nope. i believe we can have a 2 forward rotation off the bench in mannah and vave.
so my bench would be
14. aiton
15. mannah
16. vave
17. kelly
snowy and dougy can play long minutes. we dont need 3 front rowers on the bench.
gal, toops and smith can play 80 minutes.
rotate mannah, vave, snowy and dougy, with one of either snowy and dougy on the field at any time. we cant have both of them off at the same time at all.
inject kelly in bits and pieces to give him experience with not much pressure.
I think thats asking for trouble.
Alot of forwards can play 80mins, just not many can do it effectively. Thats when crucial missed tackles and errors turn into points against. The teams that have 1 or 2 extra forwards in their rotation will dominate the meters and make it hard for your backs - no matter how fresh they are your halves off the bench would be wasted. Come the 60min mark when your forward rotation has been worn down, backs like Slater & Campbell will split your ruck like hot butter.
The forwards that can play 80mins, while it is a handy option in times of injury and rotation strategy - They seem to be much more effective with 5-10mins of bench time durring the game. John Cartwright used to play Harrison, Minichiello, Harrison and Bailey for 80mins and have 2 backs on the bench. Come 60mins, and our forwards were less effective and started dropping balls at crucial times. Our backline rarely got their chances.
When he started putting 3 (sometimes 4) forwards on the bench and giving Harrison, Minichiello, Harrison and Bailey 5-10mins of rest - Titans started dominating meters and field position. Guys like Mark Minichiello went from 3-4 errors per game to zero - and in the frame of rep selection.
Wade seems to be your top half, so stick with him in either position then trial his combinations with Smith & Kelly to see what works. Don't make the year to long and hard for your forwards (no doubt they'll have rep duties on top) and keep at least 3 forwards in the bench. Just my $0.02
