Quote ="Offside Monkey"All sensible points.
If you did move Lomax to rotation hooker, who would you play at #7, Lance?
To be fair, I could see a Lance - Gaskell partnership working, with lance playing at 1st receiver.'"
Well, I'd prefer a genuine scrum half but since we can't even field a reserve Hohaia is the only realistic possibility (unless you're thinking of a shot-in-the-dark such as Swift). Provided Lance concentrates on moving the ball quickly and accurately to his play-maker and doesn't entertain any delusions of grandeur I think we should be ok. It's better to keep him in the defensive line where his defensive workrate will be most useful rather than playing him at full-back where it would be irrelevant.
Quote However, if we we went down this road, my personal preference would be to use Lance in the hooking role. I just have faith that Lomax could really work out at #7 for us following his showings last season.'"
I don't have a problem with using Lance at hooker. I just don't think he has the ability to outshine Lomax in that role. At best he'll be another running hooker (if he decides to run - something he's done very little of so far) too close to Roby to cause defences to change their patterns.
Quote Saving Roby's body is a good call, but regarding our predictability with him on for 80, can this also be at least partially put down to our inability at #6 onwards to test the defence, meaning a Roby carry is not only the best option, but since we're lacking instruction from wide it has also become the automatic selection?'"
Having no width certainly doesn't help Roby. After all, it's hard to bluff your way through the ruck area if you don't have any cards. However, whilst Roby is an extremely damaging runner - [ithat's kind of all he is[/i. Defences are only too aware that they need to shut him down at the point of origin because once he gets out of the ruck the damage is done. They also know he's very unlikely to split them apart in any other way (say with subtle hands and trickery) and so whilst dealing with him is [idifficult[/i - it's not [icomplicated[/i. If you know what I mean.
We need to add some complexity to the dummy half position. That way the opposition is always forced into making split second decisions when adjusting their defensive pattern. And more decisions equals more mistakes.
