Huge
International Rep
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- Mar 7, 2008
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Loved all this post except for the very last shot about WB, nothing to do with the subject. 98/100So Walters is not a genius for winning 2 series while renewing the legendary team that won 11 out of 12 series, but is a flog for losing one where players kept dropping like flies? Gotcha.
Difference between 2016 and this year: No Cooper Cronk, Cameron Smith, Johnathan Thurston, Nate Myles, Matt Scott, Darius Boyd, Matt Gillett, Corey Parker and Sam Thaiday. Peanuts, right?
Besides, based on this year's form, we'd have almost no players to select from, and the player who appeared to be in best form, was the one who shat the bed the worst...
This is not a "we were so close", it's a "considering the circumstances, we definitely did very well to get so close".
BTW, while Gavin Cooper isn't the future, he certainly was good enough to be there this year, and it definitely wasn't for him that we lost the series.
As to the future... I think we definitely do have a core group.
Ponga, Holmes, Gagai, Morgan, Munster, are close to certainties in the backs when fit, with Oates as a luxury backup. Inglis will probably not last much longer, despite wanting to go a few more years.
Let's see what that creep of a DCE does, but we still have Milford and Taylor on the sidelines, who I still regard as our future halves, and Hunt can well become a fantastic utility to give us the spark we lack from Macca, who may be our Achilles heel in terms of attack.
Despite his miserable form this season, Coen Hess definitely belongs in the forwards mix, as do Arrow, Kaufusi, Napa and Wallace, alongside established players like McGuire, Gillett and Papalii. The fact we're turning to someone like Glasby as a backup and pinning our hopes on guys like Ofahegaue and Su'a, who have just arrived on the scene, is telling of how bare the cupboard is.
Of course, injuries and other issues are no excuse for a Walters, but sure work for Bennett... right?