Quote: Sal Paradise "Leeds were missing two forwards Garbutt and Mullally even if Galloway was fit it is unlikely he would play ahead of Cuthbertson, Darbutt, Singleton and Mullally and Ferres would never get in ahead of Ward, JJB and Ablett. If Melbourne had played Kasiano and Kaufusi they would added as much as Garbutt and Mullally. The idea that Mullally/Ferres etc. would have had a big influence on the game is grasping at straws IMO. Yes Leeds lost Walker but Melbourne also lost Slater and even at this stage of his career Slater is still in a different world to Walker as a player.
Leeds will not be far off winning the GF this year but the gulf in class between the 2 competitions should not be ignored.'"
Galloway probably wouldn't get in if Garbutt and Mullally were fit, but he and Peteru would both be ahead in the pecking order of what we ended up having on the bench
These players missing probably wouldn't have a big influence in terms of anything special ball in hand but it's about sharing the workload in the forwards and working as a unit. The likes of Cuthbertson could've done more had he had some bigger and better teammates in the prop position. Not every player in a 17 is there to do something special, some are there to do a role that allows others to be match winners.
By the time Melbourne lost Slater at HT the damage had already been done.