: Wed Feb 25, 2009 4:00 pm
Gardner's pretty decent with the ball, making decent ground and being a good finisher. His work-rate isn't quite what it could be, but he's generally fine ball in hand. His major problems are in defence, where he's still extremely jumpy, coming in when it isn't needed. It's been a big problem in his game for a while and it doesn't look to have improved recently (up to the WC at least. Seeing him in one game against Wire isn't really enough to make a call on for this season).
Raynor's only really weakness is his lack of height, which means he can be beaten to a high ball when he's got a standing start against an opponent with a running jump. In pretty much every other area he's good at worst. He does a huge amount of work bringing the ball out during exit sets, something he's unmatched in in SL, with a great offload, top class footwork and the ability to get through a tackler to find a good position and a quick play if he can't get an offload away. As a finisher, he's at least as good as Gardner and his kick-chase game is great as well. Defensively, he's a strong tackler and generally makes the right decision when there is a decision to be made.
If Gardner could sort his decision making out, he'd be up there. Currently, though, Raynor's comfortably the best British winger (assuming he hasn't lost anything when he returns to fitness).
