Whiting commanded the back line today. Fair enough, he was the senior player and it was against Donny, but to say he'd been out with injury for ages he looked very good, so hopefully will be back in the form that got him MOM in quite a few games at the start of last season.

Initials suit most and most know who i mean and are sufficient till they make it part of the aup as well, and i would say over last season and pre season probably two thirds of this forum have knocked him constantly, however i am pleased you agree with me that he is a class player regardless of who you are playing.... you can only play against whats in front of you and today he bossed the match and looked the real deal (against 13 fellow pros on the opposite side who were also giving it a good go today) ....

agree 100%, RW looked in great shape and very strong too, many may have noticed he has ripped out a wee bit since last term too which showed in his strength in the tackle which was fiersome on ocassions today and felt by most he stopped today... great kid, great attitude and looks every bit a potential England squad player.....
and as you say i am sure he will pick up a few MOM awards this term

Two thirds of this forum have constantly knocked Whiting? What planet do you live on!

To be fair to a lot of his knockers, they did come round last season. Standee was one of Whitings biggest detractors but he admitted that Whiting proved him wrong last season.

Some people on here just see critiscism as a dislike of a player. Personally i'm critical of Whiting and dont think he'd be 1st choice in any position if we had a full strength squad but that doesnt mean i dislike him. I rate him incredibly highly due to his utility value. I wont get carried away and say he's proven a point after a hat trick against a poor Donny team.

Regarding Whiting it was about time Agar just said to him your a centre and gave him a starting spot week in week out. The problem he has had for the past few seasons apart from injuries was that he was trying to be made into a backrower and he was always the guy that got asked to fill in a position when injuries occured.

Nicklas for me - nippy "proper" half.

And was reassuringly reminded today of how completely justifiable my adoration of Whiting is. Moa took 3 tacklers every time he had the ball too.

Only a friendly, but very enjoyable. All the young kids looked capable against an experienced but poor Donny side.

Think we should see that with him getting a centre shirt.

I thought Moa had a cracking match, plenty of aggression in attack and defence and where's that offload come from? Thought somehow the other posters harsh on Turner who I thought put together varied and good distribution he put some good flat passes in to the left on occasion and no one else has done that since cock. Williams looked every bit the cheeky scrum half. The only slight concern for me was Wash at 9, was busy but constantly went up a blind ally or slow with distribution. Young Briscoe looks to have grown but still got plenty of pace, nice mazy run from Lynn too. All in all some bright signs from the youngsters and an entertaining, if cold way to spend a tenner on a Sunday afternoon.

Yeah thats what i meant it has been a long time coming and he shouldnt be the 'fixer' he should keep his centre spot if his form justifies it, Turner should be the new fixer.

Posted to this effect already and 100% agree - thought Turner did everything asked of him tbh - he set up 2 tries and was influential. Don't understand why people would criticise that performance at all.

What did you think of Turner? Thought he did well today.

Thought he went well in the 1st half and the best thing about him playing at 6 is that he plays really straight and doesnt mind taking a whack, it would be interesting to see him play alongside Long.

Think he'll start there in Cardiff, assuming Horne's not fit. Any news on Horne?

Just that he is wrapped up in cotton wool and still no contact in practice.

Very impressed with Turner today, he threw some very decisive passes out and was quick to spend the ball wide, I actually had in my top 3. I also really liked The look of Jack Briscoe, quick feet, industrious and how quick was he when he steamed 40 yards for his try.

Turner set Cunningham up brilliantly for his try.

Looked very solid indeed and worthy of the praise he gets , I think he was very under rated last year however this year i think he will start to shine through , very very strong and great attitude.

Another thing i think should be mentioned is Washy has a cracking game today and showed why we were correct in keeping him, did everything he had to do very well and was solid in defence too....

but hey the young lads showed everyone we have a cracking future with home grown lads dont we !!!
well done to all involved....

selective memory issues again

as i just wrote i think today the young mustangs showed exactly what a cracking future that club has with some real class young fellas on show today, no whooping or holering at the end just solid professional young kids with great attitudes... and that is the future being built by RA

Cant agree with that and i'm a big fan of Washy, his defence is always very good but he gave away 3 daft penalties for infringements on the floor and some of his passes near the back end of the 1st half were rainbow passes which could be due to fatigue i guess.

I agree with you 100% about the fatigue bit , he did flag a wee bit at one point
also i agree with you about the pens which is unusual for washy but maybe down to circumstance of the tackle i cant recal till i see the VT but it is a whole new world for him this year ...
Glad to see i am not the only fan of washy, nice one

There is a lot of promising young talent in the ranks, I definitely agree. I'd have to say Green was the pick of them today in terms of overall performance. I disagree on your Washbrook comments. I thought he was slow and laboured out of dummy half and is distribution was average, he was very I'll-disciplined, too. Had it have been a SL game he would have conceded more than 3 penalties.

i think Green was outstanding also , they all were to be honest.
That match will have given them so much pride they will be walking on air tonight and rightly so!!!
it was refreshing to see lads rushing to go see mum and dad again, real grass roots rugby..LOVE IT
lots for RA to mull over now, but it showed the depth folk say we havent got is clearly there albeit young