BY DAN

It’s trial season. Blessed be the days.

This is the best time of year (outside of Christmas, periods where there is test match cricket, and any time there is proper rugby league). It’s the most rugby league time of the year when you think about it. Results are stripped from context. Hope is dashed and inflated well beyond any reasonable proportion. Panic and celebration held close to hearts in equal measure.

If there are things we can learn they’re at the micro, rather than macro, level. Position battles are given context by team line-ups. Who plays with the first team is a genuine indicator, and how they play there will give us an idea of what Stick might do come round one. Last year Danny Levi did enough to confirm Sticky’s faith in him. In 2020 Corey Horsburgh was bad enough on the edge that Joe Tapine played there to start the season. You learn some lessons quick. Some take a little while.

This year there are a lot of position questions. Fullback and five-eighth are most prominent amongst them, and the one we’ll be watching closely. Ethan Strange or Kaeo Weekes feels like a fun conversation, although if media presence is anything to go by, the clubhouse leader is Weekes. While Chevy Stewart is very exciting, he’s also still has to show ID to get into MA15+ movies. I would be surprised if he’s done enough to start the season at one.

But there are other questions we might get a bit more clarity on this coming weekend.

Where do the young dudes get a run

Strange, Stewart, Puru, Trevilyan etc etc. Strange is the only one that we think will get a shot with the first grade players initially. Where that occurs (i.e. at what position) may be revealing of both the long-term and short-term plans the club has for him. Stewart probably won’t play with the top-line but I’m keen to see if him and Xavier Savage play alongside each other at all. Not because i’m keen for Seb Kris or Jordan Rapana to start the season at fullback. But I think long-term the Chevy-X pairing could be a classic.

How Nic goes on the wing

Speaking of wingers, I don’t expect Savage to get first shot at that spot. But who plays opposite Jordan Rapana will be fascinating. As we’ve said this is a big year for Nic Cotric. He’s coming off football stasis; his development has stalled more than my prospects of (I dunno, pretty much anything?). Nic is coming into the last year of his contract and into his prime. He should be the new ‘certainty’ when Rapana shuffles off to fight bears next off-season.

But right now he’s not. ‘Bert Hopoate was ahead of him so much last season. James Schiller has spent plenty of time at centre in Cup footy but this spot also feels like his best way into first grade. We’ve mentioned X above, and Utuloa Asomua will also be pushing from Cup footy. There’s no shortage of options and if Nic gives people a bit of rope then they might want to be cowboys.

How does the Raiders lock play?

For years we’ve been talking about how the Raiders could stand to play with a bit more width from their lock. The middle forwards have tried to add this to their games, and Corey Horsburgh has been the most effective (though the Joe/Papa interplay is underrated). Morgan Smithies signature this off-season was intriguing in regards to this. As we noted recently, players and coaching personnel alike have noted his skills in this space. Hohepa Puru is a more pure option, someone we’ve been desperate to get a significant shot in first grade.

If the lock is going to play a more active ball-playing role in the attack it puts Puru in a prime position to get more top line minutes. Similarly Smithies best path to big time minutes might be through displaying this skill. Horse is going to play regardless but how he plays might determine whether it opens up minutes for Puru and Smithies, or opportunities for Guler, Mariota and Mooney.

Who is the Raiders best rake?

Before the trials last year it had become clear that Danny Levi had jumped the depth chart. In his first outing in the trial match he was fine. Not inspiring but not terrible. At the time we called his service adequate and noted some good moments. But as we noted “the side struggled with him at the helm, and looked faster and more confident of their direction when Zac Woolford came on the field.”

It wasn’t enough to change Coach Stuart’s mind – something forced by the fracture of a mandible instead later on. But I think it planted a seed of sorts in the minds of others. Those that had been unsure about why Levi had been added to an already settled hooker rotation were even more confused. Just what was he offering that Zac or Starling weren’t?

12 months later we’ll get another chance to work out what the ‘extra’ is that Levi is offering. He barely got to play last year. Now we can test the claims. Did his game improve in England? Can he test the ruck markers in a way that Tom and Zac can’t? Is he a better fit with the Raiders’ elite pack than Woolford or Starling? Maybe we’ll find out.

Then again, maybe we find out, if you know what I mean.

It’s unlikely the answers to these questions will be clear after Saturday. Players will be part of new combinations, tested ideas, and fits that won’t necessarily be how things run out in round 1. A million red herrings will be abandoned in between trial one and two, and before the real games start.

But we’ll have a piece of information, a data point. It’s one of many the coaching staff will have, but you’d think it’d hold substantial weight over the coming weeks.

Do me a favour and like the page on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, or share this on social media and I’ll tell you the story of truth, beauty, and a picture of you. Don’t hesitate to send us feedback (dan@sportress.org) or comment below if you think we are stupid. Or if we’re not.