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I'd be going with:
11. Lote Tuqiri
14. Lachlan Turner
15. Sam Norton-Knight
Norton-Knight may return to Tahs backs
January 3, 2008 - 6:36PM
NSW "troubleshooter" could be heading back to the outside backs for the Waratahs in this year's Super 14 tournament.
Versatile Norton-Knight started the Waratahs last six Super matches of 2007 at five-eighth, but has also played in the centres, on the wing and at fullback for NSW.
Highly rated teenager Kurtley Beale started last season at five-eighth and could well regain that jersey for the beginning of the upcoming campaign after excelling in last year's Australian Rugby Championship.
With former stalwarts like centre Morgan Turinui and outside back Peter Hewat having moved on and prize recruit Timana Tahu earmarked for the outside centre spot, NSW coach Ewen McKenzie hinted at a possible switch of position for Norton-Knight.
"I think with the ways the laws are, I think we will probably look at him more maybe in the outside back positions, but I'm open minded," McKenzie said.
"We'll see how it goes, he's got that great capacity to cover different positions, so he's been a troubleshooter for us in the past.
"I think fullback is a definite possibility for him, but we'll just see how it goes."
McKenzie said Lachlan Turner and Lote Tuqiri could also be considered for fullback and said he had "pretty high expectations" of the Waratahs and was "pretty confident" they would perform well in 2008, refusing to dwell on their miserable form last year.
Both McKenzie and NSW captain and flanker Phil Waugh expected the Experimental Law Variations to produce a greater spectacle and emphasis on attacking play.
"I think you've seen from the ARC that the ball is play a lot longer and I wouldn't be surprised if there is a lot of points scored, particularly early on in the season while the defences get used to the new laws," Waugh said.
McKenzie anticipated spending plenty of time in front of his video machine over the first few rounds so he could study the different strategies employed by opposing coaches as they adapted to the law changes.
Tahu on Thursday trained in a group of players who were not quite totally fit.
His hamstring was being monitored as he worked alongside prop Matt Dunning (ankle), back rower David Lyons (ankle) and prop Benn Robinson (toe).
Lyons was the only one of that group who wasn't expected to play in the early rounds of the Super tournament along with lock Alex Kanaar, who on Thursday underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, which was expected to sideline him for eight weeks.
McKenzie was enthusiastic about the way Tahu had approached his switch to rugby.
"He's got a great mind, he's put a lot of effort in, now we've got to start seeing how that goes in the trial games and just see where he's at," McKenzie said.
"I don't think he could have done more in terms of his application and his willingness to learn, he's spent a lot of time on the whiteboard trying to understand the game, so I think the transition will be a fairly quick one."
© 2008 AAP
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Originally Posted by chook
