Yeah - I didn't understand the anti-Bird sentiment last year as i couldn't see that anyone was much worse than anyone else. I thought he played really well last week (the 2 drop balls being the only flaws I saw). And as for reefy's list of things a 5/8 must have: that's a description of Fittler in his prime - no-one playing 5/8 at the moment has all of that.
For the rest of the thread:
The forwards:
Beattie: Can barely play 40 minutes. Put him in the start lineup, take hime off after 15 (he'll be f**ked by then) bring him on in short bursts.
Stevens: 60 minute player in parts
Nutley: bring him on at 15/20 minutes leave him on
Bailey/Lomu: Start
Galloway: a bit young but very impressive, should come off the bench.
Hooker: Start with Bosnich. Bring Sully(the find of the opening rounds IMO) on at 10/15 minutes leave him on for the rest. Bosnich into 2nd-row.
The backs:
Backline worked really well on Saturday. The only obvious flaw is that McGoldrick is really poor at tackling. Franze and Vagana will be an awesome combination.
When you put Bailey, Sullivan, Bosnich, Bird,Hilder together you've got a good bunch of specialist position players who can also fill in very well at other positions in a crisis. This is a great thing for the team to have.
