Yeah, wonder whether Lucas has been watching the games. Love Thybulle, one of those rare players worth focusing on when they play D. I initially had him in my team, but now I question it. Let's actually just look at this team as assembled.
Where would Thybulle fit in?
He's not any sort of upgrade over Daniels. Sorry, no minutes there.
He's also not taking Green's spot. Not splitting minutes with him either.
So maybe Thybulle at the 4? Intriguing, because he played some 4 in Tokyo, but is he really taking Kay's spot? Thybulle is an incredible off-the-ball defender, anticipating the passing lanes, but is that what we need at the 4? Or should we have a reliable big, while unathletic, can match up with solid post D, and at the other end acts as a glue guy, finding cutters, hitting the 3, and making others better?
How about taking McVeigh's spot? This team needs a McVeigh, providing exactly what Thybulle doesn't provide: microwave for the bench unit. Plus, McVeigh removed the need for a 3-point specialist like Goulding.
Delly? A guard going down -- which is exactly what has happened -- is exactly why he is there ahead of Thybulle.
Reath? No minutes anyway. Wrong position. Reath is required as bigs insurance at this stage.
Then we are left with Ingles. I presume Lucas is referring to him. 2 minutes a game. That's it. When Ingles provides versatility, acts as a potential steadying option, can be that locker room presence, hits the 3 on a team that lacks knockdown shooters. Does there need to be a conspiracy theory to select Ingles over Thybulle for that last spot? Or is it simply the sensible choice?
Matissa is an amazing defender. I hope he doesn't abandon the idea of representing Australia over this. Bad luck to him, but when you are a niche kind of player, there are times when your niche skillset simply isn't needed.