I do appreciate your contributions B&G but do scratch my head sometimes.
I believe that Macklin and Howard have rowed together in same crew over last couple of seasons. Yet you say one is putting on extra bulk but you fear the other will be too lean. Which one is it when they would be doing exactly the same work together?
Sorry to confuse Ill attempt to be clearer - I try not to write essays
In Howard - he was always one of the bigger boys on the field and gained a great advantage through that - the others have caught up somewhat over the years and he can no longer rely on his size/strength to simply overpower opponents - now I am not saying that is all he was/is as a footballer but it was a significant part equally he is still a very strong and powerful 16 year old..
In order to fill the role we were talking about as a running/tackle breaking No 6 as a true 16 year old I would think he would need to bulk up from his standard weight - as/if rowing remains his priority it is hard to see that happening. As a young rower (a true 15 year old in the First 8 last season) he gives away a lot of natural strength to older boys - something he makes up for with incredible fitness and size strength ratio - those ergos he does shed the fat %.
Rowing or not he should be a force NEXT year as he grows again (presumably)
Macklin on the other hand is entering his 18th year and will be one of the older boys certainly at GT - he is in his prime development period and should be
naturally heavier and stronger than he was last season,
Additionally I have heard that rugby may be a bigger focus than rowing for him this year.
There is a massive difference in comparing natural physical characteristics and strength of boys 16 and 18 years old and their weight and fitness training (often markedly different) can and often will yield very different outcomes.
I don't see the outcomes as necessarily mutually exclusive particularly given the age difference.
On top of all that I didn't really say I expected either was GOING to happen just that IF Howard is lean and lighter due to rowing (as he was in 2015) I think he will struggle to make the team at 6 in 2016 and GT will look to keep Macklin in the team unless they get a marked advantage in weight by introducing a new prop. The heavier he is the less likely that happens.
BAG