With a plethora of major acquisitions made by Old Glory, it will be interesting to see in the preseason what will happen with how the starting lineup will be shaken out. There are going to be a lot of positional battles just because of the sheer depth the team has built up. This first article will take a look at a potentially big positional battle and at arguably the most important position in the backs, flyhalf. Let's take a look at the candidates.
Mike Dabulas
Dabulas was the first choice flyhalf for Penn State and was a Collegiate All-American, so clearly he has a lot of talent. The question is whether his talent will help push for the starting role as he is just coming out of college and is facing off against players who have been playing for a while. There is no doubt that he will probably become the starting flyhalf for the team down the line and develop into a star, but he lacks Major League Rugby experience which is a huge step up from the college game. So, in his development, do you start him and hope he can gain experience that way or do you have him watch from the sidelines and have him come in as a substitute to gain that experience? There probably are other ways too, but those two are most likely that will spark debate within the coaching staff.
Jason Robertson
Of all the players listed in this article, Robertson is clearly the most experienced. Robertson has had the pleasure playing in the Mitre 10 Cup, which is a pretty prestigious rugby tournament in New Zealand and that could come in handy with his move to MLR. Americas Rugby News describes him as a creative attacker and a right-footed goal kicker and that is very promising to see, but he isn't quite as heralded as Dabulas. That being said the coaching staff will have to debate whether his experience should determine if he should be the starter or if he would come in as a replacement.
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