I can not have been alone when hearing the team read out to be somewhat baffled by the selection of three forwards and a three quarter on he bench.

Turned out to be inspired considering TJ's early loss. However it does defy conventional wisdom.

Any theories, I have one but i'll wait and see what others think before saying owt

It was explained by Chester afterwards...with Kirmond dropping out the plan was to ease Lyne back in with a 20-30 minute stint in the centre and put Arundel in the back row when he came on...circumstances meant he came on and had to play 75 minutes...and I must say...after quite a while out I thought he was excellent...we've got some great options in the three quarters at the moment...club have done superbly in putting together a squad with very good strength in depth in just about all areas, while still spending less than everyone else!

CC wanted to get Reece Lyne some game time to test his fitness without sending him on dual reg. Planned to give him 15-20 minster at the end. The usual bench is 2 props a 2nd row and interchange hooked. As we only have 1 hooker, Hadley swapped to give Wood a rest, thus giving the space on the bench.

When all the centres are fit I'm not sure who I'd play.
Arundel was excellent yesterday and for me was the one who changed the game our way.

But then Lyne looked good and Tupou was at his best before injury.

Then add to that I've been pleasantly surprised with MCB in the centre and Gibson showed some great attacking skills.

Good problem to have.

Agree with that assessment except Gibson. He's markedly not as strong as the other centres.

Yes. I do think he has defensive frailties but not sure whether that is confidence after injury.
I like his attack though but he's last on the list right now.

I would certainly agree that its confidence as I thought Gibson got better with every game he played until his injury and if he gets the game time would expect him to keep improving but because of the way the others are playing its a big task to claim a regular spot
Like you said a nice position to be in

I was impressed by Lynne's pace yesterday, he tracked BJB all the way to the try line. Think he was showing off a bit personally.

I don't think we had any other choice vasty, we'd run out of hookers and half backs but like you say, it payed off.

That was a testing comeback for Lynne but he came through with flying colours.

Bit concerned about ineffective and injury prone Anthony England has become. Along side Huby, Fifita and even Hirst he really looks off the pace.

Lynne was very good yesterday.

Good point about England. He was head and shoulders our best prop before injury last year. It's a shame to see him getting dominated and taking some knocks as he was punching some massive holes in defences last year. I'm sure it's just a fitness thing and he'"" come good again though.

Used to come on here 3 seasons ago to give my two penneth and a lot of it would be frustration at Lyne. Well, where do i start? The boy is turning into a quality player. He's no longer lacking in strength, he's still quick but he now seems to have that extra belief in himself and enthusiasm and you can tell when he is running with the ball. Top man Reece. Keep it up.

Don't know if it's coincidence or not, but our defence has beefed up since John Kear cane on board and took over defensive work.

After seeing Keegan Hirst running over thirty odd metres through god knows how many Wigan defenders in the last home game I was a bit disappointed at how easily he succumbed to the tackles yesterday. Probably the biggest forward on the field and the most easily tackled.

I think he was looking for the offload more than a bust. We noticed how he spun around as he hit the defenders rather than trying to push on. Trouble was the rest of the team weren't aware.

Most forwards spin in the tackle looking for the offload or go down for a quick play of the ball, Keegan doesn't have the same time that he had in the championship but I must admit he gets better as the game goes on.

I thought Keegan had a decent game yesterday and gets better by the week! One thing he does do is draw a lot of defenders in with his size...it's amazing how much good stuff of ours comes directly after a Keegan play the ball...I think for a big lad he gets a pretty quick play the ball...the try where Arona cleverly switched play back came because 4 or 5 men got sucked into tackling him leaving space on the other side...was a quality play...

I've said it before and I'll say it again - big as he is, Hirst is not a barnstorming tackle-buster like Fifita; he's got a good awareness of what's going around him, and tries to use his bulk to win the collision and get an offload. As he grows in confidence and plays with more freedom, I think we'll see him do it more - and hopefully, he'll have support runners looking for the slipped pass, as they do with Huby.

Hirst is quicker than most props and offers a great offload game.
As others have said, he's a completely different beast to Fafita or Huby and after with a few more SL games under his belt, he will do well.
Also offers decent leadership and maybe a future captain ??

Dunno about that - the Captain should be on the field in my view; but he seems like a level-headed, articulate guy, so you would hope he's talking sense and motivating those around him anyway, Captain or not.

Centre can add speed to a backrow, backrowers can add stiffness in the 3/4.
The line has merged between the positions a bit like full back and stand off.
Chester notably did the same today with tupou.