Keep in mind that the team yesterday was missing Wesser and Merritt for various reasons and they would have been there otherwise.
Dave's suggestion of Wing to centre is interesting. Has he played much there before? I like the idea of him being able to get his hands on the ball when he sniffs an opportunity, rather than having to wait for it to be delivered to him ... but the defensive point is a very good one.
I'd be willing to make Stuart captain too, as long as it had more of a positive impact on Stuart and Asotasi than a negative one. I'd definitely be willing to make him co-captain (especially after the embarrassment on the weekend when the Bunnies didn't even know who their captain was hahaha).
I think my 17 would look like this ...
1. Wesser
2. Merritt
3. Best
4. Champion
5. Talanoa (his hands have improved out of sight this year, which I'm very glad for)
6. Wing
7. Sandow
8. Stuart
9. Luke
10. Asotasi
11. Fa'alogo
12. Pettybourne
13. Sutton
14. McPherson
15. Kidwell
16. Jaiman Lowe (I'm really not a fan, but it's hard to drop him out of a winning team and he seems to be trying hard)
17. Greenfield/Crossman
Despite the numbers on their backs Sutton would be as much the 5/8 in the team as Wing. I'd just want to try to have as many of the Bunnies' attacking guns in play at once at crucial points of the game.
I think the Rabbitohs are a real confidence driven team. When their blood is up and there's a sniff of fear on the opposition, they really press the advantage. On the flip side, though, when decisions or the run of play is going against them they can go into their shells and play fairly negatively.
I'd have Sutton playing the 5/8 role for the last 15 minutes of the first half, with Wing at dummy half and Luke having a rest. Have Wing play the first 15 of the second half at hooker and then exchange him for Luke. Give Wing a 10 minute rest and then get him on at the same time as the other two and have the opposition wondering if the attack is coming left, right or centre (or all of the above from Sandow).
With Wesser in the side, the Bunnies potentially have one of the most enviable 1/6/7/9/13 attacking combinations in the game.
Better, in my opinion, than last year's premiers and not too far off a super-side like Melbourne (Slater/Inglis/Cronk/Smith/Johnston is only so-so in one slot ... I'll leave it to you to decide which one hahaha).
I think only having three of your four strike weapons on the field at the same time for most of the game is not as good as having all of them. Luke wants to be considered an 80-minute hooker and be used as such, but I hope he realises that it's quality not quantity and that he'll be more devastating when he's had a short rest in the middle of the match. He's a very competitive player and obviously hates watching a game from the sidelines ... but I hope JT can convince him that winning is more fun than playing 80 minutes.
Finally, in Asotasi and Stuart I think the Bunnies might have the front row pairing with the most endurance in the game. Cayless, Civoniceva, Price and maybe Kite are the only guys I think could match Roy and Luke's sustained impact over 60 to 80 minutes of a game.
My train of thought has been interupted and is now well and truly derailed ... sorry if the above is incoherent.
