Any winger new to the first team will be targeted, the physical presence that Gelling has gives him the advantage over the others being put forward for the first team.

Well, whoever plays on Friday should have a field day against Ainscough!

He is useful because he is such a handful to defenders. Seems to make more ground than other wingers. He didn't do anything wrong did he? All I saw was a raw athlete running hard and finishing off one good chance he got.

high crossfield kicks to Ainscoughs wing on Friday

Two or three half-chances, that he simply didn't have the pace to exploit (Mellor outpaced him for the first one, IIRC). He's had a run of 8 straight games now, 10 in total, he should be showing more signs of improvement, IMO.

I think he could be an excellent centre, I just don't think he's enough of a threat on the wing.

He is not a natural finisher but he is hard to stop close to the line. He probably won't score them like Josh does from distance but he will finish off decent chances.

He hits hard taking the ball up and he hits hard in defence. He is good under the high ball and doesn't seem to get low on confidence after a mistake.

Agreed, and all excellent qualities. Perhaps I'm just being greedy in wanting a long-range threat on both wings, but I don't think it's a lot to ask...all our nearest rivals (except Saints ) seem to manage it.

This simply isnt true. In the past Goulding has got more undeserved stick on here, even when he was still a teenager, than any other player that I have seen. Goulding also had never played on the wing before first team level and despite doing very well, scoring loads of tries and getting picked for England he was still criticised by some and certainly didnt get the leeway that people seem to want Gelling to get. Any criticism of Gelling is certainly nothing compared to some of the stick that Goulding has got in the past.

So what do we want Gelling to do? Is he a second rower, centre or winger? Are we trying to manufacture a winger out of him? Are there any ready made wingers who can step in? Are we then depriving a home-grown player the chance to play, who may also have the potential?

He's doing an excellent job of taking the pressure off the forwards, isn't costing us points with defensive cock ups and gets over the line every now and then. (6 tries in 10 isn't a bad record imo) Carry on son.

This

Looking at the bigger picture I suspect it is more of a longer term view by the coaching staff. Gelling was brought over as a possible replacement for Carmont but he is raw and needs to gain experience. Having a run of games in the first team will undoubtedly give him chance to gain that experience especially playing outside Carmont - who better to learn from? Every game he plays is money in the bank in terms of his development - probably more than expected.

In the meantime he is doing a decent job on the wing - not fantastic but certainly not letting anyone down so it is not costing the team anything (and I think he has improved quite a lot since he first made his debut - he certainly does not make as many mistakes as he did) and indeed does a good job of taking pressure off the forwards on kick returns.

I have no doubt that if Wane thought he wasn't doing a good enough job he would be out of the team very quickly.

still think ryan king deserves a go at some point

Wasn't just him but the whole "it hasn't cost us a game" is out the window now!