Last Practice Match v Sydney

[kruddler]

You can now sub for tactical reasons, so no need to be feigning dodgy hammys......  The sub becomes a legitimate replacement and the tactics behind the use of the 23rd man can be transparent.

Don't forget the main reason the sub is there. For injuries.

Lets look at it this way...
FB xxxxx  Weitering  Marchbank/McGovern/3rd tall
HB xxxxx  Young  xxxxx
C  xxxxxx  xxxxxx  xxxxx
HF Silvagni Curnow xxxxx
FF xxxxxxx  McKay  xxxxx
R Pittonet  xxxxxx xxxxxx
INT De Koning  xxxxx  xxxxx  xxxxxx
Sub  xxxxxx

All the xxxxxx are 'smalls'
It shows us
2 key backs, plus a 3rd tall
2 key forwards, plus a 3rd tall
1 starting ruck
1 backup ruck on the bench.

Now in a perfect world, you sub off your worst performing tall (most likely ruck) and bring on a small with some more run.
However, if you get an injury to a small, then its like for like and you are stuck with the land of the giants.

So sure, there is a sub rule.....but it doesn't mean it helps you. If you start too tall, you will probably end too tall more often than not.

So IMO it comes down to who do you leave out? Pittonet, TDK or Silvagni.
Based on form last year, it has to be TDK.
When we dropped Silvagni we played without heart.

Now if Harry or Charlie goes down, sure, Jack and TDK can both play forward and we are fine.
The other thing there is, that Cripps likes to drift forward after stoppages, which makes us an extra tall (and slow) forward line. Dry weather days, it could be an advantage. In the wet? Very unlikely.


If Vossy wants to do something 'revolutionary' and go back to the past and have a 'resting ruck' sitting at CHB in the hole as your 7th defender, and have the other ruck as playing in the front half only, then we might be able to get away with having 3 rucks on the ground at once (inc. Jack)....it will result in us being 1 short up forward, or around stoppages, but its about the only way i can see it working on a consistent basis.