Who actually called that TMM was going perform like he has for the last three weeks?
Not 'he had the potential to'.
Like, 'hes going to, if put into that position'
The injuries forced Webbys hand with exploring new possibilities, and it appears that we may have some diamonds lying in the cupboard.
Plus, if SJ wants to call it at the end of the year: CHT is a pretty solid pairing already with TMM and who knows about Metcalf - could be even better.
When you're playing around with 'vibes' between players, you know you got good problems.
Perform as well as he has? No one could foresee that level of performance - its been exceptional. Someone highlighted that
SJ and Cleary have never had 4 try assists in a single game before for example.
But, there are plenty on here who rated
TMM as a very good player. I feel they have been vindicated somewhat. Others have been made to look a little silly, some continue to do so. A few were even saying he wasn't first grade standard FMD!
In regards to the injuries forcing
Webster's hand, I completely agree. He will have learned a lot from the last 7-8 weeks. From trusting his next man up philosophy to trying to get through games with too many players carrying significant injuries to the enthusiasm and energy injected by the younger players selected to the use of his bench and second row. The pleasing thing is he seems to have recognised and adjusted. One concern I have is that the previous three wins have highlighted a number of things which some have been pointing out on the forum and we are slowly turning back to some of these as players return. This week and the games after are potentially going to show whether some or all of these were just anomalies -
Tohu at 13 for example. Walker has been great there over the last three games with speed, energy, leadership etc but here we are with
Tohu starting at 13 again (assuming the team sheet is correct at game time) Was
Tohu just busted, is he past being a 60 minute player, is he too slow now or a combination of things?
RTS coming back in to the side at whose expense? Was it just that the team wasn't performing well previously or was he a contributor to things not gelling?
The next few games are going to be very interesting.
