A three Test series awaits in the off-season for the best of the SRC to face. Today, in a press conference following the SRC Final, the squad was announced, position by position. Props 1. Dave Eggman 2. Benny Read 3. David Dafter 4. Shane Masters The management have clearly gone for proven strength in their first two selections. Eggman has been a standout throughout the season and a dominant performance in the final secured his place. Read has been solid after a late arrival to the SRC. The 3rd and 4th slots were much more closely contested. Dafter beat out Welker after a wank-off for the 3rd slot and Masters was selected as the 4th choice due to his ability to cover any position in the front row.
Hookers 1. Tom Delonge 2. Eddie Morris Tom Delonge's been in dominant form this season, and whilst not at his very best in the North/South games, his name was one of the first on the team sheet. Eddie Morris was seriously challenged for his spot by Alan Izett, but the selectors chose Morris due to his strength at the tackle and greater experience at the top level. Masters will provide backup if both are injured.
Surprised at the lack of Welker but I suppose it's fair enough with Masters' versatility. Not surprised at the 2 hooking options picked.
Second Row 1. Heath Davis 2. Sam Verigotta 3. James McDougal 4. Jason Denton No surprises in the 2nd row selections. Davis, Verigotta and McDougal have all been superb all season. The 4th spot was more keenly contested, but Denton won out against Torres for some standout performances in the North/South tournament.
30. To cover bad form as much as injuries. I have no idea how the squad will perform against the Jocks.
Oh fuck, not this old chestnut again. I've had this discussion with Fiery before. I'll change it as it clearly confuses people how I use it.
Flankers 1. Callum Laing 2. Simon Laing 3. Michael Chung The biggest loser here is Ben Manera, who was very unlucky to receive an injury in the last North/South which will keep him out for game one. The selectors decided to go with 3 fully fit options. Laing and Laing are likely to start on the flanks; with Simon Laing proving a great spoiler at the breakdown and Callum Laing great at gaining yardage.
Anyway, I'm hopeful of being picked (despite not being picked for Australia, even on the bench >_>). I know I did pretty well this season, especially in the rep games, although I'm not too clued in about how the competition from other provinces went. Don't really know what to expect.
No surprises in any of those selections there. Chung a great option of the bench, expect he'll get some big minutes throughout the series.
Number 8 1. Marcuss Deane 2. Brett Gemmell Only two reasonable options here. These guys picked themselves. It'll be interesting to see who actually takes to the field.
Halves 1. Ed Ames 2. Jake Luffman 3. Rob Cribb 4. Luke Pilgrim A real interesting decision to see who of these four will take to the field. Matt Scoble had been in early contention, but weak form towards the end of the season saw him fall away. Whilst Ames is the guy with the more proven track record, the combination of Luffman at 10 and Cribb at 9 has been very successful for the Spartans and could potentially beat out a Luffman/Ames combo.
Utility Backs 1. Andrew James 2. Regan Hutchinson 3. Al Son The selectors have shown faith in Hutchinson despite a poor SRC Final due to him being superb throughout the North/South tournament, demonstrating that he has the goods to play at this level. The reliable James is likely to see plenty of game time, quite likely starting.