Team not named yet but I'm keen to see who will replace Boyd. Pete and Kev would both be lucky to get a look in on their last performance, and I think Bennett would be very reluctant to give Wes or Sau a shot while he's trying to offload them.
Hopefully Mantellato gets a go just so we can see what he's capable of.
Fox Sports showed the Knights v Tigers NSW Cup game this week, which was a great chance to look at some of the players I don't know much about, including Mantellato.
I thought he played well at fullback (with Pete at five-eighth) - nothing spectacular but he comes across as a smart player which is huge under NRL pressure.
In terms of running style, speed etc I'd liken him a bit to Colin Best, and perhaps a bit of Luke Burt's nous. Wouldn't see him playing fullback in first grade just because these days you really need a strike weapon there, but I could easily see him playing wing after an injury or two next year.
He is an absolute giant of a man and has a great leap to go with it, so would instantly become an incredible target for our bombs as well as be an automatic no-go zone for the opposition. The try he scored chasing a Davis bomb was incredible - never looked like the kick would amount to anything then he just flew through the air and snatched it whilst almost horizontal to the ground. Even in the AFL they would have been going nuts over this mark.
Davis was very good at halfback again. I don't know how he would go in first grade, but he certainly appears to be more of a natural halfback than anyone else in our squad.
Daine Laurie made one massive hit-up that got everyone excited, then did nothing.
O'Donnell's runs were strong, but his defence in the middle was woeful and pretty clearly the reason he hasn't made the step up.
Likiliki - wow. With the football this guy is immense. He strolled through their defensive line twice when we didn't even have any momentum. He took a dummy half run and beat a wall of men who were not retreating so easily, got to the fullback and stopped in front of him, then just took off again and beat him for pace. It's scary how good he is, just a shame he looks so confused in defence all the time.
. I guess the reasoning is Bedsy not playing 80 minutes every week.
