JakeyB789
Bencher
I get the argument about Waddell being a decent depth player, but he's played all but 2 games this year and the only reason he missed those were through suspension. That's someone with a regular place in the 17, not a depth player. He was getting picked before Paseka and Aloiai went down too so that hardly puts him in the 20th-24th player category in the squad. It was the same in 2024 with only an injury and another suspension keeping him out towards the end of that season.
If he was used mainly as a middle off the bench he would probably be judged more fairly but he's predominantly played on the edge when it's clear to everyone he isn't good enough there, and I don't blame him entirely for that given the boneheaded decision not to recruit another backrower this year. But when our forward pack is our obvious weakness and he is the weakest link there, it's not really hard to see why people are frustrated with him continually being in the side while young blokes like Navale can't get a run. Blah blah he is too raw and doesn't have the experience yet, how do you think that is going to change?
If he was used mainly as a middle off the bench he would probably be judged more fairly but he's predominantly played on the edge when it's clear to everyone he isn't good enough there, and I don't blame him entirely for that given the boneheaded decision not to recruit another backrower this year. But when our forward pack is our obvious weakness and he is the weakest link there, it's not really hard to see why people are frustrated with him continually being in the side while young blokes like Navale can't get a run. Blah blah he is too raw and doesn't have the experience yet, how do you think that is going to change?