As others have mentioned there were some strong performances from Bullock, Kibula, Mullen, Smith and Partington amongst others.
Bullock is a really exciting prospect. He's so solidly built but quick and athletic. The way he carries the ball into contact should cause plenty of problems.
We've got to get some of these players playing at a higher level regularly though. Mullen was impressive once again. I don't think he had a bad game last year and yet his playing time was sporadic. Three first team appearances spread throughout the year, a couple of games at Swinton, a few at Skolars, one or two for the reserves. That's nowhere near good enough for a young player who was impressive pretty much every time.
NickyKiss wrote:
Every time I watch Kilner I just think he looks superb but for some reason he doesn’t seem to get the same build up as kids like Byrne, Partington, Kibula, Havard etc. Maybe it’s just me but he seems to be further down the pecking order.
We’ve some superb forward talent coming through at the minute. Those kids I’ve mentioned plus Smithies, Shorrocks and McDonnell all look capable of pushing through to first team level in the next few seasons.
I think Kilner got injured last year and missed a fair chunk of the U19's season. He's definitely an exciting prospect. Reminds me a lot of Joe Greenwood - tall, athletic, powerful with long strides and a handful when he's not wrapped up properly in a tackle. I think he needs to improve his handling a bit though.