We have a few good prospects for the halves now. Between Cogger, Averillo, Wakeham, Lewis and Foran (if he's extended) we should be able to find a winning combination. JMK has potential and hopefully by seasons end is nailing the passing game and reading the opposition defensive weakness. They're both crucial, his occasional dh runs are good and because he limits them, generally they take the opposition by surprise. If he adds a kicking game it's even better, but dummy half running and kicking in general play reliably are the icing on the cake with hookers. But if we sign a gun hooker I wouldn't complain.
Our centres aren't brilliant. Hoppa is reliable with periods when he offers flair. Smith is a work in progress that might go either way. He has the necessary size and pace to excel, but the instincts required to judge his best positioning on attacking plays could let him down. Harper might have the skills but needs to prove it if he gets a shot. But all up we aren't oozing class there based on current performance and our first choice line up. At least one quality centre would be a great acquisition.
DWZ was great at the back last year. But his handling of kicks was on par with Okunbors worst weeks to open our season. If that doesn't improve I'd think about shifting him to the centres. Kick reception is Meaneys strength and he's possibly added enough size to cope with playing in the middle better. If dwz doesn't get his catching in order I'd push Meaney into the 1. He may not be the long term solution, but I think he might be better there now that he's filled out a bit. But if another great prospect comes into the radar I wouldn't mind having depth for the fullback role.
The forward pack might shine if the hooking department gets pass selection and timing right. The addition of Thompson will hopefully provide some highlights. He's big and quick with a good workrate and footwork. Napa hasn't shown the aggression I'd hoped for regularly, but he's still a quality prop. Tolman is the reliable workhorse and largely under rated imo. Ogden is a decent prospect but needs to work on his lateral movement in defence. And we have a few others that can move between prop and second row. If we signed another prop I'd want an aggressive one that could be used off the bench to end the halves well and have a stint in the opening stage of the second half. Our second row is packed with prospectively good talent. Losing CHN was a nuisance but not the end of the world. If we recruit for the second row it would have to be a game breaker to make any difference. And I'd rather not spend huge money there.
I'd probably be searching to pick up the quality at centre, wing, fullback, hooker. But they're all in demand positions. I'm generally ok with us signing up the occasional star. But I'd love to see the club unearth overlooked talent. Hopefully they're using this downtime to good affect with bringing the right players in.