Go away pls Allen we need williams
The Allen selection has no impact on Williams being selected in my opinion. Allen is our 3rd key tall forward and Williams/Vardy the backup ruck.
It does sound promising but there are a lot of names in the hat for that second ruck role: B.Williams, Vardy, Hickey and Allen!
@Lost In The Sky While we have you, could you please share your thoughts on the likelihood of Brander and B.Williams playing in round one? What do you think the best 22 for R1 will look like?
I thought Brander probably gets a crack as he did okay in the role he had been training in all preseason.
B.Williams I'm not as sure on, do WCE really pit a 19yo against Gawn in Round 1, especially after his slight hammy injury interruption?
I think both will play round 1, The intra-club this Friday is important, but I think we've shown our intent to play Brander on the wing through the Marsh series. We selected a near best 22 team and Brander was talked up by the coach whilst playing the majority of both games on the wing. I think he'll get first crack at Masten's old spot.
We also seem very keen to play Williams. The kid really has something about him, and they seem to be giving him every chance to earn that spot. A lot of buzz about him over here over the summer, and couple that with Vardy's average March Series form, and Hickey's complete lack of a run... I think if Williams is fit, and it sounds like he is by what he did today at training... He will get a gig in round 1. I really don't think it matters we are playing against Gawn, Nic Nat looks in great shape and goes well against Gawn, and Williams has an even bigger leap than Nic Nat, so we only need him to compete when relieving in the ruck. The coaches won't expect him to go out there and dominate. Helping his cause is he's the most natural forward out of the 2nd ruck contenders.
Here's how I see our best 22 for next week...
B: Liam Duggan, Tom Barrass, Brad Sheppard
HB: Shannon Hurn, Jeremy McGovern, Lewis Jetta
C: Jarrod Brander, Elliot Yeo, Andrew Gaff
HF: Jamie Cripps, Jack Darling, Jack Petruccelle
F: Oscar Allen, Josh Kennedy, Liam Ryan
Foll: Nic Naitanui, Luke Shuey, Tim Kelly
I/C: Dom Sheed, Bailey Williams, Jack Redden, Mark Hutchings/Jackson Nelson