Spriggs: In the best 22

[SimonH]

I haven't actually seen Spriggs live this year, but was thinking about him yesterday; because for the first time in ages on Saturday, we looked slow and played without any consistent ability to break the lines and go for a run once we had the footy.

And a bigger ground like Homebush suits the runners.

So you'd say that if D. Spriggs is ever going to play another game for Sydney, it will be this week.

Sydney has over the last 5 years shown a marked reluctance (in fact, call it refusal) to keep mid- or late-career players who are not getting a regular game on the list for reasons of 'depth'. And by and large, this is the right decision; otherwise ultimately you wind up looking like one of those lumbering Victorian-club lists where your 2nds/VFL team looks like a pension-plan team for players who are well past their prime, where of course it should be a breeding ground for your future.

Then there's the below-average 2006 retirement quota (one player only plus MO'L on 2007 veterans' list), compounded by the fact that (at least) Phillips is more likely than not to get a promotion from rookie to senior list, means that things are going to get pretty tight. So while Spriggs' form this year would justify a one-year extension to 2007, it isn't likely.