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Message: [QUOTE="Big Pete, post: 3108638, member: 1899"] [B]Likely teams[/B] [panthershead].[/panthershead] 1. Caleb Aekins 2. Josh Mansour 3. Dean Whare 4. Brent Naden 5. Brian To'o 6. Jarome Luai 7. Nathan Cleary 8. James Tamou, 9. Apisai Koroisau 10. Moses Leota 11. Viliame Kikau 12. Isaah Yeo 13. James Fisher-Harris Interchange: 14. Tyrone May 15. Malakai Watene-Zelezniak 16. Jed Cartwright 17. Kurt Capewell 18. Stephen Crichton 19. Matt Burton 20. Brendan Hands 21. Jack Hetherington 22. Mitch Kenny 23. Zane Tetevano 24. Billy Burns 25. Liam Martin 26. Pat Hollis [eelshead].[/eelshead] 1. Clint Gutherson 2. Blake Ferguson 3. Michael Jennings 4. Ethan Parry 5. Maika Sivo 6. Dylan Brown 7. Mitch Moses 8. Junior Paulo 9. Reed Mahoney 10. Reagan Campbell-Gillard 11. Shaun Lane 12. Ryan Matterson 13. Nathan Brown Interchange: 14. Jai Field 15. Haze Dunster 16. George Jennings 17. Jaeman Salmon 18. Will Smith 19. Marata Niukore 20. Stefano Utoikamanu 21. Kane Evans 22. Ray Stone 23. Daniel Alvaro 24. David Gower 25. Oregon Kaufusi 26. Peni Terepo Don't read too much into the bench formations, I gave myself away with the Eels second string halves but essentially I've got the backs filling the early numbers and the forwards taking up the later numbers in no real order. Not surprisingly, Aekins has won his shoot-out with Daine Laurie for the vacant fullback position. I would just about lock the halves and backline in, it's just a question of Crichton and if he can push to keep his spot in the team. I'm not 100% sold on that forward formation. It could easily be 10. Fisher-Harris 12. Capewell 13. Yeo, I was just trying my best to put a second string team together. With 14. Kenny 15. Leota 16. Tetevano filling the bench I'd say there's only one more spot up for grabs. I'd imagine Martin would have the inside running but Hetherington and Burns could give him a run for his money. The biggest surprise selection is St Mary's Prop Patrick Hollis beating out two NRL contracted players for a bench spot. Hollis came through the Panthers system six years ago but in recent times has been playing for the NSW Cup feeder side St. Mary's. Penrith still have three spots open in their development squad, so both he and Brendan Hands may have put themselves in the frame for an unlikely NRL birth. As for Parramatta, that's close to their full strength line-up with Waqa Blake set to return against Canterbury in Round 1. RCG may rotate with one of the other props but he'll be in the 17 and there will be a tussel for the other spots on the bench. [bulldogshead].[/bulldogshead] 1. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 2. Reimis Smith 3. Will Hopoate 4. Kerrod Holland 5. Jayden Okunbor 6. Lachlan Lewis 7. Jack Cogger 8. Aiden Tolman 9. Sione Katoa 10. Dylan Napa 11. Josh Jackson 12. Corey Hawira-Naera 13. Adam Elliott Interchange: 14. Brandon Wakeham 15. Christian Crichton 16. Isaiah Tass 17. Jake Averillo 18. Morgan Harper 19. Dean Britt 20. Joe Stimson 21. Ofahiki Ogden 22. Renouf To'omaga [raidershead].[/raidershead] 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 2. Nick Cotric 3. Jarrod Croker 4. Curtis Scott 5. Bailey Simonsson 6. Jack Wighton 7. George Williams 8. Josh Papalii 9. Josh Hodgson 10. Sia Soliola 11. Elliott Whitehead 12. Hudson Young 13. Joe Tapine Interchange: 14. Daine Spencer 15. Michael Oldfield, 16. Harley Smith-Shields 17. Matt Timoko 18. Semi Valemei 19. Matt Frawley 20. Sam Williams 21. Emre Guler 22. Siliva Havili 23. Corey Horsburgh 24. Dunamis Lui 25. Kai O'Donnell 26. Ryan Sutton In the first time in a long time, I'm excited to see how the Bulldogs will line-up. I've named an experienced line-up in Holland at 4 and Okunbor at 5 but those positions are certainly up for grabs at this stage. You can just about lock the rest of that 13 down and with Marshall-King set to return that leaves five spots up for grabs. I'd be prepared to say the bench will comprise of 14. Katoa 15. Britt 16. Stimson with 17. coming down to who plays better between Ogden and To'omaga. For their sake, I hope they promote some different players and don't rush Meaney, Montoya, Sue etc. back into the team. Of all the