In all honesty I was worried about hiring another rookie coach and would have been happier to have gone with Potter. However I was prepared to give Ciraldo the benefit of the doubt and take a wait and see approach.
To his advantage, he's actually started with a slightly better roster than Barrett who started with a better roster than Pay. We obviously need to see better impact from our forwards. Whether that is by recruiting a forward leader or by picking the diamonds out of the piles of coal that seem to be what's available on the market. But if we get the best out of our backline next year, it'll be the best we've been able to field in a lot of years.
Wingers- Kiraz & JAC. Both game breakers.
Centres- Alomoti, Xerri, Chrighton (possibly fullback), Averillo (if retained).
All have a lot to offer. There will be huge selection headaches.
Halves- Burton, Oloapu.
As it stands these two are both young running halves. With the right game plan that can be very threatening. But we've got a handful of others on the verge with BBO and a few other youngsters vying for a start.
The recruitment pickings were slim with the Dolphins joining the comp. And I think that isn't changing for a few years. I think we need to base our game on grit with forwards rather than shelling out on flashy big names. We beat a team that's taken that route today.
Back on coaching though. Ciraldo will have had another year to try and shape his squad the way he wants. It's on him now to prove that the faith the club has shown was deserved.