Originally Posted by
ep1987
This is going to be a bit unstructured so apologies.
With the number of interchanges being reduced all teams will have tough decisions to make. For example the interchange hooker using 2 of the 8 interchanges will be tough to justify. In fact the only way it can really work without hurting your prop rotation is for a player to play 40 mins at 13 and 20 at 9 while your starting hooker rests.
I was working through the permutations and think that in effect Saints will have 3 subs taking up 7 interchanges and then a 4th player as an injury replacement. With the head injury assessments some teams could carry a 4th forward and try to game the system to get back up to 10 interchanges (hopefully the RFL are wise to this possibility).
Here's what i had for Saints for the big games:
1 backrow playing 80 mins (think it's best to rotate rather than run Taia into the ground)
1 playing 0-25 and 55-80
1 playing 0-55
1 playing 25-80
That's 2 interchanges.
I assume the 4 first choice players will be Taia, Peyroux (can cover centre), Knowles (can cover hooker) and Paulo (can cover halves). We'll have 2 props on the bench but i'm not sure who will be the 4th sub. Due to the 8 interchanges it will be difficult to use them assuming a normal prop rotation.
I agree with a post from a while ago that Walmsley should start in order to maximise his run-outs.
Let's say he plays 0-15, 30-50 and 70-80, that way you get 4 spells from him due to the half time break.
You need the other starter (i'd use Thompson) to go longer to open, so 0-25 and 50-70.
One sub to do 15-50 (Lees) and the other to do 25 to 70 (LMS).
That's 5 interchanges and 7 total (final interchange in case of injury or to take off Roby when the game is decided, in latter case Lees would play last 10 instead of Walmsley). Obviously this is plan A and within a game things can change (plus the timings won't be exact).
Then have Douglas and Ashworth rotating in to keep everyone fresh (i don't see a place for Amor without injuries). This will be essential with the required longer stints and ideally Walmsley plays 3 games out of every 4. Some people may think this is too few games but remember that really everything rests on 2 games at the end of the season plus the Challenge Cup.
It may also be easier to keep Roby fresh by resting him against the bottom teams in addition to taking him off once other games are beyond doubt. Another option is if Roby started from the bench then you could reduce the hooker position to 1 interchange, with the other alternative being for Knowles to do a stint at 9 in the middle period (don't think him starting at hooker would be a good idea). The prop rotation could also be altered when Walmsley is rotated which would mean cover for Roby on the bench would be easier to manage.
I think managing the interchanges will be a key aspect this season and hopefully Saints have done the necessary research in order to maximise performance. Analytics will be more important than ever as teams will identify which opposition players tire when asked to do longer stints etc. and which types of moves are more likely to succeed at certain times of the match.
I also hope we've investigated the pros and cons of 2 carry sets from Walmsley in terms of metres gained, especially as it won't be as easy to bring him off and on again so much. Do we gain more metres per set from a 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 2, 2 (12 carries over 7 sets) and 2 sets without Walmsley or a 2, 1, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 2 (13 carries over 9 sets)? Is the fatigue the same from both efforts (second option is a longer stint with 1 more carry and more defensive work but only 2 of the punishing double carry sets in the first 7 rather than 5 in the first scenario).
Cliff notes: 8 interchanges will mean props doing longer stints, impact type props like Walmsley mean 1 sub becomes injury/game out of hand replacement, need to assess impact of 2 carry sets, will have to be creative with Roby's minutes.