Yeah when Daley got asked about him he said quoted his age and said he was one of those players who was really keen to play in the City-Country game. No chance based on that IMO.
I don't sit here and deride your argument based on whether you play the game or not so can with dispense with that kind of rhetoric? I mean when you say Merritt should be in the Test team I don't sit here and say "How can you say such an obviously biased and illogical thing when you play the game at reasonably high level?" So please don't impugn my argument based on whether or not I still play the game. I've played and refereed the game for over 15 years. I know a slow defensive shift when I see one. Yes but he didn't, did he? He didn't eventually end up outside McCrone because he was never going inside McCrone. And since you do play the game Benny, I'm sure you know that when an angle runner cuts back inside, it's the job of the defender inside to cover. It's not Sironen's job to worry about McCrone and have to worry about the angle runner (his man) and get forced into a two on one. What was he supposed to do? If he takes McCrone and McCrone passes, he's blamed for leaving his man unmarked. Hoffman let McCrone get outside him and put Sironen in a two on one.
Look at where Jackson is. And look at Hoffman's body position. Hardly waiting for the cross run. If McCrone is Sironen's man then who is at fault if McCrone passes? Sironen. He's in a no win situation because Hoffman let him get on the outside.
I thought Gordon had a pretty ordinary game. Merrin was great but forced a few poor offloads. He's gotta be in the side. Jorge Taufua was sensational. Sensationally woeful. How the fuck is in this game? Graham was rorted out of a proper chance to show his ability.
Mason and Merrin would be a superb bench/impact duo. I've been carrying the banner for Willie for some years now as a bench player. 8 runs for nearly 80m with 19 tackles and no misses. What is that if not the perfect resume of a bench player?
Neither are solely to blame imo. Hoffman got caught under the posts to start with so they were always going to be hard pressed to shut down a play with 3 players between the posts and the corner post. This is representative of a spacing issue which falls on the team, not individuals. Sironen and his outside backs probably should have jammed up and forced a pass under pressure or a kick but they were fucked no matter how they chose to defend imo, Hoffman was never going to make it that far across...
I've got 9 runs for 95m on the stats I'm reading ftr, which is even better (and sounds much more like the game he had).
Hoffman gets there if he commits IMO. He thought better to leave it to Sironen after McCrone had got on his outside.
Better than Galloway or Creagh did when they were asked to play reserve prop. Thing is, I think Mason should be playing on the fringe targeting Thurston. It will always draw in extra defenders which will create opportunities, with his offload. It's a big bonus to have Gallen able to play up front. Tolman and Tamou go off, Gallen and Merrin play up front. Mason can come on for Lewis. Problem is it means either Bird or Watmough will have to play middle third which is a problem because their defence is a liability in the middle. With a pack of: 8.Tamou 10.Tolman 11.Lewis 12.Bird 13.Gallen 15.Merrin 16.Mason 17.Watmough NSW still have four props, and plenty of mobility.
You could always just have Mason defend in the middle and attack on the fringes with Watmough or Bird doing the opposite. Personally I think Mason is past the stage of being a fringe runner and I also think Watmough's defence is actually better in the middle than it is on the edge, but if that's your worry then it's easily fixed. Attack: 8 Gallen 11 Mason 13 Watmough/Bird Defence: 8 Mason 11 Watmough/Bird 13 Gallen
Tedesco was clearly out of his element. He wasn't off the pace or anything but he made some costly errors. He's got the goods and lots of potential but this was just a game beyond him at this age and status. Sironen did nothing of note. Neither of them should've been playing in this match.
