Lee, with no Kepu i'm expecting Cowan as Deans had him in the 3Ns team. Daley must be close to his equal but dont think either should go. Getting rid of Baxter makes absolutely no sense at a time like this. Easily better than both in the scrums and only loses to Daley around the park:banghead
Like Daley, Cowan is no great chop as a prop. He plays for my local club, the Rats, and he does well enough in club rugby but that's about it.
Baxter was a resource not well used by Deans when we had injuries; however, I am sneakily confident in the medium term about props (and not to the point, but hookers too).
Kepu (as a THP), Slipper and Fat Cat can hold their own in most company. Alexander and Ma'afu (if he keeps the same form as against Wales) are good replacements, though Benny always starts somehow - and Ma'afu should be starting most weeks for the Force.
THP Palmer was on the rise this year but it was curtailed by injury. Apart from a couple of weeks when Ma'afu got a run he was starting every week for the Brumbies before then. LHP Longbottom looked suspiciously competent; so let's watch him next year. Greg Holmes looked impressive in the finals at THP and has played on the LH side a lot on his comeback.
Longer term we may be looking at THP PAE. He looked pretty good for Force A in Sydney earlier this year and should get on the park for a bit in 2012 even though it won't be long after his 20th birthday. It's too early to be talking about LHPs Faulkner and Sio but they are both decent in Sydney club rugby so watch this space on them.
Not all these bets will come off but if our 3 best props: Slipper, Fat Cat and Kepu stay healthy, plus Alexander, who will probably be picked anyway, and a couple of the others step up, we should not be embarrassed as much as we have been in recent times.
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