POLL: Strongest 2024 line up: Props

[greeneyed]

POLL: Strongest 2024 line up: Props

What's your strongest possible 2024 Canberra Raiders line up? That's what we are asking the readers of The Greenhouse. We're looking at the "Locks and contenders" for each position in the team in a special series of articles. Some players have clearly locked down their spot but we're looking at all the contenders for places in the Green Machine's top 17. For more contentious positions, we're supplementing the discussion with a series of polls.

In this poll, we're asking: Who should be the starting props in 2024? While many might see Joe Tapine and Josh Papalii as "locks" for those jerseys... there is a question as to whether Big Papa might be best used as the leader of the prop interchange off the bench. So, it is over to you... Remember, we're looking at the strongest possible team, irrespective of injuries or suspensions... not the Round 1 team.

Click here to read more: Locks and contenders: Props

You have TWO votes in this poll.

If a player's name who you'd like to vote for is not in the poll, just name them in a post below.

[greeneyed]

As per the story, I've gone with Tapine and Horsburgh, allowing Papalii to lead the interchange off the bench.

[Matt]

As per the story, I've gone with Tapine and Horsburgh, allowing Papalii to lead the interchange off the bench.

I 2nd this. I think moving Papa to the pine at the backend of last yr worked really really well. It leaves Taps and Horse to play big mins and lead the pack. With Smithies and Puru around, I'd like to think we have other options at 13.

HOWEVER...
I could also support Ata and Taps with Horse at 13. Meaning Smithies and Papa are your backup props. However this would likely see Puru in Cup. Which I'm not huge on.

[Billy Walker]

I think it will be a rotation, and I believe that is the right approach. It’s a long season and we’d do well to rotate the starting props with the bench prop to keep fitness levels up while managing workloads.

[Botman]

As per the story, I've gone with Tapine and Horsburgh, allowing Papalii to lead the interchange off the bench.

That's where im going also
Think Papa is moving to a new stage of his career... he can still start for us and be solid but that should not be the Plan A moving forward. Think he can provide us high quality minutes as a bench middle and Tapine and Hors are ready to take on the challenge.

And if Hors regresses from his 2023 form and isnt up to it, we can always bring Papa back into the starting team

Also open to Ata straight up taking that spot too if Hors isnt up to it. But i think a SOO debut deserves first crack in the middle to replace Papa.

[Raidernation]

Notionally I would play paps the first 15 and last 10-15 of games with hors coming off the bench playing big mins. Paps has done some big things at the end of matches and he is still someone I'd trust if you need something special in the last 10 of a game.
But... It's going to be up to hors because if hors wants to start and isn't happy playing off the bench then I'd probably start him with paps off the bench.

[Botman]

HOWEVER...
I could also support Ata and Taps with Horse at 13. Meaning Smithies and Papa are your backup props. However this would likely see Puru in Cup. Which I'm not huge on.

I will not support this.
Hors at #13 was acceptable and he his job there and played the role well enough... but we have since recurited a player that im lead to believe is built for playing a modern day #13 with Smithies and we have debuted a player who held his own in limited minutes who i think can absolute be a NRL quality #13.

We have two modern day #13's now... or at least 1. And as such... i dont need to see Cory Hors playing lock forward any longer.

[Matt]

HOWEVER...
I could also support Ata and Taps with Horse at 13. Meaning Smithies and Papa are your backup props. However this would likely see Puru in Cup. Which I'm not huge on.

I will not support this.
Hors at #13 was acceptable and he his job there and played the role well enough... but we have since recurited a player that im lead to believe is built for playing a modern day #13 with Smithies and we have debuted a player who held his own in limited minutes who i think can absolute be a NRL quality #13.

We have two modern day #13's now... or at least 1. And as such... i dont need to see Cory Hors playing lock forward any longer.

Everything I've seen of Smithies suggests Horse is a better ball player. I've trawled footage, and it's all runs and tackles. Nothing attacking, hence seeing him as a smaller mobile big min middle. His wrap sheet is as long as Radleys too. I hope I'm wrong, and that there is more to him.

The Puru bit I did make clear.

I like Ata enough to think he can start, and that would at least promote a young player with ability.

