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Ted Fahey (11)
So, given that many posters here would agree with the premise of having both Gill and Hooper in the matchday 23, how do we pull this off given the following circumstances:
a) only five forward reserves (three of which are a full front row
b) MMM is not an option
Assuming that Higginbotham is out for the first test, do you start Mowen at 6, Palu at 8 and put a genuine lock on the bench?
The upside is you have a specialist lock reserve and if Mowen comes off early, you have to play Gill and Hooper for the rest of the game. If Palu comes off early, you have to move Mowen to 8 and then have Gill and Hooper at 6 and 7.
The potential downside is that you could be forced to play a really small backrow for too much of the game.
The upside is that you have a specialist lock on the bench and the ability to play two 7s has no downside if you're not forced to take Mowen or Palu off early.
I was just watching highlights of the 01 games with Kefu, Giffen, Finegan etc ...kind of scary how light we are on talented hardmen at the moment with those in the squad to date as backups ..... I guess higgers has his scans today ..... crap!