So where should Mary go from here? I think most forum members have a good idea where he will go from here but what should he do?
Widdop
I'd say Widdop has the capability and skills to perform well at fullback however, he is coming off a shoulder injury and to me it looks like he is hesitant right now. Give him a few weeks and then review the situation.
Dufty
There is no doubt Dufty has X factor and has now been signed for another two years. It would be a real shame if there was not a concrete plan put in place to improve his game. Our real problem is not Dufty it is the make up of our squad compared to the game plan Mary wants to employ.
Outside Backs
Under Mary's plan the back three and centres for that matter need to bring the ball back out of our red zone. It is clear that neither Dufty or Widdop can do this from the back. The same applies when it comes to our wingers (we still need to take a look at Pearson) and our centres, Lomax made very little ground and Lafai seldom takes the ball in his red zone. To me this remains the big unanswered question with regards to our backline. Pereira is not the answer as he was rag dolled over the sideline in the same way we are concerned Field and Dufty would be.
Wingers
After watching the Charity Shield game, I'd be inclined to play Dufty and Field on our wings until we have our new wingers ready to take their place in first grade. Yes there is the problem of these two players being too light however, with some smart coaching, this could be a good brandade measure until our wingers are ready. Dufty and Field need to step back inside when taking the ball and when taking the second or third tackle out of our red zone, they both need to stand a little wider to take advantage of an unsettled defensive line. More importantly, both need to be trained how to hit the ground and play the ball quickly. Both Dufty and Field have the X factor, both are reasonable at taking the high ball, both have speed to burn.
Halves
I'd leave the halves as they are and drill them with combinations that bring our outside backs and edge forwards into play.
Forwards
My concerns are with the prop rotation. For me it is time to bring in our young props and blood them in first grade just in case we fade at the mid season mark again this season. With K Sims out for the first 2 rounds, I'd put Frizell at 13, Leilua on the left edge and T Sims on the right edge. Up front I would have Vaughan and either Kerr or Timm as the run on props with Graham and Lourie coming off the bench. Robson and McInnes to be in the hooker rotation.
Bench
I'd carry Robson at 14 on the bench mainly because he can double as hooker and backrow forward in rotation. With the flexibility we already have on the field, I'd have one of our backrow forwards move to centre if a back does down.
There are dilemmas aplenty for Supercoach Mary- He has an iffy defensive full back in Dufty who he publicly expresses confidence in but privately knows that he was a turnstile in defence last year and couldn't catch a cold and is yet to show if there has been any significant improvement in these key areas in 2019. Meanwhile, as you astutely observed Possm, he has the Wayne Bennett anointed England full-back in Widdop recovering from a shoulder reconstruction. Once a shoulder is injured, it is very vulnerable to reinjury, particularly in a contact sport, and Widdop wouldn't be human if he wasn't conscious of this and protecting it. I'm married to a Physio who is feeding me the lines on this.
This is such a shame as Widdop is normally a superb defender, reads the play well and very often is involved in making last ditch tackles when our line has been broken. If he does'n't recover fully or lacks confidence, get used to some big scores being run up on us. Without Reynolds, Souths goal kicking was poor and their general kicking game was all over the shop on Saturday night. I thought the score flattered us. Souths have another gear to go to - I'm not sure we do.
Meanwhile, the problems in the centres remain. Aitken's remarkable decline continues. He managed to make himself invisible- I didn't know he was on the field. He cannot possibly be picked for first grade on that display. Lafai is in good form, at the minute, on the left but will he again fade when the whips are cracking? Lomax made a few errors and at this stage, his inexperience is a liability. We've made a huge mistake letting Kurt Mann go when he could have played right centre.
Wing spots are also wide open. Ravalawa is obviously strong and fast but is he smart? Wingers and full backs these days have to be particularly smart with their positional play and decision making as they're the ones who can get rag dolled into touch or in goal and concede vital possession to the opposition. It doesn't matter if you're 120Kgs and can run like the wind, if you get caught with the ball and don't get to ground fast enough- with three and four defenders bearing down on you, you will be manhandled into touch or in goal. Nightingale's smartness was, in my opinion, his best attribute as a winger.
With regard to the forwards, I agree with your prop analysis Possm- however, without De Belin, I think we lack depth of quality in the back row- Host simply hasn't lived up to the hype for him and Luc still plays like he's just making the transition from ISP. Come SOO and we'll be struggling-again!
