Beasties wrote: ↑Tue May 28, 2024 7:36 pm
Scrumhead wrote: ↑Sat May 25, 2024 7:30 am
Beasties wrote: ↑Fri May 24, 2024 8:06 pm
Rodd’s really looking like proper international quality now. I’ve been a little meh on him but lately he’s won me over.
As far as Painter’s concerned, what is the question we’re asking if he’s the answer? Harper looked good in that Sarries match. Proper put his injury problems behind him. Granted he was up against Mako so a low bar, but still.
Painter is 26 so if he’s going to kick on, it needs to be soon.
We lack a big, scrummaging tighthead and physically, he’s got the frame to be useful. However, at this point, that’s it. He needs to develop his scrummaging and work rate to be more than just a big heavy bloke who is hard to move.
In the first third of the season he was starting to look like the move to Exeter was having a positive impact, but that kind of tailed off.
The opportunity is there, but unless he finds some way of making good on his physical gifts very soon, he’ll not get beyond his current level.
On the plus side, generally the game time he’s not getting is going to Marcus Street who is smaller, but younger and more of a technical scrummager. Of the Exeter props, he’s probably the one I’m pinning more hopes on.
Harper is my big hope though. Big lad, decent scrummager and has a bit of dynamism around the park.
Just on Painter, I’ve seen a bit of Exeter lately and I’m honestly baffled as to why anyone would want to play a player at international level (after all) who does so little. He does naff all at Exeter. He isn’t even all that as a scrummager. I don’t want to be personal but he barely moves. I want a lot lot more out of my Eng TH. He makes Julian White look like PSdT. Harper is defo of interest. The other lad at Sale, Opuku-Fordjour needs keeping away at the moment but is one for the future absolutely. Let’s not rush him.
At the start of the season, Painter looked a very different player - he looked like he'd cracked it and was kicking on. He was regularly present and effective in the loose, with 3 tries in 8 games, and was strong at the scrum and in the carry. Unfortunately, it turned out just to be a run of good form, and he's now reverted to the mean.
I'm interested in Harper in theory, but I've seen so little of him for Sale that I'm having to take other people's word for it. I am concerned by just how recently he's broken into the Sale starting lineup though - he only started being first choice for Sale in March, and that because Schonert was injured, not because he'd forced his way past.
Agreed that AOF definitely needs one more season, probably two, before he should be considered for England.
Puja