Leafa's throwing is suspect anyway, amazed Sexton was overlooked as his set pieces are way better. Would also have been safer with Neville and Jones as locks, and Timani on the bench and the raw Jeffries to come in after a couple of games.
Maybe it's a kick up the ass for Sexton and Neville, maybe they haven't been training well, maybe it's a Captain's Call from McGahan. Seems damn weird to me, though.
Placid is another who didn't make it. The kid is still young, however, and Naivalu has gone well in the trials and can cover 13/wing, whereas Placid is 15/wing and they already have Hegarty covering 10/15.
Interesting that Shipperley played 13 in the trials but goes straight back to wing in the opener, and Ellison was rushed in with little time.