Friday, April 16, 2004
Who will Smith hitch his Wagon to?
Brian Smith will reportedly name a replacement for Daniel Wagon today. The question now is who will it be?
Throughout the year, Smith has shown a preference for sticking with his squad of top players and after a good win last week he will be keen to reward the players who did the job.
With that thinking, the most likely option is for Luke O'Dwyer to fill in at five-eighth. Like Wagon, he will not play a traditional five-eighth role, rather he'll play as a second lock along side Dean Widders, leaving Dykes and Morris to control the halves as they have done all year.
However, there are probably five other options for Smith. Both Jeremiah Pai and Shane Muspratt could play a similiar game to Wagon. Pai is very much built in the Wagon mould, while Muspratt is a versatile utility who has probably been the best Parramatta player in Premier League throughout the year. Muspratt could also move to hooker or interchange hooker, as he has been playing rake in reggies, allowing Smith to shift Morris to five-eighth.
The final option would be to throw Michael Witt or Chris Thorman in at five-eighth, or even play one of them at half and move Dykes to pivot. Thorman is getting better in Premier League, while Witt has shown he is up to first grade standard and being thrown in the deep end might draw the best out of him.
1Eyed Eel thinks O'Dwyer will get the job because its the least disruptive move. It will be a good test for the up and comer. If that happens though, what will the bench look like? Corey Pearson has been named on a five-man bench but his inclusion would leave the Eels with three interchange props - a strategy that did not work well earlier in the year and with the number of quick play-the-balls that are currently a part of the game right, that could leave Parra short on mobility.
If Pearson does play, we think it likely he will come into the starting team with Armit, who was playing as a second rower in Premier League, moving back to the bench. Pearson's pre-season form was very good and the lack of game time that Smith has given Armit even when starting, suggests he feels the young front rower still needs more time before he is really up to the rigours of the NRL.
Throughout the year, Smith has shown a preference for sticking with his squad of top players and after a good win last week he will be keen to reward the players who did the job.
With that thinking, the most likely option is for Luke O'Dwyer to fill in at five-eighth. Like Wagon, he will not play a traditional five-eighth role, rather he'll play as a second lock along side Dean Widders, leaving Dykes and Morris to control the halves as they have done all year.
However, there are probably five other options for Smith. Both Jeremiah Pai and Shane Muspratt could play a similiar game to Wagon. Pai is very much built in the Wagon mould, while Muspratt is a versatile utility who has probably been the best Parramatta player in Premier League throughout the year. Muspratt could also move to hooker or interchange hooker, as he has been playing rake in reggies, allowing Smith to shift Morris to five-eighth.
The final option would be to throw Michael Witt or Chris Thorman in at five-eighth, or even play one of them at half and move Dykes to pivot. Thorman is getting better in Premier League, while Witt has shown he is up to first grade standard and being thrown in the deep end might draw the best out of him.
1Eyed Eel thinks O'Dwyer will get the job because its the least disruptive move. It will be a good test for the up and comer. If that happens though, what will the bench look like? Corey Pearson has been named on a five-man bench but his inclusion would leave the Eels with three interchange props - a strategy that did not work well earlier in the year and with the number of quick play-the-balls that are currently a part of the game right, that could leave Parra short on mobility.
If Pearson does play, we think it likely he will come into the starting team with Armit, who was playing as a second rower in Premier League, moving back to the bench. Pearson's pre-season form was very good and the lack of game time that Smith has given Armit even when starting, suggests he feels the young front rower still needs more time before he is really up to the rigours of the NRL.
