With Moa and Hargreaves out...

[Waylander]

Robbo said that Liu is still a run or two short coming back from injury before he is considered ready for first grade. While Napa is probably teh closest in playing style and physique to JWH, I think we'll see either FPN or LOD start and Tasi on the bench.

[Rooster_6]

Tasi will come off the bench, FPN will start up front.

[Guest]

I hope big Marty steps up but I'm not holding my breathe.
I can see poor Jake having to make 50+ tackles and another 20 odd lifting that powder puff off the tackler too

[roosterproud]

marty and frankie to start with tasi and lod to step up and perform.

guerra as a versitile support.

[Guest]

Let us look at the facts.

Hargreaves and Kennedy are pretty much the 'future' - both are valued highly by the club, seen as long-term prospects (evident in the length of their contracts), and will be pushed forward as leaders of our pack for years to come.

Tasi and FPN are the uncertainties - both have shown that they can indeed handle first grade, but they have lacked consistency and both have spent time in reserve grade. They are both off contract at the end of this year and will be hoping to take every chance to either cement their first grade spot with us and have their contracts renewed, or earn a new contract at another club.

O'Donnell and Moa are the stopgaps - both aren't on big money, and are relatively one-dimensional hit-up men in terms of their current contribution to the team. However they are doing well at making guys like the aforementioned Tasi and FPN have to work for their spots rather than succumbing to complacency which became all too easy under Smith.

Napa and Evans (and Tago to a lesser extent) are the rookies - not ready for first grade but the next cabs off the rank.

His future is in nsw cup

[davos]

His future is in nsw cup

funny that you mention that because he may actually feature in origin this year.

But hey, what does Mal know?????.....

[Guest]

funny that you mention that because he may actually feature in origin this year.

But hey, what does Mal know?????.....

Is Mal sick of winning?
The guy is struggling to keep up to the speed and intensity of first grade. Origin is a completely different beast. I highly doubt he will feature in origin calculations with the way he is playing

[Guest]

funny that you mention that because he may actually feature in origin this year.

But hey, what does Mal know?????.....

There are 3 certainties in life...death, taxes, and big marty will not play origin

[davos]

Is Mal sick of winning?
The guy is struggling to keep up to the speed and intensity of first grade. Origin is a completely different beast. I highly doubt he will feature in origin calculations with the way he is playing

Matt Scott from the cowboys about four years ago, was not the player he is today. He would put in a good performance here and there but it wasn't until he got a taste of origin that he started playing some consistent footy for his club.

I feel like Kennedy is close to his best within the next few years. People on here keep complaining about how long he stays in tackles but I feel like this could be a ploy from robbo to try and slow down the ruck speed of the opposition. There are only a certain number of penalties a ref is willing to give for slowing the play the ball, and it would be worth conceding a penalty in return for a slower ruck from the opposition.

Back to the real issue here, I fell like I have seen this film before. Shillo was one season away from bursting onto the scene but we decided to throw away 6 or 7 years of perseverance. He is now in the top 4 props in the game along side Tamou. Kennedy has what it takes both Physically and Mentally, he just needs time. From memory, Ben Hannant was not the best player in his earlier days either.

[Game Fowl]

marty and frankie to start with tasi and lod to step up and perform.

guerra as a versitile support.

Proud is on the money for sure with the Prop rotation, Guerra has been shifted closer to the middle than last year to plug the defensive lapses while Boydie is off, which allows the others mentioned to concentrate on hitting the ball up hard.