[Billy Walker]

Notionally I would play paps the first 15 and last 10-15 of games with hors coming off the bench playing big mins. Paps has done some big things at the end of matches and he is still someone I'd trust if you need something special in the last 10 of a game.
But... It's going to be up to hors because if hors wants to start and isn't happy playing off the bench then I'd probably start him with paps off the bench.

I just don’t know if Papa will maintain fitness and conditioning if he’s only getting 25-30 minutes a game week in week out. I think they need to mix it up.

[Hong Kong Raider]

I really like what Ata and Mooney bring. I'd have no problem starting Ata with Tapine while bringing on Papa and Horse.

[Billy Walker]

I really like what Ata and Mooney bring. I'd have no problem starting Ata with Tapine while bringing on Papa and Horse.

Or leave Horse out and you have a rather catchy PapATApine rotation.

[LimeGreenMachine]

Tapine and Horse up front
Ata and Paps off the bench. Rotate some games.

[NoMan]

Yeah, with so many middles at around the same level if ever it made sense to rotate players it's this year. It's a waste to run with a dozen middles in the squad and not do it.

[BadnMean]

I really like what Ata and Mooney bring. I'd have no problem starting Ata with Tapine while bringing on Papa and Horse.

I prefer that split myself, just in terms of style, mobility, body shapes etc. But with those 4 it's pretty hard to go wrong.

[Matt]

Notionally I would play paps the first 15 and last 10-15 of games with hors coming off the bench playing big mins. Paps has done some big things at the end of matches and he is still someone I'd trust if you need something special in the last 10 of a game.
But... It's going to be up to hors because if hors wants to start and isn't happy playing off the bench then I'd probably start him with paps off the bench.

I just don’t know if Papa will maintain fitness and conditioning if he’s only getting 25-30 minutes a game week in week out. I think they need to mix it up.

That's a waste of a guy like Papa. He's a 30-40min middle these days. Play the middle third and keep us rolling.

[Rickmando]

Mariota and Horse as starting props.

Tapine starting lock, playing as many minutes as possible.

Papalii the first one with an interchange card in his hand.

[RedRaider]

I would start with Taps and Ata. They would give us plenty of good hard carries and be replaced by more good hard carries from Papa and HorsPower. I still like Hors as a second rower should that be needed during a match too. Mooney is a must in the mix but I see him as a middle rather than an edge. We have bought Smithies for a reason. He will be a workaholic in defence and this will hopefully mean the other middles/Props can do what they do best when we do have the ball.

[Roger Kenworthy]

Notionally I would play paps the first 15 and last 10-15 of games with hors coming off the bench playing big mins. Paps has done some big things at the end of matches and he is still someone I'd trust if you need something special in the last 10 of a game.
But... It's going to be up to hors because if hors wants to start and isn't happy playing off the bench then I'd probably start him with paps off the bench.

I just don’t know if Papa will maintain fitness and conditioning if he’s only getting 25-30 minutes a game week in week out. I think they need to mix it up.

Hard agree. Papa has always played himself into shape. I think playing in two short stints will hasten the end of his career.

I'd like to see him begin the season in the starting role. Let someone wrestle it off him.

It's a tricky mix though as I do think we need something different at lock, not just another battering ram who occasionally shovels the ball on 5 metres from the defensive line as Stick tends to prefer.

[NoMan]

Papa's first stints have been much better than his second over the last couple of years imo. If you play him for 30 in the middle of the game and then maybe 10 at the end I expect you get a better return overall and the whole rotation is more balanced.

The move to the bench was already happening anyway, he played off the bench the two games before he got injured and was probably the best player on the park vs the Dogs.

[Dusty]

8. Horsburgh
10. Tapine

16. Papalii
17. Mariota / Mooney


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[Rickmando]

Thinking bigger picture - I think the prop rotation is the one thing Rick has to nail this year more than anything else.

He has such a limited, low-ceiling grindball game plan with no plan B, and clear deficiencies with his in-game decision making. Getting the maximum out of our go-forward for 80 mins (a relative strength) is one of the very few ways we can overcome these limitations.

[gangrenous]

Papa's first stints have been much better than his second over the last couple of years imo. If you play him for 30 in the middle of the game and then maybe 10 at the end I expect you get a better return overall and the whole rotation is more balanced.

