FearTheVee wrote:
We could easily have played Flanagan hooker last week (instead of Speakman or Ashe).
We could equally as easily have played Turner at 6 instead of Charnock, moving Meli to centre.
Then there's Greenwood, Walker, Percival.
Fact is, Brown has taken lots of opportunities to blood kids. They're just the "wrong" kids for some people.
We could, but I didn't suggest Brown wanted to shunt the whole team around. I suggested that he was covering for injuries. Had those injuries not occurred, those young players would not have been blooded.
And incidentally, I liked the idea of Speakman at hooker. That is a young local hooker being given his debut covering for our injured hooker. That's exactly how cover should be: a player in that position covering for an injured player in the same position. However, that is very different from player development, which is what was mentioned. For and example of the approach I go for in player development, see Smith's handling of Myler at Warrington. That is phasing a player into the team, not just dropping them in when injuries occur.
We have just brought in a hooker from Salford. So will we see Speakman again this year? Maybe if Howarth is injured during Robes' absence but otherwise I doubt it very much.
