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I will flag straight off the bat that I am a big Palu fan. He has size, speed, strength and gets the ball over the gain line with plenty of momentum.
His downside is that he has at times gone missing in big games and due to his size he needs plenty of game in the legs to be at his best.
Balanced out, he is a big loss for the Tahs and Wallabies.
All is not lost for either side in the backrow, though. I have been talking up Ben Mowen all year.
He is a worker and always plays a good game. He does not go missing as his style is a very active one.
I believe he deserves a spot in the Wallabies squad, and based on form, he would make my 30 before Brown (for reasons listed below).
Moving onto the Wallabies squad – another player that deserves a spot is Higginbotham. Like Mowen, he is athletic, skillful and active.
He does not have as good a ball skills as Mowen, but he is bigger and is more aggressive. Last year, he went missing in a few big local derbies, but has been prominent in every game this year.
Neither player is tested at International level, but both players look to have the goods and will benefit from the Wallaby training camp.
Richard Brown is the other contender and has played at Test level. His discipline is a real issue, and he gave away a stack of penalties in the Tri-Nations last year.
What he has over Mowen and Higginbotham is that he is extremely aggressive at the breakdown – which is where the penalties come from. Coming off a lengthy injury, he needs to find his form quickly.
Deans continues to overlook Hoiles, and Mumm, with Horwill out, will fill one of the second-row spots so the other alternative appears to be shift Elsom to 8 and bring in Mowen or Higginbotham at 6.
Hodgson is the other player that deserves a squad spot.
He got in last year and was injured. Deans picked him in what many said was a left-field choice and when asked why, his response was simple: “he can change a game.”
Hodgson has been the star performer all season for the Force. He absolutely picked apart the Tahs due to Burgess’ woeful, and continued, crabbing across field.
His game fitness and work rate is close to the top in the Australian Super 14 teams. He does massive amounts of work off the ball, constantly getting back to support ball runners on counter attack. Not to mention, he loves putting on solid hits.
Everyone will jump up and down, but at present, due to Pocock being out of action for so long, Hodgson is the form runner to play 7 for the Wallabies. He can also play 6, though that does reduce the height in the line out to 3 options.
Hodgson should definitely make the Wallaby 22.
Deans has time to play around and give some of these young guns a shot and see how they go. Heading into a RWC, you want a strong squad of 30 players.
Based on form of the above mentioned players and several others it appears Deans and co may well have their 30.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.