He's being kept wrapped in cotton wool for the Final

please FA: the final.

So Alex Mellor scores a hat trick and gets MoM as a centre last week, and will presumably now shunted to the back row or even bench to accommodate a guy who hasn't played for months and is leaving at the end if the season (apparently)?

Sometimes I just don't get the thinking behind selections...

I can't bag the coach for playing people in their preferred positions. Mellor will still play, where he's best suited, and Purtell will come into the side and do a job. I'm not a huge fan of his but he's still better than Blythe.

Someone on here said Purtell was considering retiring at the end of the season, not sure if that is still the case anymore. He's still contracted for next season and if I had to guess, I'd say he's probably one of our top earners.

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I don't think it's like that. Mellor himself said this week (In the T&A was it?) that he sees himself as a back rower. Will play anywhere, but prefers to be in the back row. So he's not going to see it as being relegated if he starts in the back row this week instead of the centre. In fact if anything, it could be a reward to play in his favoured position.

If he ends up on the bench, I agree it's a slight demotion. He earned a starting spot last week.

I think Mellor's attitude is first class, tbh. At this stage of his career he may still have to determine where he is best suited, so it is best to explore places he might not have really considered.

I agree, and that's the reason I'd like to see him in the centres tomorrow. Apparently he played very well there last week, quite apart from the tries he scored, and it would be good to see if he could replicate that against (frankly) better opposition.

That's why I don't see any value in playing Purtell. If he is leaving, and it's once more heavily anticipated in today's T&A, I don't see how playing him ahead of Mellor helps build for next season.

And if these Shield games have any value at all, surely it is about building for next year?

I'm not a 100% convinced Purtell will be leaving next year.

Smith did say on Bulls TV that he's going to change it throughout the comp and the younger players will get a chance.

Well, he is signed until the end of next season, so unless he has some particular reason to leave - maybe retiring or some such. He's certainly been over here long enough to work out any homesickness, though it's possible there are other family considerations.

In today's T&A he seems to be hinting that he may well be off to London in a coaching role assisting Langley with their academy

What's happened to Ferguson. Have I missed something or is he injured?

Bradford at -12 is a gimme on the coupon with the team that Fax are sending.

Really? You haven't seen us play this season have you?