Prior was let go and they kept Harrison, honestly what does this guy actually offer nothing and Hunt he has never been the same since his injury I won't question his courage or effort but he isn't a starting prop.
Merrin dropped kg's to play lock yet he isn't one his play the balls are just to slow and he still wants to off load silly passes when its better to just hang onto the ball.
I like most of the forward back but they are to much alike alot of hard toliers who work hard but just don't have that real spark I'll never question their toughness more the desire and sometimes attittude.
Piss off Craig Young for a guy of his ilk for some odd reason the forwards have gone slightly backwards in skill level and attittude.
Besides Priors poor handling I actually thought he was pretty solid and bent the line in his last season or so. He got a pretty bad deal being put in the centres, honestly that was the dumbest thing I've seen a coach do.
Merrin made a lot of silly offloads last year but I dont agree in regard to this year. I think hes much more selective and its just if he drops the ball people assume he was trying to make an offload which has happened once or twice, then people have in their heads here we go again. His play the balls have always been the slowest in the league as he's hard to put down and struggles in the tackle, on a positive we have been the beneficiaries of some late offloads that have produced tries. Knowing when to hit the ground and when to fight the tackle is an area he can improve. I have pointed this out before though in regard to our defense that we should be keeping their players on their feet for longer rather than letting them hit the ground on top of us. It slows down the play the ball Merrin like and you cant get penalized before tackle is completed, so just as u think hes going to call held then u drag the player down
The forwards will look much better when we control the ruck and hence field position, I really think we only need one more big body but they have to be Marquee, not just someone cos they are big but in the mean time give Ailaomai a run in place of Hunt.
I have serious questions like you over Alberts coaching ability. He was a great player but they game is played differently these days and while I'm sure he's kept up with it I'm just as sure he still sees it his old school way. It may be part of the reason we have so much one out hit ups (as well as field position). He wasnt very successful as a FG coach either
