: Thu Apr 16, 2009 1:12 pm
Have to agree about Tony Stewart. It is nothing personal at all. He seems a nice chap, but his form does not seem to warrant a guaranteed place in your side. If he plays his way in on form and I hope he does, then fair enough but that is different to the current situation. The most worrying aspect for me, is that when fit, it almost seems definite that he will be selected. Surely, nobody is worthy of this luxury. IMO teams should be selected on form. It is something that really puzzles me about your team selection. I cannot understand why you do not select talented youngsters, such as Adam Rudd and John Cookson, especially over such a busy Easter programme. I am not saying that they should be automatic selections, but it seems to me, particularly with Adam Rudd, that half the entire squad could be injured and he would not get a game. This is very alarming. I always look at things in the following way. Who would I rather play against? Who would the opposition rather face? If you are honest and objective about selections, you will normally come up with the right formula. It is hard not to have favourites, but I think the best coaches always try to get their best players out on the pitch and try to go off form, rather than just selecting their favourite bloke. Being objective, which player would you rather be tackled by, Rudd or Stewart and which one of those two players do you believe would currently contribute more to the team? I too, hope Stewart proves everyone wrong. He has talent, but I am very puzzled as to why this does not show very often at this level. Against Barrow, when your players were tired after their previous matches, I am confused as to why you used Stewart as your bench player and when missing Hobson, did not opt to go with another prop eg.Cookson as your bench player. You have now played all the so called top teams in this league, except Halifax and to be frank, when I have seen you, you look no weaker than any of these sides. What does concern me a little however, is that certain players seem to be absolutely assured of spots, regardless of form, whereas other players seem unable to gain selection, no matter what they do. I have been reading about the difficult situation you have regarding Donlan and Mort. This is definitely a tricky one to solve. However, having watched you several times this season and last, I reckon your best twenty two players, in no particular order, are Higson, Hill, Donlan, Mort, Rudd, Morrison, Taylor, McConnell, Watson, Alstead, Maden,Thomas, Cunniffe, Hatton, Hobson, Meekin, Stanton, Marsh,Cookson, Durbin, Armistead and Haggerty. Obviously, you will have injuries, suspensions, loss of form to contend with during the season and the final 17 selected would have to take this into account. Also, putting these players into their best positions is a tricky task for your coach. However, I feel that if these twenty two or so were available, they are the players I would select from, but who would be a coach? Not an easy job at all.
