Spanner in the works
First Grade
- Messages
- 6,082
The mention of Creagh makes me very nervous.
I suppose I should name my final side that I want:
1. Stewart
2. Hayne
3. Morris/Jennings
4. Lawrence
5. Uate
6. Carney
7. Pearce
8. Gal
9. Farah
10. Mannah
11. Bird
12. Lewis
13. Fensom
14. Merrin
15. Tamou
16. Watmough
17. Hinchcliffe
Back three - these are the players I wanted to have the ball in their hands the most on kick returns. That means Dugan misses out.
Centres - Lawrence did enough in CvC for me. I've got either J Morris or Jennings as the other, and I am leaning towards the former. Morris is in good form and that's his natural position. Jennings is a bit of a risk but on his day he is way better than Morris. However, those days are blah blah blah.....
Halves - obvious.
Props - Gal is an obvious selection, while I think Mannah is a tough bastard who can be a 10 year Origin player.
Hooker - I wanted Wallace, but it is unlikely, so my next choice would be Farah. Not playing well but at least he is creative.
Backrow - the only one I need to talk about is Fensom. He has Origin player (and Origin lock) written all over him - tough, a scrapper, massive workrate, does all the little things and keeps the ruck tight. Every year I come away thinking we need a player like him instead of the "creative", "offloading" and/or "exciting" backrower. Every single year. Sometimes in the game we need to defend. With us, it seems to be most of the game, particularly in the middle of the park. Let's not ever forget that.
Bench - Merrin is playing better for last years experience and has the talent to be a 10 year Origin player. Tamou for the obvious reasons, as is the same with Watmough. I like Hinchcliffe as a player and I'd probably start the game with him so we have that extra big body in the defensive line. Once he comes off, I'd use him as an extra backrower on the bench, slotting in at hooker as needed.
Unlucky players:
Williams - needs game time
Stewart - Fensom is a better option for the reasons I outlined above. We need to fix our
ruck defence so Slater, Thurston and co don't kill us before we even get started.
Sims - Hard to pick over Watmough, and probably needs to lift his performances a little. He'll play Origin at some stage, just not quite yet.
TLL - not playing well enough.
Dugan - I have real question marks over this guys attitude and durability. Great player no doubt, but attitude and durability are pretty big things in the Origin arena.
I suppose I should name my final side that I want:
1. Stewart
2. Hayne
3. Morris/Jennings
4. Lawrence
5. Uate
6. Carney
7. Pearce
8. Gal
9. Farah
10. Mannah
11. Bird
12. Lewis
13. Fensom
14. Merrin
15. Tamou
16. Watmough
17. Hinchcliffe
Back three - these are the players I wanted to have the ball in their hands the most on kick returns. That means Dugan misses out.
Centres - Lawrence did enough in CvC for me. I've got either J Morris or Jennings as the other, and I am leaning towards the former. Morris is in good form and that's his natural position. Jennings is a bit of a risk but on his day he is way better than Morris. However, those days are blah blah blah.....
Halves - obvious.
Props - Gal is an obvious selection, while I think Mannah is a tough bastard who can be a 10 year Origin player.
Hooker - I wanted Wallace, but it is unlikely, so my next choice would be Farah. Not playing well but at least he is creative.
Backrow - the only one I need to talk about is Fensom. He has Origin player (and Origin lock) written all over him - tough, a scrapper, massive workrate, does all the little things and keeps the ruck tight. Every year I come away thinking we need a player like him instead of the "creative", "offloading" and/or "exciting" backrower. Every single year. Sometimes in the game we need to defend. With us, it seems to be most of the game, particularly in the middle of the park. Let's not ever forget that.
Bench - Merrin is playing better for last years experience and has the talent to be a 10 year Origin player. Tamou for the obvious reasons, as is the same with Watmough. I like Hinchcliffe as a player and I'd probably start the game with him so we have that extra big body in the defensive line. Once he comes off, I'd use him as an extra backrower on the bench, slotting in at hooker as needed.
Unlucky players:
Williams - needs game time
Stewart - Fensom is a better option for the reasons I outlined above. We need to fix our
ruck defence so Slater, Thurston and co don't kill us before we even get started.
Sims - Hard to pick over Watmough, and probably needs to lift his performances a little. He'll play Origin at some stage, just not quite yet.
TLL - not playing well enough.
Dugan - I have real question marks over this guys attitude and durability. Great player no doubt, but attitude and durability are pretty big things in the Origin arena.
