Ashton Crowther Currie Dufty Harrison Holroyd King Leyland Lindop Musgrove Philbin Powell Ratchford Russell Tai Taylor-Wray Thewlis Vaughan Walker Williams Yates

To me, Russell/Holroyd/Crowther seems like the most interesting selection conundrum there, in terms of who starts, who (if any of them) is on the bench, and who misses out on the 17 altogether.

[quote="The Speculator":3lehyvdl]To me, Russell/Holroyd/Crowther seems like the most interesting selection conundrum there, in terms of who starts, who (if any of them) is on the bench, and who misses out on the 17 altogether.[/quote:3lehyvdl] I agree. Has Russell shown enough in the two friendlies etc. Fitzgibbon would strengthen the squad but otherwise we are nearly at full strength. I see Leyland as, at least, as good as Hayes.

Dufty Thewlis Tai King (Lindop if King not fit) Ashton Williams Leyland Vaughan Walker Yates Holroyd Russell Currie Powell Philbin Harrison Crowther Not sure whether to go with Crowther or Musgrove, I expect Burgess will go with Musgrove, but I'd be tempted to give the spot to Crowther,

Jury is still out for me with Russell.

[quote="karetaker":2xww2fb0]Jury is still out for me with Russell.[/quote:2xww2fb0] Yeah, I’m still on the ‘waste of a quota spot’ side of the fence, but I’m not writing him off - needs a good game to keep Holroyd out once Fitz is back next week, hopefully!

[quote="Alffi_7":27nilgys]Yeah, I’m still on the ‘waste of a quota spot’ side of the fence, but I’m not writing him off - needs a good game to keep Holroyd out once Fitz is back next week, hopefully![/quote:27nilgys] Agree with you about Russell, I just don’t want us to waste half a season picking him just because if he is not delivering. Then again the way Burgess has been with his squad picks and having the likes of Crowther, Holroyd and hopefully a fully fit Fitzgibbon Russell should know he is not an automatic shoe in and hopefully he ups his game.

[quote="karetaker":25to7ti3]Jury is still out for me with Russell.[/quote:25to7ti3] Same here. I have only seen brief highlights of our games so far, so I'm in no position to judge him yet. Plus, it's still very early days for him within the set-up. It will be interesting to see how he goes on Sunday, if selected.

[quote="The Speculator":o9nfzwk8]Same here. I have only seen brief highlights of our games so far, so I'm in no position to judge him yet. Plus, it's still very early days for him within the set-up. It will be interesting to see how he goes on Sunday, if selected.[/quote:o9nfzwk8] I thought he was better against Leigh than he was against Widnes - has has some size and is pretty quick for a forward. Possibly seems a little bit slow laterally in defence but worked hard in both games. For me, Holroyd is still ahead of him in terms of selection when Fitzgibbon is fit so this weekend will be a big one for him if selected. I'll be interested to see how he goes. I actually thought Tom Whitehead did well preseason and will be putting pressure on all the back row positions if people are out of form. Nice to have young players pushing for places in the 17 rather than making up the numbers.

[quote="karetaker":2m0gtv5b]Jury is still out for me with Russell.[/quote:2m0gtv5b] Definitely, he's not a like for like replacement for Nicholson. He did little against Leigh and again against Whitehaven imo. Just hope Sam and Co can get more out of him as the season progresses. It's hard to teach an appetite for work though.

I think we’re going to miss Bateman and Nicholson a lot.

[quote="ratticusfinch":2w9pibwu]I think we’re going to miss Bateman and Nicholson a lot.[/quote:2w9pibwu] Agreed. I think we will miss the workrate of those two. Our defensive workrate was excellent for most of 2024. I hope Russell steps up as well as Holroyd.