They weren't the only options but they were probably the most likely. Clark can't be recalled until the day of the game so wouldn't have been able to train.wall_of_voodoo wrote: ↑Tue Jun 22, 2021 8:54 pm It's an interesting selection that's for sure. Are O'Neill and McDonnell the only players we could possibly recall from their loan deals?
If it isn't, then the recall of O'Neill is the most interesting for me. Despite his rabid fans defending what he does on here, it is an acknowledgment that Sam P's form has been abysmal and we are looking to liven things up around the ruck by the coach
Why? Because when we did have the opportunity to rotate hookers with a stronger line-up - we didn't. Why now bring a hooker in and onto the bench unless Lam is just making numbers up to give him the 17 to select from. If that is the case, we will lose and lose badly as it suggest Lam has no idea and doesn't want to actually play O'Neill - meaning we, one of the biggest RL names in the game cannot raise a squad FFS!
If this is brought in because (like some on here) he's seen that Powell is offering so little from dummy half and that we seriously need to improve our ruck speed then I'm expecting Powell to start and be rotated with a more direct style which hopefully the forwards will be able to make metres from
Just hope our defense improves drastically as the tactic of moving three steps forward and then stopping Its allowing our opponents to come at us and they then shift the ball wide ripping us open.
Hankinson, for whatever reasons, isn't being considered so we may as well forget that one. Not sure about the structure of the loan deal but it could simply be that London are currently paying his wages and those wages will be more than our younger players. Maybe Rads is trying to save every penny he can.
McDonnell is then the obvious choice since he's a forward and has already been around the first team squad on a few occasions this season. He could be used in the centres at a push to move Isa into the back row.
That then means the only other choice is a hooker - so Lam not only picked the best of the 3 we had out on loan but also the one who could continue getting game time after Thursday, as O'Neill can still play for the under 19's. He can also play at loose forward too which makes him more versatile than Bourouh or Roden.