Lampers
Premiership Player
It's frustrating that the selection committee don't seem to learn the lessons of past mistakes.Clarry will 100% play I’d say. He lost all confidence with that busted finger. Hopefully the op has fixed that. But he’s been physically cleared so they’ll pick him going on the fact they picked him earlier. For me pick him if he can get that clean possessing of the footy again. Who else are you picking ahead of him? If he’s output will match last couple of game yeah rest him further.
I get that there's this desire to back in your champion players, but how many times now have they played Gawn when he's badly hampered/ill, and Petracca when he had a break in his leg, and now Oliver with a busted finger (and I guess May in the GF is another example that didn't hurt in the end). It killed the team in the 2022 finals series.
I can kind of understand it more for finals, but for round 4 and 5 games why on earth are they playing a guy who cannot handle the ball due to a bone break (Oliver) when that player's elite attribute requires handling the ball?
Surely they can tell at training during the week and last minute fitness tests that the player is severely hampered?
If Oliver is physically sound again post surgery and proves it at training then fine, but again, why play him in rounds 4 and 5 when he can't have been fine at training given what he did out on the ground in the real stuff?