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#Post#: 126542--------------------------------------------------
What is our best 23?
DIR By: Quinston Churchill
Date: July 26, 2024, 4:22 am
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Curious to get collective wisdom on this.
I’d probably go for:
1. Baxter
2. Riley
3. Lamositele
4. Lamb
5. Launchbury
6. Cunningham-South
7. W. Evans
8. Dombrandt
9. Care
10. Smith
11. Murley
12. Northmore
13. Joseph
14. David
15. Green
16. Walker
17. Marler
18. Kerrod
19. Herbst
20. Kenningham
21. Porter
22. J. Evans
23. Beard
Some tough calls there.
12 is the obvious conundrum but if Northmore can make it work, I
still feel like he and Joseph are our best two centres. If not,
I’m probably more interested in Kerr or Bradley than Anyanwu.
It feels strange to say this, but I’m not sure Care is our best
9 anymore. However, I do think Porter offers more impact off the
bench than vice versa.
Herbst vs. Hammond is probably a bit more of a horses for
courses choice depending on the opposition. Potentially the same
for Kenningham vs. Chisholm.
I went for Beard over Cleaves purely for his ability to cover
centre and wing.
Hit me with it …
#Post#: 126544--------------------------------------------------
Re: What is our best 23?
DIR By: poorfour
Date: July 26, 2024, 4:31 am
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What do you have against people called Lewi(e)s?
That's not a bad start, though. I think Lewis probably is the
starting tighthead, and Lewies (when fit) would start alongside
Launcbury (when fit) with Lamb (when fit) on the bench.
Inside centre is anyone's guess. As you say, Kerr or Bradley
look more natural 12s than any of the other candidates, but they
are a year or two from being ready. Given how much better
Northmore has gone at 13 than 12, I'd probably rather he started
there and Anyanwu (whose stats when he has played are remarkably
similar to Andre's) at 12, but I guess it depends on who the
coaches have been playing where in training.
#Post#: 126551--------------------------------------------------
Re: What is our best 23?
DIR By: TomBuckQuin
Date: July 26, 2024, 6:11 am
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1. Baxter
2. Riley
3. Lamositele
4. Lamb
5. Lewies
6. CCS
7. Evans
8. Dombrandt
9. Care
10. Smith
11. Murley
12. Anyanwu
13. Northmore
14. David
15. Green
16. Jibulu
17. Marler
18. Lewis
19. Herbst
20. Chisholm
21. Porter
22. Evans
23. Joseph
I think we'll see Northmore at 12 though. I'd love to see if
Hyde can push for any starts there too - he's a big boy now.
Will be interesting to see how competition develops on the wing
next season - should really be time for Cleaves to make team
sheets and I hadn't appreciated how much of a unit Zheng is!
Would be nice to have a slightly taller, more physical wing on
the pitch again so Marcus can have a bit more aerial fun in the
red zone. Think Zheng is my bolter for a few breakthrough
appearances.
#Post#: 126552--------------------------------------------------
Re: What is our best 23?
DIR By: Quinston Churchill
Date: July 26, 2024, 6:15 am
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@poorfour I totally forgot about Lewis which probably says
something about how underwhelming his debut season was. It
wasn’t outright bad, but personally, I think it would be
generous to credit him with any real impact which is
disappointing for a guy with 50+ Wales caps
Honestly, I thought Lewies was more of a hindrance than a help
last season. He was indisciplined and looked unfit. Lewies is a
better rugby player than Herbst, but I think the latter is more
consistent and reliable.
@TomBuckQuin agreed on Zheng. He looks like a very interesting
prospect. Re. Hyde, I wonder if he might fill the spot for a
bigger winger? He seemed to be playing on the wing more than at
12. Beard could also fill that role.
#Post#: 126555--------------------------------------------------
Re: What is our best 23?
DIR By: MaidstoneQuin
Date: July 26, 2024, 7:43 am
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Unless he’s had a lot of training at 12, I really do not want to
see Northmore there. In the games he’s played there he was
ineffectual with none of the qualities that make him a good 13
being actually displayed. I’ll give Lennox the nod personally as
it’s time to see if he really can step up, and if he can’t then
that’s one less contract to worry about when up for renewal
#Post#: 126560--------------------------------------------------
Re: What is our best 23?
DIR By: Quinston Churchill
Date: July 26, 2024, 10:14 am
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I don’t know if it’s entirely fair to say Northmore was
‘ineffectual’. He wasn’t as good as he is at 13 and obviously
isn’t Andre. However, with time I think he has the skill set to
do it.
Ultimately, I think Northmore and Joseph are significantly
better players than Lennox. If we can make it work, it makes
sense to have our two best centres on the pitch. I get that it’s
a big if, but we’ve known Andre would be leaving for a good
while now and chose not to replace him so I hope we have a good
plan.
#Post#: 126561--------------------------------------------------
Re: What is our best 23?
DIR By: Nico Wilson
Date: July 26, 2024, 11:19 am
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I see Northmore as bit rusty and in need of more game time
following injury rather than a complete write off. When he's
good, he's very good. He's just a bit different from, say, JTH,
Joe Marchant or George Lowe.
#Post#: 126563--------------------------------------------------
Re: What is our best 23?
DIR By: MaidstoneQuin
Date: July 26, 2024, 12:08 pm
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It will be interesting as when Andre was injured the season
before last (I think) Lennox was the go to, so if he’s
overlooked perhaps it’s an indication the coaches haven’t been
overawed by his development, although I’m not really sure how
much he featured for LS as I think he was injured for a chunk.
Beard is another concern at 13, as I think against the better
teams he is fairly nullified and is much better as a winger in
my view.
#Post#: 126567--------------------------------------------------
Re: What is our best 23?
DIR By: poorfour
Date: July 26, 2024, 1:26 pm
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Quins have been pretty cautious about bringing new players
through in the past few seasons. The likes of Kenningham, Beard
and Jibulu have only been given runs in the team when injury
forced it, and Quins have tended to revert to the more senior
players when they are available.
I think Baxter is a really good example of what they seem to be
trying to do - he had limited appearances 2 seasons ago, then a
season in which he averaged 28 minutes off the bench but in a
lot of games, and by the end of last season transitioned very
smoothly to a clear first choice.
Anyanwu had a big 22/23, mostly because we had a lot of centres
out so he got to start in some bigger games. Last year he had
fewer appearances, but the coaches may have been protecting him,
especially if he was coming back from injury.
#Post#: 126570--------------------------------------------------
Re: What is our best 23?
DIR By: Archquin
Date: July 26, 2024, 4:43 pm
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Anyanwu looks like he has been in the gym a lot and I expect him
to start at 12 and northmore 13
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