Staker and Goose werent playing + other solid players. Are you saying Staker and Maguire couldn't hold down a KPD spot (along with Patful down there) to release Merrett up forward? If so, why has Merrett played forward most of the year? And didn't you say he was an average player earlier in the season 
Ok, one by one:
So there weren't any other "solid" players playing on Sat night then? In my books that doesn't equate to "luxury".
I didn't mention Staker or MacGuire as they were not playing and irrelevant to my point, and I noticed Patfull's 12 possession game earned him a mention in SEN's Bottom 5. A "luxury" you say?
Merret has played forward because Voss has been bereft of ideas and talent up forward while Brown was missing. 1740 points against for the season thus far does not scream "luxury" of defensive riches to me.
No, I never ever said he was average. Here are my 3 quotes on him:
"Merrett is overrated.""I don't think his output or results have been near as impressive since the Lions slid down the ladder. He was partially made look good by a very good team and is now struggling to have the same impact as he did a few years back. A good ordinary defender imho.""I still think his best football is past him and was in part due to the quality of players around him back then. He might regain that form in another good side but he is now injury prone and approaching 30. An unacceptable risk at the cost to our club but again, only my opinion."And nothing that I have seen since writing that has given me cause to change my mind, especially Sat night watching him get his 11 possessions live against our undermanned and out of sorts forward line. If ever an opportunity presented itself to an elite defender then Sat night was it but all I saw was what I had earlier opined above.
