Farah was right to be in the squad. He's the second best hooker in the comp. If Smith goes down, we need Farah there. But he's not right for the team. @
Big Pete, I still think the team needs a bench utility though. If not to cover for injuries, but at least be there to work towards the future, in terms of experience. That's why Farah is useless, he doesn't need experience, but Hunt is a good choice, as Cronk & DCE had been in the past. As long as they're able to cover 10-15 minutes defending in the back row (which arguably Hunt would be best of those 3 anyway) then it's a valid selection.
And like everyone else, I have a problem naming my best 17 man team because of the limited choices in the squad. Count them - 9 back-rowers. What's worse, so many of them are the same type - Bird, Cordner, Guerra, Hoffman, Jackson, Parker, Scott. All big minute, semi-impact players. They each have their strengths, but how many 80 minute back-rowers do you need? At least Papa & Thaiday can act as impact players, but even then, Thaiday isn't! He's played at prop, as are some of these back-rowers when they come off the bench. They're there because their fitness allows them to somewhat absorb the impact of the opposition forwards, but they're not the type of players to take the fight to them. We have to rely on opposition errors instead of genuinely earning field position and attacking chances.
Of the two props selected, Klemmer is a very odd choice. He may have some rep future, but at the moment he's playing maybe 20 minutes off the bench as an impact prop for his club. Would he even be in the team had the Bulldogs not made the GF? I doubt it. All bias aside, McGuire is the type of prop Australia need. He's a level or two behind Matt Scott, but the same style, which we sorely missed. As was suggested, a prop leader is what we need. How can the young blood gain experience if there's no old heads in there to learn off? Of the uninjured players left, Brenton Lawrence has been around a while now. Hannant is another possibility, his club form has been below his standard, but he's always performed at rep level. I wouldn't be too upset with Mannah (another suggestion from earlier), he's all heart and aggression, and I'd have him ahead of Tolman purely because Tim is a leader and Tolman has always been a capable second-fiddle.
My ideal team would be:
6) Cherry-Evans
7) Cronk
8) Mannah
9) Smith
10) Lawrence
11) Bird
12) Thaiday
13) Parker
14) Hunt
15) Papalii (for Thaiday)
16) Woods
17) McGuire
Bird & Thaiday run at the halves all day. Thaiday comes off for Papa to maintain the rage. Mannah starting just to show the kids who's boss, but probably gets subbed after 15 minutes for Woods. McGuire to come on after 25 minutes. Hunt to replace Bird for a short spell.
