Bateman is in the 17 this week and Burgess as said Fitzgibbon, king and Philbin come back into the 21. Some nice headaches to come

I'd go:-

Dufty
Ashton
King
Tai
Thewlis
Williams
Drinkwater
Vaughan
Walker
Yates
Nicholson
Fitzgibbon
Currie

Bateman, Musgrove, Powell, Crowther

Harsh on Lindop but play him next week v Broncos and rest the likes of Dufty, Ashton, Williams, Vaughan.

Agree there will be some harsh choices to be made but that’s the benefit of everyone playing so well just now.

That's such a strong 17. Add Lindop, Ratchford, Wrench, Hayes, Harrison, Philbin, Holroyd, Wood and Whitehead to those 17, plus a sprinkling of promising youngsters on the fringes of the first team, and you see the true strength of the current squad. We are blessed at the moment and I just hope we can make the most of it.

2 try Lindop does not deserve to be dropped. No way.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-leagu ... p2j71yz68o Why do the BBC even bother They fixed it, would have liked him to extend to 2028 ofc

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-leagu ... p2j71yz68o Why do the BBC even bother They fixed it, would have liked him to extend to 2028 ofc

I don't want to sound at all cocky and without putting the mockers on it and I know that we haven't won anything yet (fingers crossed) and we may fall short again this year (God forbid the wheels fall off completely) but the transformation in our general health, the balance of the squad, the togetherness and optimistic outlook that we've gained in such a short space of time is unbelievable, well beyond my expectation.

Don't want to overplay him either. Friday night's game is a huge one. I think Sam will keep him wrapped in cotton wool.

Limiting Lindop's exposure to first team rugby and to a similar degree Holroyd and then Woods isn't the same as being dropped (you know this)

We've been crying out for the opportunity of managing a squad for some time and generally fell behind Wigan and Saints in the way that they do things....currently with the quality of youngsters that we have who can hopefully see a pathway with some decent old heads including the two latest recruits we might just be in a position to control our own development

Agreed, UR. The season will come down to the play-offs, and then it's all about who has the healthiest squad, the fewest run-ins with the MRP, and plays best on the day. Whether or not that's Wire, who knows, but at least we are good enough and in with a shout. And considering it's one year to the day since we lost 42-6 to Wakefield, that's quite the turnaround.