1. Gidley
2. Uate
3. Naiqama (Fijian connection on the right, but I'd rather a mystery centre. Wes holds his place only because I'm fitting Aku into the side as well, otherwise he would be dropped.)
4. Sau
5. McManus (I'd put him on left side with Sau, that way the fact the winger outside Junior never ever gets the ball won't really matter because he is our least dangerous outside back with ball in hand. But he's a good man to have on the field, and I think defensively will be good for Sau.)
6. Mullen
7. Dureau
8. Cross
9. Hilder (first 20-25 minutes, strong defence, before switching to lock when Taia has a breather, and De Gois comes on and plays the rest of the match at hooker, still a good 55-60 minutes worth.)
10. Tolar
11. Simpson
12. Paterson
13. Taia
14. De Gois
15. Houston/Ciraldo (form dependant. I'm warming to Ciraldo, there's some skill in him and a good offload too. Not a bad player coming off the bench because although he's not great in stats for metres gained, tackles etc, he does bring something different out wide.)
16. Taufua (and would give him some chances to swap with Tolar, imagine that starting pack in defence - Taufua, Hilder, Cross, Simpson....where do you run?)
17. Fa'aoso (are people leaving him out because they've forgotten him? Surely? I think he's a must pick. Love the impact he provides. I know he has a dropped ball in him, but seriously he is always one of our best offloaders in traffic, and after big hit ups too.)
18. Rogers (really impressed with this signing. If I was convinced that a Rogers/Mullen combination would gel and that Mullo would be getting quality ball out wide, then he could just about have Dureau's place. For now though I would start the season with Scotty and see how Rogers goes when filling in for injuries. By end of season, I'd like to have found a role for him in the top 17 because he's got class.)
Vuna, Lulia, Karawana, Walsh, Mika, Ling, Natusch missing out. We need more depth in the forwards.
