Wealth of talent to push selection case

NORTHERN Pride’s Queensland Residents potential will get the ultimate chance to push for next-level honours tonight with the representative coach sitting in the stands.

Souths Logan coach Jon Buchanan has watched almost too much football this season and with such a high standard of competition in 2018, has one of the most unenviable tasks in the state to select the right team in just nine days’ time.

Such is the uncertainty over just who will be available – owing to NRL requirements and the representative weekend they play on – up to 30 players, including “five or six in each position” could yet be in line to wear the Maroon jersey.

Several Pride players, including Will Bugden, Murray Taulagi, Jake Clifford and outside chance David Murphy, could add to Buchanan’s selection headache with a strong performance today against a star-studded Magpies side in a true test of the home side’s premiership credentials.

Buchanan thought the 2017 process was a tough one but, as most coaches have noticed, 2018 appears a cut above for the Intrust Super Cup.

“I went through the process last year and I thought last year … we just seemed to not have as many choices,” he said.

“This year we have so many halves and so many front rowers to choose from.

“Even talking to all the coaches, everyone’s saying the same things – they’ve never seen the games as strong as they are at the moment and blokes are saying to me: ‘Good luck on picking a side.’

“It’s been a tough process, I can tell you now, and I do want to be a bit loyal to the boys who played well for us last year.

“I’ve pretty much watched every game of footy this year and I’m a bit tired of it.

“The more you watch it, you change your mind.

“There’s obviously a num- ber of guys we’re considering from (the Pride), but the one we’re probably looking at is playing NRL in young Enari Tuala. There’s a few others being mentioned, but … it’s a pretty tough process with the quality of the competition.”

Buchanan put that down to better ties between ISC and NRL clubs and the competition’s top billing in second-tier rugby league in Australia.

“We probably appreciate our competition up here a lot more than they do down south, so I think you’ll find a lot of players like to come here to play footy because they know the value we place on the competition,” he said.

While some believe the Residents honour should only be open to non-NRL-contracted players, Buchanan was happy to consider them as long it meant beating NSW at North Sydney Oval on June 22.