Toby King is out for a month at least. A leg injury I believe. I’d swap him for George King in a heartbeat.

I think George King has insufficient pace to play centre.

I don't like the idea of Holmes at 13 at all, with him and Matau'tia on the right together we suddenly have an aggressive attacking right side with i'm excited for.
Starting props for me udeally would be Cooper and Mulhern, with Philbin and Bullock off the bench, and Hopefully Rob Butler has gotten back in to shape and can find his pre-warrington form.
I think we'll see more of Ellis Robson aswell, i know he has his doubters but he hits hard in attack and defense and is aggressive. He's good cover for 2nd row and loose, having Longstaff, wrench etc fighting for a spot can only be a great thing for the whole team.
People can't relax and have to be on form as Powell actually drops underperforming players unlike Price.
And Powell has a proven track record to take players up a gear so i'm buzzing for this season, not been this hyped for a season in years and years

Not sure how you can leave the captain out of the first 13 picks.
I’m very aware that Hughes wasn’t up to his 2019 form, but he had been hampered by injury.
However it looks like he is missing another pre season.
In hindsight we have now, I would add another captain or vice captain in his absence.

Exactly. The fact that it's even a discussion point speaks volumes for Hughes' performance. Imagine having the same discussion of "will they make the team" about Mike Gregory, Lee Briers, Adrian Morley, Chris Hill.

This coming year should see a very different style of play and it could well suit some players at the expense of others. I am happy to see everyone in the squad start off with a clean slate, what happened last year is history and I would hope the new coach gives everyone a fair crack of the whip before consigning them to the Reserves. I still have concerns about the loss of Hilly but on the plus side we seem to have more competition for places this year than last. Plus the small group of Academy lads that have come through adds quite a bit more depth to the squad than we have had for quite a while.

Toby King gone for a scan now apparantley.

100%
We’ve also got more backrowers that can cover centre than there are calories in Gemma Collins breakfast!
But we still need a prop.

Had to look up who Gemma Collins was.....

In one of the dictionaries that she wrote?