BY DAN

A byproduct of the Raiders’ solid performance on the weekend was they got no further clarity on the outcome of their position battles at six or nine.

Ethan Strange was impressive and occasionally exhilarating, if sometimes looking a bit jumpy in defence. He was quick footed and strong in the line, and while he didn’t get to run any attacking shifts, he seemed comfortable in the attacking line. He also showed a quality as a kicker both short and long, and a brilliance as a runner.

There’s a question as to whether his game will translate to the top line. That’s the fun with leaps in quality and development. You have to keep upping the ante. Some of his best moments, where he jumped in and out of tackles, pirouetted like Michael Jackson and tore into (and almost through) opposing defences, would sometimes be eaten alive by more disciplined and capable outfits. But because he plays so square to the line, engages so thoroughly, and can pass both ways, he will always have something to offer there.

Kaeo Weekes didn’t disappoint either, hence the ongoing lack of surety in who takes over at six. He was calm and assured playing right side half. He kicked well and while he rarely had an opportunity to throw a shot in attacking anger, he did little to suggest he wasn’t capable of injecting himself in a movement. He made one glaring defensive error when he allowed Kelma Tuilagi to run through an arm tackle, but one data point isn’t a trend.

At nine the decision has been complicated by Zac Woolford’s HIA. That will likely rule him out for the next week, meaning we can’t even really glean anything from what will almost certainly be Danny Levi 9/Tom Starling 14 scenario. Before the season starting I had assumed the club had Levi ahead of Woolford on the depth chart but them refusing to let Zac leave, and then naming him captain on the weekend made the tea leaves less clear.

The game provided even less guidance. As wrote in the review Tommy was who Tommy is, and Levi was serviceable (despite two glaringly poor decisions to run the ball instead of send it sideways after half-breaks/breaks). Whatever the depth chart was before the game likely remains the same. Without Woolford being available for this second trial we actually have no clue what that is. Team lost Tuesday would have been the rubber hits the road moment. Instead we are left waiting. It doesn’t matter to the team or its performance because whoever is preferred will be available round one but I want to know now dammit. I guess at the very least it provides Levi and Starling the opportunity to make the position their own with a standout. The only tell-tale is in the unlikely scenario that either isn’t named on Tuesday.

A further intriguing outcome of the weekend not related to these first two issues was James Schiller’s performance. Before that game most had assumed that if Weekes was preferred to Strange at six, that the young star would get a shot at centre until Seb Kris returns. But Schiller was excellent in the trial game, further complicating the picture. He was brutal and decisive in defence, the hardest bit about playing centre. In attack he ran strongly (and you know, for 100m to score a try). Strange did nothing wrong at six but Schiller did nothing wrong at three. At the very least depth concerns that existed before the trial seem seem less concerning (as is also the case for the backrow where Simi Sasagi was impressive).

It makes for an intriguing team list on Tuesday. Trials aren’t definitive or predicative but they are the best information the coaching staff has to go on. I don’t envy them putting this together. At least after *this* week they might have enough information.

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