It would be interesting to know the whys and wherefores of the 19. It might well be thought that the likes of Dudson and Galea are still a little undercooked, or indeed, if we do genuinely have competition for places this season, then maybe they haven't done enough to displace players who have shown up well in the pre-season games.
I haven't seen them yet so don't know who the stand out players have been in pre-season. You have got to assume that Paddy is an injury since he has been given a high profile at the start of the season, so it would seem odd to drop him. The view seems to be that Lloyd White does have an injury and whilst he certainly improved his play last season, it will provide a real opportunity for Heremaia to stake his claim and give us that zip we have been missing at dummy half!
As has been said there is always a worry when PAV comes up against a quality winger (assuming he will be opposing Charnley). Hopefully the run around he got at Wigan last season, was made worse by PAV not being fully fit. We have enough nous in the threequarters to be OK. Marsh I understand wants to play centre, not wing and Denis seems happy for him there, despite what the rest of us may think. I think we should be OK perming 4 out of Phelps, Dean, Marsh, AhVan and Hulme, with Hulme probably unluckily missing out!
Our best two halves are available, which has got to be good and the pack despite the absence of Dudson, Galea and Joseph looks solid enough. O'Carroll really started to show his stuff towards the end of the season and Manuokafoa gives us that extra bit of size, Gerrard is Mr Reliable and Kavanagh despite punching below his weight has enough experience to at least come off the bench and hold his own (we can always turn to Cahill to cover at prop if need be). Denis likes to have Isa's aggression and energy to come off the bench, so I would be surprised if he missed out and I think Carberry offers a bit of versatility covering 9 and 13. Tickle will always be one of the first names on the teamsheet, and I am assuming that Clarkson has acquitted himself well so far, so it looks very much like Craven and Hulme to miss out. Hopefully Craven has not been included in the 19 as potential cover for Brown, as we have found to our cost that Brown's absence is hard for us to cope with.
I would happily play Hulme for Ah Van, but I am sure Denis will go for experience.
If Denis is true to his word in saying the squad is there to win, not just the Wigan game but all the other games in the season and it will be horses for courses as different combinations will suit different opposition, then most of the rest of the "regular" squad will get game time over the next few weeks. The dilemma will come if (as we all hope) we beat Wigan and everyone has a blinder, if no injuries, who do we then drop. Established wisdom would say nobody, but that may not be the way things are done in modern day rugby league, to keep things fresh!
