Merrin isn't a prop anymore he's an 80 min backrower. Woods is an out and out prop but Fifita (and Tamou for that matter) are athletic enough to play backrow
:lol: Merrin an 80 minute backrower? The guy has never played more than 70 minutes in his NRL career but he is now an 80 minute backrower?
Merrin is a prop and he is making a transition to lock where he will most likely play longer minutes. However, he is still a middle third player and the only difference in his role is that he will do more roving in defence and will play longer minutes. Otherwise he is essentially like Nate Myles or Paul Gallen (when Flanagan isn't screwing around with him on the fringes) and is basically like a third prop in the backrow. His game will still revolve around ruck defence, tight hit-ups and offloads.
So essentially you are constructing a team with 6 middle third players in Grant, Tamou, Gallen, Merrin, Fifita and Woods. That is a waste of your bench because you can't utilise all those players effectively. If you try you'll end up resting valuable players like Gallen or Tamou for too long while your fringe-second rowers like Bird, Lewis and Watmough will be required to play long minutes.
There is a reason that no teams use 3 middle third players off the bench and it is because you need more speed and mobility. Otherwise the team is going to be powerful through the middle of the field but really slow and cumbersome. As the game opens up you don't want more big forwards like Merrin or Fifita coming on.
Won't be too much difference either way tbh
Big difference between Woods and Kite tbh. Woods makes significantly more metres and significantly more tackles. Not to mention the fact that he is much younger and is the future of the NSW pack.
Kite has been tried in Origin before and wasn't that impressive even in his prime. I struggle to see him doing a good job now that he is in the back end of his career. Picking Kite would be a huge step backwards.
