better judgement, this is who I think may be listed today - and why:
Backs
Turbo - automatic selection - hope he is 100%.
Garrick - automatic selection as left winger.
Harper - opportunity for redemption due to lots of injuries, but will play left side rather than right this time to see how he goes, and to pair him with Garrick who has been steady in defence. Should be counting his blessings that something may have gone his way this week, even if it is injuries to team mates that may give him another starting spot.
Koula - starting to establish himself at right centre, getting familiar with the position, don't complicate him by changing his spot.Watch where you put your head in tackles!
Tuipulotu - takes Saab's spot for the next 4 weeks at right wing; we should see a continuation of good strong carries out of his corner if they kick to him. Really liking how he is kicking on.
Foran - getting better every game this year - amazing application from him. Winning mentality.
Cherry-Evans - tried his heart out to successfully game-manage us to a win last week. Nearly came off. Class performance overall.
There are definitely attacking points in that lot.
My concerns: Harper gets stage fright again, stuffing up our left edge defense this time; or our right edge has issues due to inexperience. A lack of first grade experience is why I haven't listed Weekes (or Burbo as a starting centre); with a lack of pace / slow play the ball as a reason why I have not listed Tafua.
Forwards
Keppie - adds defensive starch in the middle third, good for the arm wrestle parts of the game. I hope he 'plays smart', and plays to his strengths.
Croaker - best option we have in this role. Adds a lot of defensive cohesion /football smarts in the middle third. Unfortunately - may have to play 80 minutes this week.
Sipley - size, hard straight runs, intimidation straight up. Glad to have him in the side.
Olakau'atu - straight back in at right side second row, should be fresh and ready to rip in.
Schuster - adds so much on the left side, works so well with Foran, hopefully can work well with Harper - maybe add something to the latter's game.
Jurbo - lock him in, Eddie. You'll know we are going well if he gets a spell from an interchange player. I'm hoping that happens at some point.
Interchange
Walker - doing his roving middle third role, was very good last week. Glad he seems to have overcome his leg injury.
Burbo - gets more confidence with each first grade outing, our 2nd row / centre insurance (and we always seem to need that these days!). Would love to see a 'starring' cameo from him sooner than later. (Running off a Schuster pass for a spectacular try?).
Bullemor - can interchange for both prop and second row if needed; hopefully gets more minutes than last week to get more value from him. We need more value from his position, I think he has it in him to deliver it.
Tapau/ De Luis/ Tuitavake - who wants it the most? Who puts up their hand to make a difference? If I were Des, I would say to Marty, "you have a massive amount more first grade / big game experience than anyone else being considered for your spot - yet here we are." Run hard, tackle hard, good line speed, good completion rate...... it's not rocket science needed from big forwards...!! How about 40 minutes of honest effort, maybe 10 to 15 carries, 150 metres, about 25 tackles with no misses..... (or silly passes)! Own the middle third from the 20th minute to the 60th minute - a crucial time.
The potential for confusion in our back and who gets the final bench spot are the only real concerns for me - as long as Turbo has recovered. If Davey was fully fit, he might be under consideration - would be good if he was. Aloiai should be back the following week, and selection should get easier again.
Here's hoping for a big win (our for and against needs it), and no injuries this week!