Allow me to introduce,
The Griffin.
1. Bird
2. Oates
3. Glenn
4. Su'A
5. Fifita
6. Staggs
7. McCullough
8. Lodge
9. McGuire
10. Haas
11. Pangai Jr
12. Gillett (c)
13. Ofahengaue
14. Savelio
15. Fai
16. Mago
17. Funaki
Can I have a go at justifying it? Here are the tough ones:
1. Bird - was impressive there for Sharks in his rookie days. He's a powerful ball-runner who would get our sets off to a great start, he's certainly mobile enough (and young enough to be able to work towards the fitness required), and from also playing in the #6 has at least some ball-playing experience.
3. & 4. Glenn & Su'A - While arguably less mobile than our traditional centres, they are incredibly powerful. Imagine our halves skipping out to the right and having the options of Gillett, Su'A & Fifita to throw to, with Bird shaping around the back. Even if they don't have the absolute pace to get through untouched, each has the power to simply throw off their opposite should they get one-on-one. It brings back memories of our 2000 premiership, with a massive team across the park that could simply bully our opposition in to submission. Even though the interchange was different then, Glenn & Su'A have been able to play big minutes in the pack from a young age, so lasting 80 in the centres will be a walk in the park.
5. Fifita - Like Oates, just an unstoppable, powerful ball returner. Tall enough to be safe under the high ball, and a fantastic attitude and work ethic, meaning he will not stop training and improving in the nuances of wing play, especially defensively.
6. Staggs - Perfect for the #6 jersey. We've seen how good his running game is, but also how good he is at setting up his inside and outside man, powerful enough to hold the opposition up and still get the ball away with 2 or 3 defenders on him.
7. McCullough - The best halfbacks in the competition aren't speed machines. What they have is a cool head under pressure, a decent long kicking game, and the ability to stick to a game plan. With our centres lacking on mobility, McCullough's unparalleled defensive ability means his outside defence will have full faith in him and won't be pressured in to coming in, as has happened with Nikorima.
9. McGuire - An international hooker. He may be 108kgs, but he's not tall, so his weight is low to the ground, which as we've seen, allows him to scoop up and shuffle the ball off the ground easily. Doesn't have the running game of a Cook or McCullough, but won't need to - the forwards (and for that matter, the backs too) will be the ones creating the momentum.
Milford, Boyd & Roberts: We've easily freed up $2.5 million to make sure we not only retain all our quality juniors, but have the ability to sign the best talent from wherever we want, whenever we want.