teams, Canberra are the team I'm most interested in watching. They had a fantastic season last year but there's already some telltale signs that they'll struggle to back up and they can't afford to slip like they did in 2017. We know that Hudson Young won't be there and Curtis Scott remains in severe doubt for that opener. If Scott is out, I'd imagine Oldfield would be the safe option and it's just a matter of what the rookies are capable of. Both Smith-Shields and Valemei are in the NRL squad now, so if they can star they might push Cotric to the centres and come in. With Bateman set to miss the opening six-eight weeks of the competition, and Young out for six, I'd imagine Canberra will go 12. Tapine 13. Sutton. They may even start that way with the trial, get the dress rehearsel in before they give Young a run. Spencer and Timoko may have won themselves a development deal and either O'Donnell or Frawley may have received a spot in their NRL squad, the Raiders still have to announce one more signing before Round 1. With the injuries, I expect the bench to be comprised of Horsburgh, Guler, Lui and Havilli. If Ricky is feeling adventurous he may replace Havilli with an outside back just to give himself options. [dragonshead].[/dragonshead] 1. Zac Lomax 2. Jordan Pereira 3. Euan Aitken 4. Tim Lafai 5. Mikaele Ravalawa 6. Corey Norman 7. Ben Hunt 8. Trent Merrin 9. Issac Luke 10. Paul Vaughan 11. Tyson Frizell 12. Tariq Sims 13. Blake Lawrie Interchange: 14. Adam Clune 15. Jason Saab 16. Tristan Sailor 17. Brayden Wiliame 18. Eddie Blacker 19. Billy Brittain 20. Jackson Ford 21. Tyrell Fuimaono 22. Jacob Host I'm curious to see what McGregor does with that backline. The Dragons have really struggled for points in recent seasons which suggests they'll need some fresh blood. They've opted to give Zac Lomax a shot at fullback to see what he's capable of with more space. It's far from locked in and if Zac goes out and stinks up the joint against the Rabbitohs it could be over before it begins. For now, I would say that Aitken and Lafai are safe unless Wiliame can really push his case. The 28 year old had a horrible run of luck in the NRL where it took him four seasons to finally experience a win in the top grade and he could never really nail down a spot. He had a better go of it in the ESL, but he was hardly a try-scoring weapon. The other options they have are Saab and Sailor who are both wingers at this stage of their development. Of the two, I believe Saab could make a strong case for the wing and would be an easy target for a cross-field kick. I'd say the biggest surprise is Adam Clune. Adam is no stranger to the Red V, he's been a part of the club for close to a decade at this point but after failing to earn an NRL contract on his first go around, has only just come into frame after a strong season in the NSW Cup. I view him and Sailor as the depth option in the halves if anything was to happen to Norman or Hunt with Jayden Sullivan serving as the long term development player. Unfortunately Jayden sprained his ankle so he won't get an opportunity to test himself against men and will likely make his way through Flegg and then the NSW Cup. The other outsider is Billy Brittain who is bit of the opposite of Clune. Brittain has actually been apart of three other NRL systems before taking this opportunity at St George. Brittain is playing for his future and if he can impress he may find himself as the Dragons #9, a thought that must have seemed foolish just a couple of years ago. Since he's a former Bronco, I hope he nails the audition. The Dragons should welcome back James Graham for Round 1 against the Tigers which will likely see Merrin demoted to the bench. Depending on how well Brittain goes, that will leave three bench spots between Blacker, Ford, Fuimaono and Host. Unless Kerr and Korbin can get themselves right by Round 1, another Queensland forward will receive their opportunity and from most reports, Blacker is somebody you want in your rotation. Well this turned into a novel, we'll see how it all shakes out. I'll make sure to update the OP with the official line-ups and will follow all the action. [/QUOTE]

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