Seems no-one actually knows how the reserves are allocated.
If the process has changed in recent years, may explain why NSW II and QLD II recent success
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That's a provocative statement that can lead to some lively discussion.
Putting the success of the NSWII & QLDII sides down to the way the reserves are allocated is to take merit away from the performances of those teams over the last 2 years.
The quality or lack of quality of reserves in any State squad can play a big role in the success of any of the teams but because of the player requirements under the General Rules regarding reserves, it can also stuff teams up if not managed right.
Besides the fact that the selectors dont always get it right, some players really rise to the challenge of playing on the bigger stage. So any player in the so-called second string reserves bench for NSWI for example can play out of his skin and be rewarded with a spot in the team on the Final day.
Using NSWII and 2016 as an example again, they were lucky to make the Final just ahead of Victoria that year.
The Coach played his strongest team (or what he thought was his strongest team) against WA in the first game, not knowing how strong or weak the WA team was.
NSW ended up having an easy win and gained a bonus point for scoring 4 or more tries.
But when they had to play their 3rd game against QLDI, the Coach was forced to give some players a start and play reserves to fulfill the player requirement Rules. There were quite a few of the stronger players sitting on the bench in the first half as a result.
QLD skipped to a comfortable lead by half time, but the Coach was allowed to put his strongest players on the field in the second half.
NSWII scored a few tries in that second half including a try on the bell which cut the score down to QLD winning by 7 points points or less, thereby giving NSW 1 bonus.
That 1 bonus point was enough to just get them into the Final ahead of a very good Victorian side and the rest is history. And it wasn't the reserve players who made that achievement, even though they contributed; it was more the players named in the 1st XV.
And regardless of whether the reserve bench in any team is a so-called first string or second string bench, those reserves can play well enough to steal a spot in the team on the Final day. There are no guarantees as to what the makeup of the teams are on that final day.
When NSWII were fortunate enough to make the Final in 2016, number 23 Oliver Smeallie played on the wing because he had played so well during the week and he had a blinder in the Final.
In fact, he wouldn't have been out of place in one of the Schoolboy teams but there was a glut of good wingers that year.
It's all a bit of a lottery in a way.