Interesting from a sports science perspective for me who knows naught about it; for all our well credentialed fitness staff we seem to have resorted to a form of witchdoctorery whereby if a chronic knee problem is denied and practically ignored for selection purposes then it will get better all by itself. Can that happen? I have heard of physiotherapy to assist recovery, might rest and a recovery program be in order, especially as the club is softening us for a fall from the eight as part of the exploratory journey; so maybe let Jack get better rather than stuff his confidence, the team's confidence and his body.
I also wonder if Paton would have done just as well as a wounded JS; JS would have then rested and not stressed the knees in the wet. If it is knees, but something's amiss. Other clubs know this and will exploit it, hoping we still play pretend.
I also wonder about players being the arbiters of their fitness; is that really the case, are there not physical tests to get a scientific answer, doesn't form play into the credibility of some declarations? Players regularly don't declare problems in all professional sports, its career and money limiting. Then there is a boring matter of duty of care, e.g. if Jack and Mason are not fully fit should the club be putting them in more harm's way. Head injuries are the big ticket, but there are many moving parts that are important to quality of life. Are we going to limp and arm sling our way ever downwards for no medium term benefit.