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Message: [QUOTE="Big Pete, post: 3355725, member: 1899"] Hands up if you were guilty of reading too much into last week? I'm right there with you. Like clockwork I was so starved of football action, I read too much into the selections and I believe this week will give us the best indication of how each team is fairing. Of course some teams are dealing with injuries and keeping some of their stars on ice but for the most part we will be getting a much better lay of the land heading into Round 1. A few talking points heading into the weekend. Manly have gone with young gun Tolu Koula into the centres and Bullemor has impressed to get another stint on the edge. Still no sign of Andrew Davey who is recovering from his knee reconstruction that he had early last year. Ben also has the responsibility of his older brother and will play in the backrow this week. It seems like Ben is shaping up to be a really handy 17 and dare I say the next Beaver Menzies for Manly. COVID has hit the Raiders with Charnze Nicoll-Klokstead, Sam Williams and Matt Frawley all unavailable. Neither Williams nor Frawley were likely to feature in Round 1, but Charnze's absence has opened the door for young Queensland player Xavier Savage to have another go at fullback and give Ricky something to think about. Nicoll-Klokstead has been a revelation for the Raiders and if fit he'll get first crack but I think there's a good chance we'll see plenty of Savage this year (knock on wood). I tossed his name up earlier as a potential bolter but it appears that Junior Tupou is going to have to wait. Coach Maguire has given Roberts an opportunity in the centres after missing last week's game. Interestingly, Maguire has benched Peachey ahead of this game, either keeping him in cotton wool or returning to his three props in the middle philosophy. I can't be too critical of it since Bellamy has gone a similar approach but I'm not a fan of it and feel the days of Alex Twal etc. at 13 need to end. I think for Broncos fans, there's really only two games you should watch leading into Round 1. The Charity Shield to get a look at the opponents for Round 1 and of course the trial against the Cowboys. I think it's a good opportunity to get a read on Ilias heading into the game as well as Jaxson Paulo who will have the unenviable task of lining up against Kotoni Staggs. Paulo came through the grades as a centre, but as we've all seen it's a big ask to play that position at the NRL level. This will be our first real opportunity to see the Cowboys team. I almost considered just bolding the players who played last week but to avoid confusion I just bolded the 18 players. I'm very interested to see how they go this year. They had a very similar year as the Broncos where Payten realised the roster just wasn't going to work so he actively made changes on the fly and got a head-start on 2022. On paper it's still a very young team but at least they can move forward with this. For the Broncos, I'm a fan of the changes Walters has made. If you're going to see how Cobbo and Paix go, I'd much rather see it now than gamble with the season opener and have to reset. Fingers crossed for them that they work out, especially Cobbo, because Cobbo at 1 is a far more interesting proposition than having David Mead or Jamayne Isaako back there. [/QUOTE]

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