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This is the ideal game for Pek to get one under his belt. He had a hard time coping with Blake in the trial.....we all saw it, and he needs to get used to the pace. In this game he'll be up against some massive beef (I'm not sure who, but they sure breed 'em big those Cheetahs) and the scrum will be a real battle. I think Mitch sees this as a move which will blood him, without too much risk.....Why Boof misses out is because AJ is an 80 minute player now...he'll step in anytime Pek is giving too much ground.
As for Daruda, I think he's more versatile than Lachy, but we've named three 10's in this squad, I'd suggest some contingency planning in case Chucky wears out or doesn't quite make the grade, Gits to 9, Lachy to 10 Daruda at 12, Crossy and Spanner have that side of the field LOCKED UP out wide, and the attack will be forced towards the centre of the park.
I can see it working, and being a good way of blooding some newer talent without risking the game.
I'd suggest that the three tens experiment is also to see how much we need to worry about signing a third specialist 9 (if it works this week, we might just play the season with 2 nines and wait for our future stars to develop!)