Dont mind the line up and I agree on Herbert being ready when his chance comes. Not sure of the value of Aitken off the bench, and still disagree with Nightingale being a walk up starter but thats all been done before.
But my real question for these line ups where Simms starts in teh second row - what's the bench strategy? Other than Ah Mau, you've got got 2 specialist edge backrowers, one of whom is most effective as a long-minute player, and a centre being converted to a forwards (which would be far more effectively done with increase game time in reserve grade) who's never played in the middle and presumably will fill a role of 'in case of injury'.
Is the plan to play either Host or Leilua at prop? Because neither of them are anywhere near our 4th best prop.
Is the intention to rotate Simms or Friz to the middle? If so, why are they wasting their energy in the opening exchanges only to then be expected to maintain high intensity as a prop after 20 mins? Would be far better for them to start on the bench.
Or are we thinking of playing with a 3 prop, 4 backrow rotation? And who is to cover McInnes?
All well and good to say 'rotate 4 forwards' but there needs to be some logic behind it with only 8 interchanges. No point having a beast of a forward pack if we dont know how to use it.
Hi Benny, always a pleasure to have a conversation with you. Apologies for the delay responding, I'm a slow typer so I need plenty of time when I get to sit in front of the screen. lol.
I take your point about the importance of the rotation but from my perspective it more about the attributes, ability, and impact of each player on the bench.
I always believe you should start every game with your best available personnel at the start of the game. The six starting forwards, in my view, are our best six forwards in the club.
So let's start with the starting six.
Graham - A Champion Middle player - a fierce competitor with ball skills.
Vaughan - A specialist Middle player - High workmate, quick off the mark with good footwork at the line, can unload.
McInnes - an 80 minute hooker - Maybe later in the season as Robson develops would you promote Robson to the bench to ease the load on McInnes.
Frizzell - A powerhouse of a player, a great edge player but with limited ball skills, and based on last seasons efforts, very effective when used in the middle. Adds impact when bought into the middle.
Simms - experienced edge player but performed extremely well when moved to the middle last season. Has a very good offload.
JDB - Our best defender, not really very damaging when he is carrying the ball but effective, can play long minutes, and performs well as a link man on the edge of the ruck.
AhMau - a specialist Middle player. Rarely offloads the ball, works hard in defence, and can make good metres up the middle.
Host - At 105kg's he is big enough and strong enough to play in the middle, but only as a substitute for JDB. But for mine he should be primarily an edge player , because he is mobile and fast.
Leilua - A giant of a man, with Arthur Beetson like ball skills, but not suited to the middle because of concerns over his stamina. Hitting the edges with size and speed, and the ability to find a speedster like Dufty or link with other support runners will make him a very lethal weapon as an edge player.
Aitken - Primarily there to cover a backline injury because of his NRL experience, BUT is one of the fittest players in the club with 57 NRL games to his credit. He a strong runner of the ball as we saw on some of the tries he scored last year and has an effective tackling technique in defence. He would easily fill an edge role, or a defensive slot in the middle if required. A Josh Jackson style player.
To recap:
The Middle can be controlled at different periods of the game by all our starting forwards, plus AhMau and Host.
With Simms, Frizzell, Host, Leilua and Aitken taking turns on the edges.
How they are rotated is up to the coach.
What I don't want is a plodder like Latimore. I have no thoughts on Allgood yet, lets see what his form is like during the trails - he may surprise. As for the rest I don't think they offer anything much different to what my Round One lineup gives us.
And as for Mann, what's the point of having him sit on the bench to just come onto the field with 10 minutes to go when the game is as good as over. I rather he played 80 minutes in the reggies to give himself every chance to impress for a starting spot, or to replace Lafai, Nighty or McDonald depending on their form or to come in in the event of an injury.
