The fact that Bender and Hughes come into the team is not a surprise for anyone who watched the two play last weekend at the Las Vegas Invitational with the Falcons. Bender brought a very physical presence both on offense and defense. In our conversations with the Falcons coaching staff they identified Bender as a player that they thought would push for a spot. Bender had previously been under contract with the Eagles but went back to Minnesota to work on his game. It appears that move has paid off.
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Hughes is the most cerebral player on the team and can fill in at a number of positions. Plus, he's only under contract until the new Dartmouth quarter begins so this may be the only time he gets a chance to play.
The biggest surprise of all the returning players is Carlin Isles, who had expressed that Las Vegas was likely his last tournament but then last night expressed on twitter that he was headed to New Zealand.
The Eagles are in Pool C with Canada, Argentina, and Scotland.
Squad: Danny Barrett, Garrett Bender, Andrew Durutalo, Nick Edwards, Pono Haitsuka, Madison Hughes, Carlin Isles, Ryan Matyas, Folau Niua, Brett Thompson, Shalom Suniula, Zack Test
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What do you think of the changes?