I'm a fairly big fan of Thompson in all honesty, his attacking style is big factor in this. A big-ish player with good speed and a wicked step with an eye for a gap. When he's on form he can be freakishly good in my opinion. Yes defence isn't as good as Hadley, but don't think Hadley offers anything in attack. Plus JT can play anywhere in the pack barring hooker and cover centre if need be.
Good option to have off the bench.

Is this your first experience of the disciplinary process?

Nobody contests a 1-2 match ban if they have an EGP available, no matter how innocent or guilty they may be. The panel are incompetent and biased in equal measure and even if you have overwhelming evidence to prove your innocence they'll most likely have made up their mind before you even present it.

It's a bollox decision, but just another in a long line of bollox decisions made by a panel that hasn't been fit for purpose in decades. If you don't play for one of the favoured clubs you'll always get the $hite end of the stick. If I still got wound up by these jokers I'd have died of apoplexy years ago.

Where's he done that?

An EGP is not an admission of guilt BTW.

It's kind of in the name

I know what you mean though. No point risking a 2 game ban when you guarantee the one.

It is bollox. You see worse than that in most games and it's only ever a penalty. Has anyone ever seen a player red carded for something like that?

I like him too, and I think whoever Radford goes for will do a good job. I guess Washy is guaranteed a bench spot due to Radford's public backing of his utility value, so I guess there will only be room for one of them, along with one of Pritchard, Manu or Mini and a prop on the bench.

Shaul
Talanoa
Yeaman
Fonua
Naughton
Pryce
Sneyd
Watts
Houghton
Bowden
Pritchard
Manu
Washbrook/Thompson

Green
Taylor
Minichiello
Thompson/Washbrook

That would be my team. How's Tuimavave coming along, any news when he'll be back?

...they said it could be 6 weeks when it first happened.

Id start taylor and have bowden at 13, also start mini, and have the tank on the bench for the start of this one

An early guilty plea is not an admission of guilt? I'm honestly intrigued by your answer! How so?

Have a feeling Naughton will miss out and Steve Michaels back in

You're not genuinely that naive are you?

An EGP is used to ensure the minimum punishment rather than rely on the vagaries of a bent/incompetent disciplinary panel. All teams use them this way. A player's guilt or innocence has little to no bearing on the punishment he will receive so teams essentially opt out of the process by using the EGP.