PUT your hand up if you had Matt Garland among your top three contenders for the Magpies' fullback berth when the Mitre 10 Cup began in August.
Obviously Israel Dagg would have been the No 1 contender but he was eliminated from the equation after some outstanding displays for the All Blacks during the June international window. After those performances there was no way Hawke's Bay were going to have his services this season and the bloke has only improved since then in both the wing and fullback positions.
After Dagg the next three contenders would have been Chiefs outside back Sam McNicol but he won't be taking the field for the Magpies this season because of ongoing concussion issues, former Highlanders speedster Ryan Tongia and Shannan Chase who both had short stints in the Magpies No 15 jersey earlier in this Premiership season.
Tongia got two starts after Lewis Marshall had the first two and Chase has been used off the pine. Dagg's Napier Pirate Rugby and Sports clubmate Matt Garland, who was selected in the squad as a midfielder or winger, has started the last four games and has relished the role so much he is a serious contender for the Magpies' Rookie of the Year award.
"I wasn't really expecting this amount of time. I'm loving the fullback role and I'm learning a lot more about it each week," Garland said before the Magpies travelled to Hamilton yesterday to prepare for tonight's ninth-round clash against Waikato at FMG Stadium.
The former Australia Secondary Schools rep who completed his second season with the Pirate club in August said his confidence in the position had grown each season.