There's been plenty of fullbacks that have learned there trade by starting on the wing .

True but why play Shaul out of position. All season ppl have been complaining about playing people out of position but now there contemplating it.. #1 shirt is Shauls to lose as Mcdonnell will be injured for start of season wont he??

PG stated \Shannon would miss first 6 - 8 weeks of season as it was s really serious injury - so will miss all pre-season & possibly a yard of pace ? Not conducive to getting a deal elsewhere.

SHAUL deffo the future but for heavens sake he is all about PACE, needs to put his body on the line when ball on the ground ( Hudds ) improve under the high ball & dramatically improve passing. Long way from the finished article.

And there has been plenty of players who just fade into nothing or end up a utility player.
The lads a FB he needs to play FB because I'm 100% sure if hull don't want him to play there some one will.

As good as shaul could be he still needs a bit of work cos at the min he's a finisher n not much else yet.
Wing would physically still continue to bring him up to where he needs to be, high ball practice etc n within games should we be winning well for example can afford to rotate.
If you'd watched n r l this yr you'd have seen roosters do that with shek (next nrl super star imo) & minicello. As they'll both be playing in the final next week you can tell how that's worked out!!

Not got the NRL this year so not seen it.
Iv no doubt he could do a job on the wing and I like Shannon I just think he lost his place through injury shaul has taken his chance. That's why he keeps number 1 for me that's what we want competition for places just because you are on big bucks should not grantee you start.
Yes I do think Shannon is all round more solid. But hull need a spark and shaul is our spark.

Good call regarding RTS and Mini. RTS has been great on the wing, well blooded there this season. He slotted in to FB when Mini was injured and did a solid job. Rumor was Mini to Wigan at 1 point this season, but as thats not going to happen, will be interesting to see who get the No 1 shirt next year.

As good as Shaul is, he isnt the finished article, but should be at FB when Shannon is injured.

Your entitled to your opinion but its not one I share totally and I think you may struggle to find the stats to back it up too.

I do agree that it's great to have such a dilema and I would be happy either way.

All depends which stats you want to prioritise, TBH.

Shaul comes out best in tries scored, metres made, tackles made, offloads, and average runs from dummy half.

On the other hand, McDonnell comes out best in try assists, tackle busts, clean breaks, missed tackles (and tackle completion), errors, and penalties conceded.

So in terms of sheer number of categories, McDonnell is in front, but then it depends upon how you want to look at and value any given stat. My personal view is that McDonnell is still the better player, but it's not a huge gap any more.

This

If McDonnell is not going to be fit for the start of the season then Shaul has the opportunity to secure the FB slot and keep it by performing week in week out plus McDonnell will have to earn his place once fit too.

It will help Shaul to have McDonnell in the squad to help improve his game as like Carl has said its no longer a huge gap between the two and that in itself is down to experience.

I would think though is Shaul progresses at the same rate next as he has this year then I can not see the club extending McDonnells stay.

To be fair to him I did think up until McDonnell got injured he was one of the better and consistent performers in the squad but thats life in pro sport theres always a chance you may fall way down the pecking order after a long lay off and rightly so. It can only be a good thing for us tbh having genuine competition for the FB role as no matter who is in the 17 knows they will have to perform every week or lose their spot.

Shaul looks good, but I think are getting caught up with a couple of great try's he as scored.

In both play off games Shaul made a coupe of errors, which had McDonnell made them, there would have been a big thread about it.

Shaul has work to do, certainly catching and link up play, but looks a real prospect.

Good position to be in, having 2 good FB's.

I've had a look and yes their are area's of merit for both player's although Shaul has only played eight to McDonnell's 19 so it's a guess as to where Shaul's figures would be had he played the same amount. Having said that I still believe Shaul gives us more going forward and I would be able to forgive his slight inexperience in some area's on the back of it.

Again I'm not a Shannon knocker and if Radders see's it different and starts with Shannon I'll not be complaining.

I went on averages because of the disparity in games. McDonnell has actually made more tackles than Shaul, but I still gave it to Shaul based on tackles per game. Likewise metres made. By the same reasoning, that's why I gave McDonnell penalties, errors, and missed tackles, because whilst he has actually committed more or equal in each category, he is noticeably in front in terms of per game.

Shaul's defensive positioning is pretty ropey and he was certainly weak against hudds but the kid has barely played any rugby in the last couple of years. Needs a good coach to improve his game

Yup. And with McDonnell likely to miss pre-season and the start of the season proper that gap may well close even further.