Quote: jonh "Whitbread is a "middle". I don't like the term but it is certainly a position we are stuck with for the foreseeable.
With ball handling 13s seeming to be very few and far between the 13 and Prop role in most cases has become interchangeable, and more often than not they do the same job.
A middle tends to be a little more mobile and agile than the traditional view of a bigger prop.
I think we have an imbalance in the prop rotation where we have possibly 6/7 middles and only one out and out Prop in Fafita.
Wigan last year were in a similar position with basically a prop rotation of middles and their lack of ability to get meters ended up with them being the lowest try scorers in the division, along with some very negative tactics from the coach at the time. The priority was for them to recruit 2 traditional Props and they had to search hard to find them from less obvious routes.
Covid and the arrival of a new franchise in the NRL for 2023 means the talent available from the NRL is going to be reduced even further which is why it is refreshing for us to be investing in youth and developing players not just looking at short term fixes.'"
I agree the middles have become interchangeable but if you look at our middles the 2 that stand out in terms of linking our attack, a decent pair of hands at the line and some good footwork at the line are Whitebread and Arona and I don`t think it`s any coincidence that they have both played a lot of rugby at 13 both here and the NRL. To be honest, I think Crowthers game has come on a lot passing near the line and linking in, not quite there yet but he`s vastly improved to what he was.
he's always right, He should be a twin really, he's too many brains for one.
