I reckon with fonua signing well have to go with one less forward than originally planned

I'm pretty sure Ratu said in an interview that he is being paid by Hull and that he isn't getting anything from the army currently whilst he is on leave. I might be mistaken though.

Quite possibly, although if the plan is now for Griffin to play back row then that isn't necessarily a bad thing. He has the potential to be better than a lot of the guys we have being linked with.

Also as I mentioned in another thread, I like the idea of Tuimavave in the Westerman role.

Radford likes a big limp at 13 who can play through the middle as a glorified prop. Tuimavave isnt up to that role and jornis Kelly. They might be ok for 15 minutes against a tiring opposition but in the modern game you need a player there who can cart the ball up 15 times a game and make 30+ tackles. No side in sl plays with a lightweight 13

Ligi Sao is the new westerman

No need to move a silky skilful defensively savvy centre into the engine room trudging the ball into big men making 40 tackles a game

Our best yrs In recent times are with Ellis there playing 3rd prop

Indeed. Like I said, we wont be playing centres or half backs there

Totally agree with that

We should keep some cap space and a non fed place for fifita if wakey end up going down

I dont think Kelly can play that role, but I think you do Tuimavave a disservice. He is a strong enough ball carrier that he can play at the line and interest defenders and he has the hands to link play. He can defend well against all kinds of players and is well capable of 30+ tackles per game.

It isn't the ideal scenario, but there are two reasons I am suggesting it.

1. Even if Griffin does play in the backrow we still have 5 top quality backs and only 4 spots. This allows us to have all our best strike players on the field as much as possible.

2. Our attack has been massively improved this year, and I put that in no small part down to Westerman. I am concerned that going back to a prop at 13 will stifle us a bit. Even if you start with a prop at 13 to lay the foundations and then move Carlos inside for a spell I think it's worth exploring.

As I said, wed lose to much go forward and be weaker in defence with Carlos at 13. The game is about forward dominance and he isnt big enough

This ball playing forward is just bull , a 13 that can pass a ball , seriously !!!! We’ve done fine without Westerman, we’ll be fine with a big forward, a rugby player , who can pass a ball left and right 5 metres