Laws pushing for a start ahead of Te Atawhai?
Full 90 for Laws and Ridenton?
Updates on McGarry and Muratovic?
Where has he been playing Lewis? Who else do we have in the mids besides Matty and Alex? Feel we could be vunerable to injury and form, though would be happy to be disappointed.
Not looking like a break-out season for Waine?
Fire Up! Phoenix til I Die!
Seems fairly clear from the pre-season lineups that
Marinovic
Payne, DeVere, Laws, McGarry
Devlin, Rufer
Dávila, Piscopo
Ball, Hemed
is what Talay has in mind as a fully-fit, first-choice XI.
Piscopo v Lewis is probably the one contest alive, while it remains to be seen at what stage Dávila and Hemed (who trains with the team for the first time this Wednesday) are able to be considered fully-fit, and there is also plenty of fixture congestion in January.
Ridenton, Laws, Lewis, Hudson-Wihongi, Payne would be the back-up options in central midfield, probably in that order.
Knew I was bleeding forgetting someone. Devlin injured I suppose.
Front 3rd is much the same as last season, but we have lost Matti and Libby, so worried about a little dip in quality there, but McGarry is a good Phoenix kid with pedigree, as is Rufer.
Is this our most settled pre-season since Ricki? 7-8 of our starting 11 continue and our coach too and hopefully Hemed is like for like with Hooper.
Do we think we have any spare cash for an import CB or mid if circumstances allow?
DeVere is capo?