Not quite the distance but a good call, they are rare.

They made their mind up on him some time back, and need to save face I think. He let's the odd soft tackle get through, but his good points outweigh the bad.

I never mentioned the ‘credibility’ of those criticising him
There’s examples going right back to Ryan Atkins just brushing him away many seasons ago but I wasn’t meaning it to be a criticism of Max rather a defence of all Full Backs who play the position well especially the defensive side of it. It’s a difficult position to get right

I wouldn't have thought the criticism was aimed at your remarks - probably more the OP?

E
Not sure what my credibility rating is, but I did mildly criticise his defence a few years back and rightly so imo. However I accepted he was young, and had time to improve and I did one think he has. He’s as good as any British FB currently playing in SL.

I don’t think his tackling will ever be his greatest asset but it’s now fit for purpose. Which means he can now excel at what he does best, game awareness and creativity and become a genuine playmaker, whether at FB or SO, we are lucky to have him.

I would add his superb goalkicking to his attributes has to be one of the best in the game!