I hear you but that's assuming Donaldson is going to make the bench i'm not sure that will be the case if we have a full squad.

I won't be disappointed with him personally (unless he's rubbish) I just hope he gives us something different to prior,mellor,thompson,smith martin etc.Being good in the back and front row would be really useful.

If he improves the team then it doesn't really matter.He does look more of a back rower the little bit ive seen of him.I think he'll be used in both front and back row.

He looked good for Fiji i'm fairly optimistic he's going to be a good signing.

Which match did you watch? I'll have a nosey if I get the chance.

I used Donaldson as the example because he's the one who i personaly cant see being left out, as i mentioned in my original post, i hope im wrong on that. You could replace Donaldson with A Suttcliffe or Thompson as the other bench player and my opinion would still stand, id go with two props/hooker/and 1 of Smith, Donaldson, Thompson, A Suttcliffe because i prefer to have a couple of big ball carriers on the bench, my preference of those 4 would be Smith. Thompsons the interesting one depending on how they plan to use him as he's got some size and a bit of go forward.

The new set restart rule gets a lot of attention with regards to how to deal with it defensively...smaller, lighter packs etc, but theres a balance to be found, you still want to be winning your share aswel, you do that by denting the line and pulling in defenders, big bodys do that. If we had 5 big plodding props, id agree that the balance is too far towards size and not enough mobility, but all 5 of our props are good athletes and moblie, think they would give us a good balance...Again, its a personal preference on how you like your bench set up and what you want from it.

Theres games on YT from the 2019 ociana cup against Samoa and PNG, think thery two seperate videos for each game, 1st half on one 2nd half on the other, i was impressed with him watching these games, good Yards after contact.

No idea who he is but love the name. Look forward to some "KIng Hit!" exclamations from commentators and crowds.

Its a great name.Me and some of my friends are calling him Elvis

TBH I can’t see Thompson missing out on the 17. Agar and Sinfield like his work rate and defence. That’s why they gave him one of our overseas spots.
And I would expect King to make the first 17.
I can see Donaldson getting less minutes than last season and I think Holroyd will see some more rotation. We relied on him every week too much last season.
Also, I think we need to see more from Mellor for him to be guaranteed 17 every week.
Mik, Tet, Prior and Martyn are guaranteed 17.
But having said all that, injuries will undoubtedly play a part, so it’s good that we have some more strength in depth.

To me mellor was another who was underwhelming last year.hopefully we see some improvement this year.

Agree with all of this.I would expect Sutcliffe and Donaldson to be vying for the last bench spot.There will be injuries and then hope Walters is next in the pecking order.

Suprised at you saying that as despite a few injuries i thought he went well and to be honest i was originally underwhelmed when he signed

He didn't come with a massive reputation i actually thought he played well.

Mellor runs some nice lines, but needs to make more impact with the ball, either punching through the tackle more, or offloading to a supporting halfback or centre. His defence is OK, but lacks a bit of bite.

He's a work in progress, but has a bit of time on his side yet.

If all our pack was fit I'd personally go with

Oledzki, Leeming, Tetevano
Mellor, Martin
Prior.

Subs
Dwyer
Smith
Holroyd
Vuniyayawa.

For me that would be the most balanced pack Oledzki, Tetevano, Holroyd, Vuniyayawa would play props and the Prior and Smith can switch between the loose forward position. Most back rowers can play full 80 mins these days and Mellor and Martin have done that last season. If injuries happened during a game Smith or Vuniyayawa can move in second row and we wouldn't be light for props. If injuries happend too our front rowers we'd have plenty of cover with Prior able to play there. I do think Thompson will be in our 17 a lot next season with how highly regarded he seems to be at club and I wouldn't mind that as long as the likes of Smith, Holroyd and Vuniyayawa are given plenty of game time during season to prove their worth. I like Mellor as a player think he does the little things well you need in a back rower tackles well can hit a decent line could maybe try add an offload to his game but that's more off the cuff stuff if it's on I'm sure he'll try and play it. Mellor is the type of Back rower JJB and Ablett were for us not flashy but solid pro who does the 1% things well. I'll feel a bit for Donaldson because if all our pack is fit I don't see him getting played often but he's another solid pro and won't let us down when he's needed.

I agree with loads of that but with a good pre season behind him I can see thompson in the matchday squad far more often than not.

Same.

Agar being the tactician he is I wouldn’t be surprised if it changes game by game who ever we are playing.

I think we will see Vuniyayawa on the bench in most games, but others I wouldn’t be surprised to see him starting 13 with Oledzki coming off the bench and prior starting 8.

I think the depth in the squad is much better with the additions of Vuniyayawa and Tetevano.

We now have a good squad of 31 (32 if you include Burton training with the FT) that can cover a variety of positions.

Tommy the Tank was IMO unlucky to miss out on the CC final last year and was a standout in some “second first team” games - with a busted hand.

I expect he’ll be on the bench most weeks this year.

I am reasonably happy with our pack for now.

Don’t think we’ll be getting embarrassed down the middle any more. In fact we’ll be a handful to defend.

Is Matt Prior back in the UK yet? Very paranoid about the overseas lads showing up after Merrin and Ava.

No not yet but hes not supposed to be back yet either. Must be soon tho.

What happens if we get injuries in the backs, I can only see Martin going to centre and shuffling everyone else around to cover injuries.

If we got injures in the backs the likes of Martin and Mellor can move into centre and Cam Smith can cover injuries to halfs if Lui or Gale couldn't continue in a game not Smith best position but he has the skill set to fill in there if required. If we lost our starting fullback either Myler or Walker in game, Handley, T.Briscoe, L.Sutcliffe or Newman ( when he's fit) can move to full back with Mellor or Martin moving to centre if needed.