Didn't think I'd have to spell it out for you.
Name one that's available.
Yep, with Keary injured, DCE is our best option (Keary would probably take Munster's spot anyway).
And DCE is carrying an injury too, and is a fine player. But he is not in the Andrew Johns, Darren Lockyer, Brad Fittler, Cooper Cronk or Jonathan Thurston league either.
Munster continues to be a good running threat who can't organise or kick at all, a weakness that has hurt Melbourne and now Australia when you put a runner at 5/8.
Aussies might have to try to win without having easily the best players of the decade in their spine. To be fair, Lolohea is hardly a big name, but he played brilliantly for Tonga.
So they need to match it in other areas.
Looking at the Aussie forward pack, how many of them would make the Tongan pack?
Cook, obviously, though he had a poor game yesterday.
Haas would probably start, and should for the Kangaroos too.
Klemmer and Trbojevic probably, though maybe not starting over Fonua-Blake, Taukeiaho or Taumalolo on current form, and I don't know which other forwards you'd drop for them, as the Tongan guys are great players in great form.
Graham might be more useful for the Tongan's as their 5/8. The Tongan pack, "on paper" as they say, and in current form, is quite a bit better than any other international pack right now.
Not sure the Aussies can address that with selections either.
So the backs really need to star for the Australian side. With no disrespect intended, Hopoate, Hurrell, Staggs and Jennings are all good players, but hardly stars (Fusitua and Tupou I really rate, I'd say they are a match for Addo-Carr and Cotric).
Tedesco and Wighton had their moments, but Wighton is inexplicably playing out of position when we have plenty of good centre options (and on form, he really should have been the 5/8). Mitchell was his mercurial self, with some great early touches and some lazy moments. Tedesco failing to execute at the end there you have to put down as one of those things, since he has been brilliant in just that situation all year.
But we need more than flash in the pan moments from our backs. They need to be consistently good, and picking them out of position, or based on a few big moments, is not good enough.
Honestly, with the Tongan pack so good, and the halves for Australia not good enough to snatch wins from nowhere, like they have in the past, Tonga will be a big threat in the future until we pick and play backs who can play out of their skins like the Tongan backs did.
