So it's early doors but Paul Aiton has been head and shoulders our best player this season, only Cuthbertson coming close.

I thought he was poorly utilised and under-rated last season (just see the difference with him on the field and off it against London) but as our starting hooker doing 60 odd minutes a match he's been superb. We look a lot more defensively solid and a lot more dangerous going forward with him rather than Mags or Sir Kev at DH.

Aiton

Stevie ward has been up there I would say, different class this season with the bulk he has put on.

So that's Aiton guaranteed to have a shocker tonight then.

Aiton, cuthbertson, briscoe. Top 3 so far.

Too early in season to be handing pats on the backs out.

save them for st pats night on the 20th

Don't know where this Aiton love in has come from. Think he has looked very average. Decent distribution from acting half but not great defence, not a lot of breaks, not great speed around the ruck. I don't think if he was playing for another side there would be a lot of clamour to bring him in.

Cuthbertson, Briscoe, Ward and McGuire have started the season far better in my opinion.

He's been solid. He's never going to be Camerson Smith, but he's tidy at DH, and his defense is very solid (116 tackles, 2 misses so far), but lets not go over board after 3 games.

Whilat I wouldn't have him in my top 3 so far (top 5 yes) he's been better than just average.

I think the "love in" so to speak is probably down to the novelty (by our recent history) of having a traditional hooker there at 9 and how his presence has brought better balance to the side and enabled the workload to be better shared in defence.....basically a nod to Aiton is a nod to the team as a whole.

Certainly improved on last years efforts but not in my top 3.
Cuthbertson
Briscoe
S.Ward

I think he's been superb and I don't think it's just down to the side reorganising when he goes off that our performance seems to dip. I think he's been quick and very effective out of dummy half, nearly always drawing in the A defender and so creating gaps. His movement out of DH has also helped get our forwards moving too.

I'd have him as our top player so far. Closely followed by Briscoe & Cuthbertson.

Yeah id probably agree with that, I just don't think his positioning has been all that and I don't think we have seen anything from him that you wouldn't expect from a bang average traditional hooker.

Burrow may have had some issues with some of the traditional hooker role, but he has always offered a lot more (im not a big fan of 'traditional roles' I think strengths need to be in a squad not a role) in other ways.

Aiton just seems a bog standard hooker to me, I think he is miles behind the likes of Roby, Clark, McIlorum, id take Lunt, Houghton, Pelissier ahead of him. More Millard than Diskin or Buderus.

Well this thread needs consigning to the garbage bin asap

Well I called it earlier.