Give Goulding a machine gun, and most teams would still prefer to head that way.

Pryce was always going to be a "long term project". That injury, and poor diagnosis /treatment of it set him back. His confidence was dented although it now looks as though he is starting to enjoy his rugby again.

IF he carries on progressing as he is doing, then he is well worth at least another two year contract, as he is still only 23 years of age. He has more ability than most Superleage centre/ wingers.

He's done well - let's see how he gets on against a top side next week, you can be sure Leeds will target him.

He's only played three games! Is this similar to Phelps tremendous start to the season which lasted about three games against some poor opposition?

I think people need to calm down a bit and lets see how he goes over quite a few more games before proclaiming he is potentially the best winger in the league or whatever.

He is certainly playing better than he was and as I said previously the fact some tries were walk-ins is no reason to have a pop but as Jonh mentioned certain other wingers at this club would kill for this kind of publicity having scored the walk-ins. I am not quite sure why Pryce deserves the special treatment given his previous first team appearances and the fact those who watch the junior sides have often said he has not stood out playing at that level.

Dave

He's played four, scoring eight tries, but just as important only conceded one.

OK I can't count but I still think some of the comments in this thread are OTT and premature.

EDIT: Which is two games v Hudds, one v Widnes (scored 3) and one v Crudsaders (scored 4).

So seven out of he eight tries have been against poor opposition but as I sad you can't slag him off for scoring them but equally a little perspective is needed. Likewise the one conceded includes playing against two poor sides. If he carries on against teams like Leeds, Saints and Wire then OK he really will have turned a corner.

Dave

I agree.

I'm one who has "championed" his cause for a while, because I've seen enough of him at all levels to know what a talent he is.
He's doing o.k. and looks as though he is starting to enjoy his rugby again. None of know how bad that injury affected him, particularly confidence wise.

Let's give him a few more games, give him some encouragement and then we'll all probably be in a better position to make a true judgement.

But I will say this again, IMO there are very few British players who have the physical attributes and skill set that Karl Pryce has.

I agree and I think he will get his chances even when Roberts returns.

Dave

So you actually agree with what i said earlier then?

In recent weeks Pryce has moved above Goulding in the pecking order and is now in pole position to keep his place once Roberts returns.

I can't see how that is getting carried away btw or why we shouldn't praise his excellent strike rate over the past 4 games?

I agree that Pryce has just about pushed in front of Goulding, not so much for the tries scored but for the ones conceded. For some reason Goulding seems to have lost faith in his centre defensively and is being drawn in.
That may be a bit harsh on Goulding in that defence is a team thing, tackling is an individual thing and sometimes the problem can be who is defending next man inside the centre.

I can however see the "back three" being Roberts, Pryce and Richards. Look at Maguires Melbourne team with the likes of Slater, King, Folau and Inglis.

My big concern about playing Pryce against Leeds would be Sinfield targeting Pryce with kicks behind him, a tactic they used so often against Lesley Vainikolo.

No I don't agree because he's only played four games one of which was v Widnes the other v Crusaders so it's too early to tell which was my point. More games will be required against better opposition to see if these four games are any sort of true indicator of how good he is. Goulding has played in games against all the top sides and done well in most of them so I think it's premature to say he has moved passed Goulding in the pecking order based on four games especially given the opposition.



Seven tries came from 3 v Widnes and 4 v Crusaders with only one coming against good SL standard opposition puts a different perspective on the raw statistics IMO . But as I said you can't slag a winger off for scoring walk-in tries against poor opposition. It's his job but given the opposition I don't think the strike rate is any great indicator of his potential.

Dave

Does anyone think his long term future is still at centre? The run of games on the wing giving him the match fitness and practice he needs in preperation for moving inside? He's a handful on the wing but as a centre he'd create so much space outside of him imo.

I very much agree with that, and I'll be as delighted as anyone if/when he begins to use them.

You are contradicting yourself here Daave.

In your previous post you said Pryce will still get his chance when Roberts returns. So in order for this to happen he’s gotta have jumped in front of Goulding right?

You might not agree with it but even by your own admission he’s now the front runner to keep his space one Roberts returns and Richards swaps back to the wing or how else would he keep getting his chance?

I expect Pryce has moved ahead of Goulding in the pecking order if only slightly. Pryce is in good try scoring form regardless of how or where he's scored the tries. He's also done well in defence so deserves his place.

In defence of Goulding though, after watching the highlights I don't think he was at fault for the first Crusaders try, although I thought he was at the time. It was a 3 on 2 overlap, Gleeson's man became the second rower, so Goulding's man became the centre Hanbury, who Goulding had covered, unfortunately Crusaders had the numbers and the winger was free. Had Goulding left Hanbury free and stayed on his opposite winger it would have been a much simpler try for Hanbury and he'd have been miles out of position. So perhaps criticism of Goulding is a little harsh. Our sliding defence was the problem in my opinion.
Gleeson got embarassed by Chan for one of the later tries and it's often a 50/50 decision to move inside or stay out wide.

However, Pryce is more likely to get picked out of the two in my opinion. It will be interesting to see how he goes against Leeds, as they are one team that can really test a player with their kicking game.