A mountain range is quicker than Meli on the turn.

And Meli would have deserved it to some extent because Meli has years of experience, has been playing with us for a few years now, has been an international, etc, etc, etc. Armstrong is on his second first grade outing and his first match where the opposition has actually targetted him (Wire were a bit slow in that respect). The guy is learnnig his trade at first grade level and although I didn't see him today, from all accounts he is doing well. He's going to need months of experience at this level, not just a couple of games, for anyone to be able to really tell whether he has the ability we need. I hope he learns and grows from his experience today. For me it's just great that he can tackle, he can score and he can catch a high ball without fear or idleness. These three things alone make me want to support him while he learns.

I have seen a pint of milk turn quicker than Meli.

I think Neil Armstrong did well, although he seemed a bit nervy at times. At one point in the second half I said to my mate that Gilmour was doing a two man job (when Hudds were kicking/attacking that corner).

Wheeler didn't have much to do.

I think the important thing for us all to remember this season with regards to Armstrong is that as he is only 19 he is going to make mistakes, its inevitable.

What we shouldn't do is gloss over these few errors and overhype him early doors only to turn on him later in the season (if he continues to play in Meli's stead) or a season or so down the line when/if we lose some games and he comes up with a number of errors that contribute to that. We did this with a certain Mr Tyrer at roughly the same age and now many are hopeful he doesn't wear the redvee again.

With the franchising and the changes to the youth and overseas quota's we're hopefully going to see the number of opportunities given to the likes of Armstrong and Wheeler increase across the squad, we need to be prepared to give them all time and not expect miracles from them.

Arguably there's not a better time for us to do this than now with the playoffs being set up as they are, even with the impending losses of senior players like Long and Cunningham we should look forward to seeing the boys in play-off rugby for at least the next three years.

Can anyone tell me how Frodsham played?

There's a very good article on page 35 of this weeks League Express about the new reserve season which covers some of the points you have raised.

average.

took the ball up as you would expect, defended as you would expect and cost us a try at the of the the first half by running it in on the last tackle rather than passing to the right when we had a 3 man overlap.

That's prop forwards for you, eh!?

That's the rest isn't bad against what I rate as a pretty uncomprimising pack. How did his performance rate with that of Hargreaves?

true - and it wasnt the only time the ball went to a prop on the 5th tackle, but hopefully he will learn to have more of a rugby playing brain as he gets more game time.



Hargreaves was pretty average too, but I would have him in over Frodsham at the current time.

He's a better player as I've said on another thread. Hargreaves offers nothing going forward.

He made a mistake that cost us a try, Long was going ape. I think he may have seen a bit of a gap there that wasn't really and got tackled, however that's the kind of mistake I'd expect from a youngster and he'll learn from it.

For me, he should be our fourth prop for the majority of this year.

Were you as critical of Puletua when he ended up with the ball on the last tackle twice in the middle of the field and not even close to the line?

No - it wasnt Frodshams fault (or Puletua's) that he got the ball on the last tackle - but that doesnt excuse what happened next. There was a 3 man overlap and he chose to run it in - it was a mistake.

At least Puletua did the right thing, and offloaded, and one of those occasions led to a half break and a good kick down the line.

I am fine with young players making mistakes, and can forgive them - but that doesnt mean we have to ignore them and cant discuss them on here.

I had a text conversation with a certain poster on here regarding Sean Ainscough on Friday.

He scored an absolutely superb try, a wingers classic. However, 20 metres from the line his arm raises in the air to the crowd and he dives over the line about 8 metres in from touch. Wigan were six points behind. Ainscough could and should have gone close to or under the posts. Roberts missed the kick and therefore Wigan were still two points behind.

Youthful exuberance Maybe

All you can hope for is that the youngsters don't make the same mistakes again.

That's very understanding of you.