Quote: Grimmy "Mellor, who is coming off the back of a serious injury and didn't get picked for his debut today despite a first choice half back and his back up (Finch and Sam) being injured and us having seven subs, ahead of Pryce who has played lots of SL, scores a try a game and seldom lets anything past him. I'm not having a go at Mellor, but I think Maguire opting to use Lockers at stand off when McIllorum went off today rather than giving either Mellor or Powell a bench spot must be an indication that they aren't ready for any game time this season.
Karl Pyce didn't let anyone down when he played last season and was very close to getting that right wing spot ahead of Goulding. I think if we play him on the left wing while Richards and Finch are out Maguire will have a real headache when they return.'"
Whilst I would guess that moving O'Loughlin to stand off mid-game is the preferred option, I would have thought it had more to do with the fact that Powell and Mellor are likely to be the preferred halfback pairing for the Barrow game, giving them both a full 80 minutes to impress and see where each player is at this early stage. If one of them plays well against Barrow they might make the squad against Wire. Meanwhile it allows Madge to focus on the forwards, where there is most competition, and assess their progress in one go.
I don't think it was a sign that neither Powell or Mellor would get first team rugby this year, although that's just guesswork.
