antonius said:
Like I said in the opinion thread, Hagan just copies and pastes the team from the previous week. That bench is woefull, the Broncos will smash us up front
Mullen
Brown
Lowrie
With Tanner still starting, FFS doesn't Hagan watch the bloody games.
Tanner should be dropped back to premier league, Lowrie at lock. and another big man at least on the bench. It seems we are stuck with this Kidley joke for the rest of the bloody season. Hagan is really starting to p!ss me off with his sterotype selections week after week. If he's trying to give everyone the sh!ts, he's doing a top job. Tolar is two weeks off according to the Knights site.
Gee Tony, why don't you tell us what you
really think? :lol: What a spray.
I see the validity of your argument though -- it does look like a copy/paste job from the previous week. When I saw Seage at the top, I thought I was going to read some fresh faces but, alas, it's same-old-same-old. The Kurt Gidley thing has gone on long enough -- he was pretty solid at fullback on the weekend, and would make a pretty handy Lock towards the end of the game. He's fit, tackles well and his support play is improving... all the makings of a lock/utility/centre. I just think it's unfair on Mullen to have him sitting on the bench (again) when the number 6 jersey fits so well.
Mullen is a wasted selection on the bench... I cant see where Hagan would use him barring injury.
I suspect he is there to cover for Johns -- not a bad idea, except that you lose a spot on the bench for a big bopper. I agree with what others have said: the Broncos pack will show greater ascendency over the course of 80 minutes, more so than our mob. It's no reflection on the form of Smith and co, but says more about a lack of size on the bench. It's unsustainable, especially if we suffer injuries to our props.
Riley Brown is a handy sort of player -- I must be the only one who hasn't seen anything wrong with his showings of late. He makes a couple of line-breaks, and is a handy support runner. I must say I haven't noticed his defence, which is probably a sign he is making his tackles. He also adds a bit of depth to the bench, being able to cover several spots. My concern is that it just doesn't work when you have Mullen there too.
Several times last year we ended up with Steve Simpson in the centres because injuries had occurred and we didn't have any recognised backs on the bench.
I suspect the pendulum has swung back the other way -- there are two backs, a prop with a dodgy boob and a backrower who has spent a fair bit of time at 5/8th. Not the combo you want to face a Fridgeandafreezer, Webcke and the bash brothers with.
