1. Gidley
2. Uate
3. ??? Top Line Centre
4. Sau
5. Vuna
6. Mullen
7. Kimmorley/Henry
8. Cross
9. De Gois
10. Tolman/Merrin
11. Paterson
12. Taia
13. Taufua
bench could go any number of ways, but as far as a starting 13 goes... this is what needs to happen. whether simmo goes to the bench or gets pissed right off doesn't really concern me. his defence is still great, but his attack is so 1 dimensional it's crazy. either play him in the front row or politely inform him that his services are no longer required.
i would really hope we see some Tovo or Edwards in first grade soon. it's obvious our props aside from cross are a bunch of marshmallows... and soft as sh*t in the head to boot. i don't care what stats you pull out for Tolar, the bloke is a dead set plodder. he hits the line like a fart on a brick wall. you can bitch and moan about how technically sound he is... but we've seen the very best he can ever offer us, and it's piss all. he wouldn't get a run in any other pack in the comp.
Tuimavave... well what can i say. i had big wraps on him coming here... but he's not a starting prop. he's a benchy/depth prop at best. his biggest problem is that he has no heart, and doesn't look as fit as he could be either. such a shame, because he has talent. plays at less than 50% effort consistantly. has disappointed me greatly this season.
these changes are all very realistic... and would go a long way to putting us at the opposite end of the ladder to that which we currently occupy. all the team would need after these changes were made would be some passion and effort.
things arn't looking good for stone. he'll be feeling the heat, and i don't think he has the resources, the coaching skill or the reputation to get out of this one. if he even had 1 of these 3 things he could probably pull us out of the sh*t... but alas i can't see it happening.