The 2017 NRL season started with Sam Lisone and Albert Vete staring opportunity in the face as Ben Matulino missed the opening stanza through injury. When Matulino's injury predicament was announced late in 2016, I remember writing with a splash of excitement about who would stand up and full some of the void left by Matulino's absence, excitement which wasn't satisfied as 2017 played out. 

Now I sit here in late 2017, ahead of the 2018 season and ponder whether Lisone and Vete will be part of the strongest Warriors 17 possible. Instead of competing to start and dominate, these two are now competing to hold down bench spots as coach Stephen Kearney made a handful of recruitment and development moves that don't seem to reflect all that well on Lisone and Vete. To some extent the writing was on the wall for Vete after he was part of Kearney's cull after three rounds of footy, while Lisone went on to play a steady role throughout the season; a steady role that didn't have my anticipation simmering for 2018.

Matulino, Jacob Lillyman and James Gavet all endured a season in which they were unable to stack up games together as a trio of middle forwards, the sort of season that should have resulted in Lisone snapping up all sorts of opportunities. While Lisone didn't do a whole lot wrong last season, he didn't stand out as a middle forward who the Warriors can bank on to lead them into a new era. And Lisone doesn't stand out in general; he's not big in the NRL's land of the giants and although he has shown signs of a delightful passing game, this brings as many cringe-y moments as it does moments of ball-playing-forward joy.

If you're a middle forward and you're not up around/over 1.9m tall (Lisone's 1.84m) you need to have above average footwork, or run the footy like Suaia Matagi. Lisone has shown signs of being a nek-level aggressive runner, yet this is packaged alongside Lisone's ball-playing and every glorious carry is followed by Lisone getting his passing fix. This feels like Lisone is caught between both worlds where he has shown signs of a very aggressive carry and slick ball-playing, not going all-in on either. 

Sure, you can do both and many NRL middle forwards do and it's now a staple for a middle forward to pass once a set. North Queensland Cowboys forward John Asiata is a lovely example as he doesn't have the aggressive running of Lisone and his ball-playing is such that he was a legit passing-half option for the Cowboys. Lisone has a better carry than Asiata and his ball-playing isn't on Asiata's level, so why dabble in both? Especially when dabbling in both takes away from both aspects of his game and Lisone would easily develop a slick passing game later on in his career, if he zoned in on the aggressive running bit right now.

Ponder 'shown signs' with Lisone because it sums where we are at with Lisone nicely. Lisone has shown signs of being this and that, without really moving up through the levels. 
Perhaps that could be because during his career with the Warriors, Lisone hasn't really had too much competition. It felt as though Lisone made his debut and then had a fairly easy ride through the first 62 games of his career. Now, as Lisone is moving approaching 'genuine NRL player' territory, the winds of change have blown through Mt Smart and brought with them competition for Lisone's spot in the top-17.

I like Lisone and if he can combine his aggressive running with slick ball-playing, he'll be a certified weapon in the NRL. Now is the time to show more than signs, which is incredibly exciting because we are going to see if Lisone and a few others are genuinely capable of holding top-17 spots. 

Gavet, Adam Blair and Simon Mannering lead my middle forward list and I believe that Leivaha Pulu and Agnatius Paasi were recruited as middle forwards; the spent most of 2017 playing as middle forwards for Gold Coast Titans. Either Mannering or Pulu would be the best non-youngster contenders for the vacant right edge and even after accounting for one of them to fill an edge spot, there's still some rampant competition for middle spots.

If they are all middle forwards (Bunty Afoa's ready to play right edge consistently), there will only be one bench spot open with Nathaniel Roache joined by Pulu and Paasi. Lisone would be competing with Vete, Patrick Sipley, Tevita Satae, Isaiah Papali'i and Ligi Sao. I can't say with any certainty that Lisone is hands-down better than those lads and everyone in contention offers something of their own. I have stated my case for Satae getting more game time next season as a bench of Pulu, Paasi and Satae would be brutal, while someone like Papali'i has a level of mobility that would also be nicely suited to this Warriors forward pack.

Let's not pretend like the Warriors need any more ball-handling in their forward pack either as Mannering featured heavily last season, slinging spiral passes left and right. Blair is a nice first-receiving passing forward, while Paasi drips funk with his passing ability that made him such a dynamic player (when healthy) for Gold Coast. Across the whole team, I reckon the level of skill has increased dramatically when you consider those middle forwards, along with Tohu Harris and Peta Hiku; both of whom have played as NRL halves but won't play in the halves for the Warriors.

We are going to see a Warriors team with more players who are capable of passing both left and right, as well as offloading. I doubt we are going to see the Warriors play as safe as they did in 2017 as the players that have been recruited all share a high skill-level, which decreases the need for Lisone's passing game that was once an asset in a Warriors team that lacked such skill. 

The joy here is in the fact that it's up to Lisone to demand selection and that will only bring out the best in Lisone. Lisone has a legit chance to move out of the 'shown signs' bracket and showcase all his talents at a high level, thus ensuring he's in the top-17 and that's only possible through ample competition for one or two spots. Either way, it benefits our Warriors.

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Peace and love 27.