I guess the question is who will be dropped? Is Watkins / Keenan a better 13 than Smith? I imagine Croft will be a shoe-in at 6 and Connor at 7, maybe vice-versa.Hall will be a shoe-in on the wing.


I think they have played well (better?) without smith in the team stifling play and killing the momentum.


The 17 will be an interesting choice..

Watkins was excellent against Saints. Interesting choices ahead indeed.

Personally I wouldn`t play Smith until someone gets injured but doubt that will happen.
Sinfield on the bench for me and it could be Bentley who loses his place which I think is unfair but McDonnell and Gannon might have the edge.

BA has said Croft and Hall to start with Smith off the bench. Glad I'm not picking the side because this week there are going to be 2 or 3 good players missing out. Exactly where we need to be though.

Chat GPT picks the following:

 Starting 13 (Grind Early, Expand Later)

1. 
   Lachie Miller – Creative fullback, safe under pressure.
   
   
2. 
   Ash Handley – Hard worker, reliable yardage winger.
   
   
3. 
   Kallum Watkins – Strong defensive centre with leadership.
   
   
4. 
   Harry Newman – Strike threat, aggressive edge runner.
   
   
5. 
   Ryan Hall – Set-start machine and safe defensively.
   
   
6. 
   Brodie Croft – X-factor playmaker, central to attacking shifts.
   
   
7. 
   Jack Sinfield – Composed organiser, good kicking control for first-half grind.
   
   
8. 
   Mikolaj Oledzki – Tough carries, sets the tone early.
   
   
9. 
   Jarrod O’Connor – Defensive anchor, sets a fast ruck tempo.
   
   
10. 
    Tom Holroyd – Brings edge and physicality to match Hull’s middles.
    
    
11. 
    James Bentley – Enforcer with aggression, ideal for setting intensity.
    
    
12. 
    James McDonnell – High work rate, dependable edge defence.
    
    
13. 
    Cameron Smith (c) – Ball-player in the middle, links with halves and spine.
    
    

---

 Interchange Bench (Designed for Second-Half Tempo Shift)

14. 
    Sam Lisone – Impact prop, brings energy and offloads vs tired D.
    
    
15. 
    Jake Connor – Game-breaker; can slot into fullback, centre, or halves.
    
    
16. 
    Morgan Gannon – Mobile forward, capable of pushing tempo or shoring up edge/middle.
    
    
17. 
    Keenan Palasia – Adds late-game punch and line-speed with fresh legs.
    
    

---

 Tactical Notes with Sinfield:

• 
  First half: Let Sinfield control field position with tactical kicks. Smith helps link play to edges. Croft picks his moments to run.
  
  
• 
  Second half: Bring on Connor to inject unpredictability — he can either slot in at 1, pushing Miller to a wing, or into the halves with Croft shifting to a more free-running role and Sinfield coming off if needed.
  
  
• 
  Late in the game: Gannon and Lisone can help push offloads and tempo against a gassed Hull middle.
  

I had to make it swap out Frawley for Sinfield, otherwise GPT 1st pick was Frawley

Smith is a backward step for us at the moment. He’s not that good to walk straight back into the 17 in my opinion…..but there’s only one opinion that counts and he’s the one that picks the team.