Why? Murphy is a better all round player imo. Russell has severe flaws in his game, which have been there for years, and he has shown absolutely no improvement in them.

Going Hull a few times probably scared him into fleeing the country.

Thats the biggest load of rubbish ive heard all year, the only flaws Matty has in his game is his positioning at fullback and his ability under the high ball and these skills can be taught, but what did Wigans coaching staff do instead of trying to fix these problems? They put a plaster over it and put Murphy at fullback! What you cant teach is clearing his lines something Murphy failed to do on a few occasions last Sunday, thats simply down to Mattys raw talent and elusive footwork, dont get me wrong Murphy is great under the high ball and he has great speed but comparing him against Russell is like saying Paul Wellens is a better full back than Sam Tomkins, no where near, never and not in a million years!

Personally I think that is a load of rubbish. The club have constantly been working with Matty to improve all aspects of his game because that's what they do. Whether he's played at fullback or on the wing he's still going to have to learn to deal with kicks and work on his positioning. The problem is he hasn't shown much improvement.

You're brushing over Russell's flaws but dealing with kicks and positioning are the two most important aspects of fullback play. If a player can't do those things his chances of being a top fullback are slim.

It's all well and good being an elusive player but the bottom line is it's far easier to run rings around players at under 20's level than it is at Super League level. At the moment Russell is similar to Shaun Ainscough. Russell made the fullback spot his own last year for the under 20's but the team was so dominant his defence was rarely seriously tested and his attacking play was fantastic against weak defences.

Murphy is at fullback because he deserves to be. When Russell went out on loan Murphy really started to show what he was capable of from fullback and when Russell returned Murphy was playing good enough to prevent him from returning to that position. His defence is miles better than Russell's and there's no point ignoring that because it is a massive part of the game at fullback.

Murphy and Russell also have different styles in attack. Murphy isn't as elusive as Russell but he is more direct which is something that is better suited to playing fullback at Super League level. You have to be direct and can't afford to hesitate. Russell has a habit of always wanting to step and go round players, which works in the U20s but will not be as successful in Super League.

It's alright praising Russell's ability to return the ball but yet again that was a strength Shaun Ainscough had and one that didn't really provide much once he stepped up to Super League level.

There's absolutely no doubt that Russell has huge potential and probably more potential than Murphy but that doesn't mean he doesn't have some important issues in his game that need fixing and it also doesn't mean that Murphy can't be the better of the two right now. Murphy looks to be a much smarter player in attack and defence and is an incredibly safe pair of hands. Murphy was playing ahead of Russell on merit.

Ok so now matty can only penetrate weak defences, what happend on sunday then when hes grabbed a brace against a solid Leeds defence? And where was Murphy in attack??? And finally why has Matty ot NRL clubs sniffing around him??? Because he's a future star! They dont buy crap players from England so sureley they must see what ive seen of him??? I just think Wigan have made a big mistake here by not offering a larger contract maybe sooner then we might have been able to keep him!

Wigan would have never been able to compete with what he will be getting at GCT, plus his mind was made up a long long time ago as there has been at least 3 NRL clubs after him all season. I also know he would have been interested in a permenant move to Hull if they wanted him. They obviously didn't considering they sent him back.

Yeh i suppose, but to put an end to this post i suppose only time will tell but i suggest look out for the headlines in the next 2-3 years i rekon hel do well!

If you actually read what I said instead of rambling on and gratuitously overusing punctuation marks, I said, "It's all well and good being an elusive player but the bottom line is it's far easier to run rings around players at under 20's level than it is at Super League level."

In other words being an elusive runner in the under 20's doesn't automatically mean someone will be able to do that when they step up to a higher level. I never said Russell can only penetrate weak defences I said he'll find it quite easy against weak defences.

The problem is he still has those defensive issues and he did have competition in Murphy. I can't believe you're criticising Murphy's attack based on one game against Leeds where the pack was poor and the halfback's weren't much better either. It's the nature of being a fullback that your effectiveness can often be dictated by the players around you. It's happened to Tomkins several times this year and he's a bit better than Murphy or Russell.

Russell is more elusive in attack, he can score some fantastic tries and he's got a big chance of becoming a top player but it doesn't change the fact that Murphy earned his place at fullback by being consistently good and offering a better all round game. That's just the nature of having competition for places, even in the under 20's. Russell might one day become a much better fullback than Murphy could ever be but that doesn't mean he should play ahead of him regardless of what they show during games.

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Lets move on now weve bot got different opinions lets agree to disagree and hope both players become superstars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

www.therhinos.co.uk/news/20426.php Russell's second try was a try ony capable of being scored by a Special player

www.therhinos.co.uk/news/20426.php Russell's second try was a try ony capable of being scored by a Special player

Before we played Hull in the league they were saying he couldnt catch, he didnt drop one all game and was a stand out player for them that day.

It was only after I knew it was same lad from Wigan because Rogues had gone on about him alot

He's an excellent player and only eighteen (I think). He will improve but once he's tasted Australia he won't want to come back. Good luck to him.

Ive been told directly that this rumour whoever has started it is a load of garbage he's not signed any contract with Gold Coast! He may well go somewhere only he knows but this Gold Coast malarky has not happened yet!

Linked with Hull kr in our daily rag today.

So it was the Gold Coast of Humberside after all !