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Message: [QUOTE="Big Pete, post: 2652735, member: 1899"] This weekend is what I like to call dress rehersal week where the coaches give a fair indication of what the teams will look like come Round 1 with an odd injury or positional change not with-standing. Going through each team beginning with... Canberra - Confirmation that Jack Wighton will retain the fullback jersey in an interesting switch. Wighton is one of those players who has a bucket-load of potential but seemingly stagnated in the centres so moving him to fullback could be one of the best coaching decisions Ricky ever made. Interesting to see Hawkins named over Brenko Lee, I was under the impression that we'd see the Lee cousins team up in the backline but I think it's the right call as Brenko requires more seasoning in reggies. The other note here is of course the return of Fensom who has made a remarkable recovery and returned well ahead of time. It's a credit to him and this fantasy coach is awfully happy. Newcastle - I like the make-up of their backline. Playing Sione in the centres is the right choice, the kid has played the majority of his career in that position and while he has the talent to play anywhere from 1 through to 6, it's in the team's best interest he plays in the 3/4 line and really puts Joey Leilua on notice. Leilua is a talent in his own right but as we saw in the 4 Nations can play shockingly bad when he wants to. With Tariq to come in, I'd expect that to be close to their full strength side although I'm surprised that Sam Mataora isn't in the frame. Sydney - The selection of Ferguson in the centres is quite interesting. I would have thought they'd play him on the wing since he's been out a good year but I guess Robinson is willing to risk it. Will be interesting to see how that edge goes, both have their strong suits but have the potential to be accidents waiting to happen. Definitely an interesting time in Sydney... Manly - Speaking of interesting eras, a lot of eyeballs on the Sea Eagles and whether they can retain the best halves pairing in the game. Not much to say about their trial team other than it's pretty much close to full-strength so it will be interesting to see how they perform. In particular, I'll be keeping track of Clinton Gutherson who's got plenty of talent but has been a little suspect in recent times. Cowboys - Interesting to see Hoare and Tanginoa named over a few forwards. The latter of which I believe is definitely worth keeping an eye on heading into 2015. Titans - Ooooh boy. Poor ol' Hoffy still can't get the fullback spot, at a club that's arguably got the worst fullback in the NRL. People are going to have a field day with that. Mind you, I don't think it was ever about fullback - I just think it was one of many issues he had with Griffin and I'm sure he'll do well in the centres. Moseley, Don and James in the starting team is interesting but still think their halves will let them down. Tigers - Young side, very much a work in progress and I've been interested to see how Taylor handles a few of their problems. Early impressions is not well, I don't really like the look of Sue and Halatau in the backrow and think they'll be as up and down as ever. Cronulla - The closer we get, the more confident I get that they can squeeze their way into the 8. They've got a big point to prove this year and while I don't think they'll win a premiership, I can see them being a bigger part of 2015 than initially anticipated. It's pretty much as expected although I don't think they should be playing Prior in the starting team. He was horrible last year and I don't think he has enough improvement in him. Would have thought Gal at 10 and Heighington at 13 would be best for their side. Storm - Their side is very reminiscent of a team in transition. Good to see Billy back, I thought he was severely hindered last year so hopefully his appearance here is a sign that he's on track for another strong year. Bulldogs - Couple of interesting notes in that side. Morris at fullback, Tolman at lock and the selection of a rookie like Frawley. [/QUOTE]

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