National Rugby League PremiershipBy W D Nicolson - February 23, 2017
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NRL SuperCoach and NRL Fantasy pundits rejoice - your old mate The Postman is back with his take on the 17 Eels he believes Brad Arthur will pick for Round 1:
- Bevan FRENCH
- Semi RADRADRA
- Michael JENNINGS
- Brad TAKAIRANGI
- Josh HOFFMAN
- Clint GUTHERSON
- Corey NORMAN
- Suaia MATAGI
- Isaac DE GOIS or Kaysa PRITCHARD
- Tim MANNAH
- Manu MA'U
- Tepai MOEROA
- Beau SCOTT
BENCH - Nathan BROWN
- Frank PRITCHARD
- Kenny EDWARDS
- Daniel ALVARO
The Postman's Squad Analysis:- The big call for Brad Arthur is at hooker - because given how the Eels recruited in the off-season he would prefer to go with four forwards on the bench. That means it's incumbent Isaac De Gois v Kaysa Pritchard (with Cameron King seemingly out of the running after the trials) with the loser being squeezed off the bench by another prop.
- Suaia Matagi and Nathan Brown will almost certainly rotate through one prop spot, with Tim Mannah and Daniel Alvaro sharing minutes in the other. But once Sosaia Vave is fit he enters the mix as well.
- Frank Pritchard didn't sign to play NSW Cup so he will get one of the bench spots throughout the season. Also secure on the bench is Kenny Edwards who always seemed to add something when injected for Tepai Moeroa (who will play on the edge this year with Beau Scott finally reverting to the middle) and Edwards can also cover the dummy-half duties if he has to.
- So if Arthur wants a second hooker - he's going to have to leave one of Matagi/Brown/Alvaro out of his rotation. Which he can do as both Pritchard and Edwards can play through the middle anyway. David Gower is the experienced option to call on for the pack, with Peni Terepo unavailable as he is currently serving a 3 game club suspension.
- The backline picks itself - leaving Jeff Robson the experienced half backup and young Troy Dargan the wildcard if anything happens to Corey Norman and Clint Gutherson. The main options Arthur can turn to out wide is shuffling Gutherson to the three-quarters or giving Bureta Faraimo or George Jennings a run on the wing.
Sosaia Vave (Shoulder - Opening Rounds), John Folau (Wrist - Round 4 on), Will Smith (Knee - Mid-Season), Cody Nelson (Calf - Opening Rounds), Scott Schulte (Hamstring - Opening Rounds), Kirisome Auva'a (Suspended for Round 1), Peni Terepo (Suspended through Round 3).
