I like most of you suffered and analyzed way to many losses last year one thing that stood out to me as on of the biggest differences between us and the rest of the comp was the impact from our bench.
Sometimes its down to depth and injuries but a good bench is priceless, gone are the days of been on the bench as a demotion i would say that being the 3rd or 4th middle forward is as important if not more then a starter, you need to either create immediate impact to change momentum or slot in and keep/build momentum.
The top teams have a good bench i think we can name a 13 that can compete but how we add to that during the game can be make or break.
Modern game you need 2 middle(props) 1 edge and one utility player now the utility doesn't necessarily have to be someone to cover halves/hooker though it helps but some one who can cover a few roles backrow/center middle/edge
My starting middles would be
Junior,Alvaro,Moroea
Edges
Lane, Marata
My ideal bench would be
Brown (can lift team and sustain momentum put him on after 20 and leave him)
Terepo ( his game all about momentum)
Mannah/Oregon/Evens (you can mount a for or against for all 3 i guess the make up of the side and opponent will determine that)
Mau (i just like the idea of having him coming charging on to the ball later in the game after sitting down for a spell, also has covered in the back line before)
You could mount a case for Ray Stone on utility value for a spot even Kaysa and Takka.
Replies
Mannah done better off the bench against tired defense but really we are missing a big aggressive unit, running like Terepo but huge enough to bust the defense open.
We have one but he may not be ready until next year Stefano Utoikamanu. As he is a development player we might see him layer in the season.
I reckon he will see some time later in the year
Some good points Offside, injuires played a big part in the make of our starting team and bench last year but if you rewind back to 2017 our bench was one of the best in the comp and played a huge part in getting us a top 4 finish. I also believe the bench needs to be tweaked every now and then subject to who we are playing. Against the bigger packs like the Roosters, Warriors, Panthers we need a bench with size & aggression. A bench of Pritchard, Terepo, Marata & Kafusi could do well ?.
I like it alot, Offside. You've made great sense of our pack and it wouldn't surprise me if we start the season with this configuration.