Quote ="Staffs FC"Thanks for the updates fantastic night for England Academy and a massive shot in the arm for Hull FC's youth policy '" The commentators were very positive about Abdull's skill and leadership. Great job, Radders. Some selection headaches with Pryce, Sneyd and Westerman in front of him. www.hulldailymail.co.uk/Jordan-A ... story.html

Quote ="Staffs FC"Thanks for the updates fantastic night for England Academy and a massive shot in the arm for Hull FC's youth policy '" The commentators were very positive about Abdull's skill and leadership. Great job, Radders. Some selection headaches with Pryce, Sneyd and Westerman in front of him. www.hulldailymail.co.uk/Jordan-A ... story.html

Great result for England Academy and pleasing to see the Hull FC boys playing their part.

tonight is one of the first really visible signs that the investment in the academy under AP is beginning to pay off. yes we've had some encouraging displays in superleague from a few youngsters but this game showed some of our young players are up there with the best the game can offer. with a few more waiting in the wings the future is bright.

well done to all the england players tonight, this aussie team was hyped as something special before the series started, the future of NRL and Kangaroo rugby if you like. we've just matched them

Gives some vindication to the change of policy under Radford.
The signing of the young players is more exciting than the signing of any overseas player.
Looking forward to them kicking on in the black and white.

A terrific result for England and a real boost for the FC youngsters. I expect great things from these lads and, as others have said, it looks like AP's youth policy is starting to bear fruit.

Just seen the try Turgut set up. He got nailed by two Aussie defenders and just bounced out of it like it was nothing. Very strong kid!

Brilliant piece of play. In both a skills n physicality sense. Excited from 1st time I saw him. Looks a future star imo not just a standard super league player.

Where did you see the highlights?.

There was a video on the England RL Facebook page. It wasn't full match highlights though, just that one try as it was apparently the best of the match. They will have full highlights up on there eventually though I suspect.

Great win for the lads .

[url=http://www.therfl.co.uk/news/article/31453/england-tv-academy-defeat-australiaNow online.[/url

Great stuff.

Delighted for all those involved. As I said Turgut had a poor first test, but I've seen and heard enough of him to know that he is a very good promising player. I couldn't get to the game on Friday but was out last night with some friends who had been. They said he was outstanding and was their m.o.m.

Jesus, give it a rest, Gentle was as much an influence in bringing in youngsters, it hasn't been a change in policy, more an extension that comes after continued investments that are now beginning to flourish. And IF Radford had the foresight/policy change why did he sign Pryce? Why not stick with Abdul and/or Rankinb to work alongside Sneyd?
I just hope that Radford doesn't turn Abdul into a 13 when he could be a massive stand out half that dominates the middle of the park with his size AND skill.
It's great that we have these lads at the top of the youth pile, it's what we do with them from now onwards that is important and not turn them into also-ran SL fodder as has happened in previous years.

You can have great individuals that get to X std on the back of natural talent & physical attributes but the lack of specialist coaching especially in the halves is what has let us down.

indeed.

....please.

Abdul has got 13 wrote all over him

That's how I see it.

Good to see abdul playing such an integral part in things

agree to some extent that abdul would make a great 13. crucially though that would be an old style loose forward and not a modern 3rd prop biff bash merchant type. that could ruin him

To be fair to Radford,he let Westerman play his natural game which suited him and would imagine he would do same with Abdul.Gentle nearly ruined Westerman by playing him in the "modern" role

Abdull's physique makes LF the obvious position for him. But if he has the ability and skill set to play 6 then play him there, we shouldn't shoe horn him into a role just because he's big enough to play there. His size and defence then just becomes a bonus. Apparantly his kicking game was excellent the other night.

Is this the same Gentle that wanted to sign Nick Youngquest rather than give Lineham a chance?
Or the same Gentle that wanted to sign Shannon McDonnell to a long term deal, rather than make Shaul our fullback?
I had sympathy for Gentle, and was sceptical about Radford, but you really are biased if you can't see the shift in focus on giving young players a chance over the last 12 months.

Gentle started the shift though. Radford has taken it further but Gentle put the groundwork in place.

I really hope Radford has learned a lot from his first year. There's plenty to like about him as a coach imo, he just got the job 3 or 4 years too soon. But I genuinely hope he learns fast and can prove that he is up to it. He's making the right noises at least.

I think Abdul would make a very good #9. He has decent pace, good passing and a very good kicking game.