The move to the bench was already happening anyway, he played off the bench the two games before he got injured and was probably the best player on the park vs the Dogs.

That’s three of your interchanges out of 8 just in dealing with Papalii…

[dubby]

Papalii and Tapine.

[NoMan]

Papa's first stints have been much better than his second over the last couple of years imo. If you play him for 30 in the middle of the game and then maybe 10 at the end I expect you get a better return overall and the whole rotation is more balanced.

The move to the bench was already happening anyway, he played off the bench the two games before he got injured and was probably the best player on the park vs the Dogs.

That’s three of your interchanges out of 8 just in dealing with Papalii…

Not sure how you get 3, it would be max 2. Dogs game he came on after 20 minutes and played 30, then came back at 65 and played until the end. It's not really different to how the bench props are used already.

[Raidernation]

Notionally I would play paps the first 15 and last 10-15 of games with hors coming off the bench playing big mins. Paps has done some big things at the end of matches and he is still someone I'd trust if you need something special in the last 10 of a game.
But... It's going to be up to hors because if hors wants to start and isn't happy playing off the bench then I'd probably start him with paps off the bench.

I just don’t know if Papa will maintain fitness and conditioning if he’s only getting 25-30 minutes a game week in week out. I think they need to mix it up.

But when you factor in injury, suspension and tiredness I expect he will play numerous games with far greater minutes and some off the bench, but when the games matter and you Need to win, this would be my go to. The only caveat to this would be if Ata game against the knights is somewhat Indicative of his current standard because it would be hard to overlook and TBH hors and paps off the bench just sounds right.

[Billy Walker]

Notionally I would play paps the first 15 and last 10-15 of games with hors coming off the bench playing big mins. Paps has done some big things at the end of matches and he is still someone I'd trust if you need something special in the last 10 of a game.
But... It's going to be up to hors because if hors wants to start and isn't happy playing off the bench then I'd probably start him with paps off the bench.

I just don’t know if Papa will maintain fitness and conditioning if he’s only getting 25-30 minutes a game week in week out. I think they need to mix it up.

But when you factor in injury, suspension and tiredness I expect he will play numerous games with far greater minutes and some off the bench, but when the games matter and you Need to win, this would be my go to. The only caveat to this would be if Ata game against the knights is somewhat Indicative of his current standard because it would be hard to overlook and TBH hors and paps off the bench just sounds right.

Yep that could work. Controversial opinion, but if Papa has gone a few weeks with limited minutes I’d be comfortable with him dropping to NSW cup to knock out some big minutes. He’s definitely in our best 17 and we need him for the big games but he will need to be carefully managed this year.

[gangrenous]

Papa's first stints have been much better than his second over the last couple of years imo. If you play him for 30 in the middle of the game and then maybe 10 at the end I expect you get a better return overall and the whole rotation is more balanced.

The move to the bench was already happening anyway, he played off the bench the two games before he got injured and was probably the best player on the park vs the Dogs.

That’s three of your interchanges out of 8 just in dealing with Papalii…

Not sure how you get 3, it would be max 2. Dogs game he came on after 20 minutes and played 30, then came back at 65 and played until the end. It's not really different to how the bench props are used already.

1. Comes on at 20 minutes
2. Goes off at 50 minutes
3. Comes on at 65 minutes

Normally you’d start him and
1. Goes off at 20-30 minutes
2. Comes back on at 50-60 minutes and plays out the game

[NoMan]

Ah my bad, he came on for HIA in the dogs game rather than an interchange which confused me.

Still, I don't think it would be that out of the ordinary to have a prop like Papalii used that way and Ricky wasn't even using all his interchanges most weeks.

[Matt]

Thinking bigger picture - I think the prop rotation is the one thing Rick has to nail this year more than anything else.

He has such a limited, low-ceiling grindball game plan with no plan B, and clear deficiencies with his in-game decision making. Getting the maximum out of our go-forward for 80 mins (a relative strength) is one of the very few ways we can overcome these limitations.

Yuuuup

[greeneyed]

Poll declared for Joe Tapine and Corey Horsburgh.