Quote Albion="Albion"I have just been on redvee and reading a thread about next season's best 1-17.
I've seen people say that they are really excited about the squad next season and that they are 'drooling' over some of the 1-17s that have been posted.
I'm not one to be too negative (we did dominate SL last season...) but I think there are still some outstanding issues that need to be addressed by KC. The points below aren't in any particular order, but I'm going from 1-17 in my thinking:
1) Wellens' role - he was superb in the run in last season. A real pro and the first time I've really thought of him standing up as our captain. But what will his role be? I don't want KC to put him anywhere again...but is he now too vital to leave out if available?
2) Percival/Turner/Jones - where will each end up? Percival is a certain starter IMO but which side? Do we pair him up with swift or Makinson? Splitting Percy and swift was a good plan but where does that leave turner? And what about jones: where does he fit in with all this?
3) Walsh - will he keep fit? When will he be fit to play and who will fill in until he does come back? Thankfully we have options and I suppose GF winning Flash can always be used!! Also question marks over Lomax's fitness too.
3) starting props - who do we go with? Amor certainly, but Walmsley and Masoe shouldn't start imo. Can Richards be relied upon as a full time starting prop? He was superb in the GF, but he is still young.
4) back row - this is an area that does worry me. We look weak I think. I know Vea is coming in but tbh I don't know much about him. Losing Soliola and Manu is massive. I was such a Manu fan and we will miss him. I like Thompson at 13. Will LMS carry his form into next season too? He does tend to start slow.
5) youngsters - Brown did well bringing them through and taking them out at the right times. How much will Savelio play? Will Greenwood come back in? I wonder who will break through in 2015 like Percival and Thompson.
I am really looking forward to next season but I think there is some work before I can think of this team being really strong. Definitely have the players but it's fitting them in and creating the right combinations that could take a bit of time.
Possibly why we really needed brown to stay another season to finish off the squad. It's certainly heading in the right direction but to truly kick start our dominance again there is still some work left'"
1) pushing Lomax all the way for his place. Last year nobody thought Wellens was a threat for lomax's shirt, but another year of injuries have left some lingering question marks over our incumbent no.1... I think the idea is to slowly shift Wellens focus to the coaching side as the season wears on as it is (though I said that this season)
2) percival has to start on the right for me and I think Jones is very underrated as a centre, and works very well on the left, complimenting Swift ... But Turner won't miss out and is still ahead of both in the pecking order. If and when Lomax plays though I wouldn't mind seeing Turner play a support role, poking through holes in the middle, running on forwards shoulders whilst offering another pair of hands in a sticky situation (aka play the traditional fulback role from another position) - I'd guess that solution is to carry him on at 13, but then that raises questions about Wilkin etc etc.
3) I don't have question marks over Walsh's fitness, sometimes tragedies happen. Questions still remain if he'll be fit for the season openers, but assuming he's not (and even if he is, it'll probably be worthwhile giving him a full off season belatedly) I imagine the easiest solution is Wilkin stepping into the role, with Hewitt hopefully playing a few "lesser" games next to Burns, who should be a good mentor and protector on the pitch.
4) I was a big doubter at the start of the season about using Walmsley or Masoe as a starter, but as with a lot of Browns peculiar tactics, I was made to eat humble pie. Hopefully we'll get more minutes from both next year with full off seasons for both, but I think Masoe edges it for me over Walmsley because he can have an aggressive streak when he wants (see the grand final). I wouldn't want to see Richards as a 4th choice prop in full rotation as I think he needs a few more years, so I'm still hoping there's another prop joining us. He will make a great 5th choice though for rotating and keeping people fresh.
5) a lot has been made about losing Soliola/ Manu - but one of the losses is negated by a bench spot being recovered by an interchange hooker being reintroduced. It means we'll play in a slightly different way next year, but limits the impact of the 2 losses. Vea will be a very good signing imo but only time will tell. LMS starts slow, but so did Manu (I'd of dropped him after cas away if he hadn't of been injured, he was very poor), so whilst it's frustrating, I don't think it changes us much, and should make the transition to back row permanently. I like Thompson playing the role he did in the second row, and so that would be my starting 3 (LMS and Thompson starting Vea off the bench). That leaves Flanaghan Greenwood and Savelio in rotation. (With Wilkin/Turner in the 13 role)
6) I'm hoping Hewitt will burst into life at the start of next year, and I think its a make or break year for Walker, so I'm hopeful he can step up. Don't know beyond there? Maybe the elusive Charnock may even be seen!
if I had to select a squad of 25 only at the moment it would be:
1. Lomax 2. Makinson 3. Percival 4. Jones 5. Swift 6. Burns 7. Walsh 8. Amor 9. Roby 10. Masoe 11. LMS 12. Thompson 13. Turner 14. Hohaia 15. Vea 16. Walmsley 17. Richards 18. Wellens 19. Dawson 20. Gardner 21. Hewitt 22. Walker 23. Flanaghan 24. Wilkin 25. Hand
Hopefully another prop will come in though, and it will leave us with a decent amount of depth outside the 25 as well with the likes of Greenwood and Savelio unlucky to miss out...
