Wayne Bennett is proving all the haters wrong if you ask me, he hasn't yet made a poor choice since signing with the Broncos.
* Finishing his tenure at the Knights well, ending on a good winning run
* Improving our Coaching Staff, whilst keeping valuable assets around, like Alex Corvo
* Scrapping the Co-Captains
* Signing Kevin Walters as Assistant Coach
* Acquiring cheap depth for the two positions that need it (Hooker, Prop) (Waddell, Gavet)
* Telling Milford early that he's going to be playing Five-Eighth, so he has time to prepare mentally
* Not overpaying for an ageing Hannant
* Giving Hoffman permission to explore other options, whilst leaving the door open for him to stay and play on the wing
In general, I like the direction WB is taking, but I can't agree with some of those points, while others are too early to tell.
- I'll ignore the first one, since it has nothing to do with the Broncos.
- Improving our coaching staff? Keeping Corvo is certainly a good thing, while Kevin Walters is really a question mark imo... but keeping Kearney? Come on!
- Agree that scrapping the co-captains is a good thing. Curious as to whom he will choose...
- Gavet is an acquisition I definitely like, and WB is certainly the right guy to get most out of him. Wadell... there wasn't really anything on the market, but I'm not sure he should even be called depth.
- Giving Milford not only time to prepare, but also ease his mind about having time to solidify his game in the position and gel with his team mates is excellent stuff.
- Hannant is a question mark, depends very much on what overpaying means... as I do believe he's worth more than the reported $100K. I have however, no issues with the choices made for the forwards though, as that is certainly something I completely trust Wayne with.
- Hoffman was always going to get permission to explore other options. The only reason he wasn't allowed last season is because Milford didn't come immediately.
IMO, we now have a very capable roster, and we should certainly be capable of filling any gaps with the youth coming through. I just hope Parcell trumps Wadell in the relief hooker stakes.
I'll venture a very early team:
1- Barba
2- Vidot (slimmed down a bit as he said he preferred himself)
3- Copley
4- Hodges
5- Hoffman/Kahu
6- Milford
7- Hunt
8- McGuire
9- McCullough
10- Kennedy
11- Gillett (I think he'd thrive on the left next to Milford)
12- Thaiday
13- Parker
14- Glenn
15- Oates
16- Gavet/Garbutt
17- Dodds/Molo/etc...