8. Papalli- first picked.
9. Hodgo- at his best he's the best in the business (Smith retired yet?) so here he is.
10. Tapine- I have him at prop where he excelled last year. I think he finally found his groove and don't want to shift him. He's a nice point of difference from Papa and it allows Young at lock which really makes us mobile and dangerous.
11. CHN- not really too fussed which side he plays on but I'll say right edge to run hard off GWilly who needs a hole hitting backrower to show off his short passing game (which we haven't seen in full yet). Bit of size next to GWilly won't hurt defensively.
12. Whitehead- shown the ability to play either side but I like the run around plays he's developed with Jack on the left. It was very effective and Elliot has the vision and hands to know when that ball goes to Jack and when to switch it up and go straight across to Croker. Defends well everywhere he goes.
13. Young- he absolutely excelled there at the back end of last year. Very well suited to the new rules and the trend to mobile locks. Has the pace to do a bit of damage if he breaks the line running wider and hits holes. I like that from our lock vs Tapine who stops and starts and palms a bit more.
14. Starling- gives us another gear to go to if we've ground a team down by bashing their middle as Hodgo likes to do. Hodgo may not be an 80 minute option first up and may well benefit from a little spell here and there. So I've gone Starling over Havilii. Longer term and point of difference.
15. Guler- big and good. Just keeps showing a bit more each week and has looked right at home in FG, then in FG against good teams, then in finals footy and just produced even better to each challenge. That's promising.
16. Lui- deserves first crack next season. Raised his aggression levels and output just ever so slightly last season. Added the strip to his game (which used to drive me nuts
) which is a useful little string to his bow. Gone from fringe player to leader. 17. Horsburg- this is a bit of a punt. I feel he's at a bit of a crossroads point in his career. If he uses his time out and comes back a fit fitter and stronger, with some improved mental skills like Young has shown then he really could be making an origin push next season. Or if he comes back a bit flabby and that foot slows him down or he can't get that temper in check then he might find himself down the list. I like him as he can do lock or prop. He has an offload- which our team needs to compete vs the best. He's also going to take on the challenge of other teams packs head to head- at times if other teams target Papa, I want another fighter in there.
Didn't make it.
Sutton- could easily take the Hors spot. Arguably Hors makes more of an impact from the bench (although Sutton improved on that last season). Arguably makes less errors with the ball and in defence than Hors. So I could see either getting the nod. Both can handle lock or prop.
Sia- hard to imagine Ricky actually leaving him out. Not that I think Sia would have an ego about it or do a single thing different, but surely they signed him again to play? Anyway I don't see him offering the yards or quite the sting next season as some of the younger players.
James- we won't know what we've signed really until we see him play. Be great if we had a reggies to bring him back through. Would challenge Guler, Hors if fit and firing.
Havilii- I don't see him making the 17 unless Hodgo is out. Starling provides an ex factor option. Havilii is a more safe/versatile bet which might be useful early season in warm weather if you need minutes from that 4th forward though.
