I personally believe that most of the young capts at QLINK do a great job and are on the ball.
What i find amazing is that QLink is very short of upgradable FO's yet QANTAS has many SO's (some exQlink) who could easily slot into a command slot without having to leave the group.
I believe that the Northern operation has exploded to the extent that many lines are rostered uncrewed and Alliance will be retained well after the arrival of two 717's onto SSA's routes.