Aren't the trials about getting the team match fit and making sure that the combinations are gelling? Why in the world would we waste time playing Jai Field at 6 when there is absolutely no chance in hell he will play 6 for the dragons in the next 4 fricken years!?
Surely we select our starting 13 presuming they are all fit then substitute the outsiders in once we are satisfied that they have had a good hit out and the combos are working.
No? Am I off the mark?
We'd have to be the most conservative club in the NRL re treatment of our juniors. And there's such a conservative discussion roundabout on this forum.
Fact is we lost 2 of our best youngsters in Bird & Cook and will lose another 3 or so if the young guys aren't given a genuine shot by mid season. McDonald's & Aitken's ( & Nightingale's?) retention almost guarantees 2 will depart sooner rather than later. We seem to seed the comp with our juniors and forwards still in their prime. The rot began with our loss of hard man Kevin Ryan in 1966. He became captain coach of Canterbury and they ended our run of 11 premierships by beating us in the semis in 1967. I'm off topic, but it still freaks me out that we lost Ennis, because IMHO there'd've been fewer soft cock forward performances over the last 10 years with him in the pack.
Anyway try compiling your own list & you'll see what I mean.
It amounts to squandered premierships.
Never would've happened under Facer - who oversaw 12 premierships!
I remember in my younger days making up potential Australian teams with our prematurely lost players - WTF it's still happening!
Talk about fiddling while Rome burns?
So best team against Hull FFS!
Stick on the hard men & goers & always select on form