Sorry, a starting front-rower that averages 80 metres a game over a whole season is dead average to me.
White showed no signs of doing any better. He played 6 NRL games in '08 and the only 2 in which he made really good metres in were against Rabbits and Eels. The opposition were very poor in both those games, and with Cross and Royal out, White was always taking the first hit up which helped ramp his yards up. But sure, he ran with vigour in those games.
However, let's look at the only two games in which White and Royal both played together. These comprised the last two rounds against the quality opposition of Storm and Broncos.
Against Storm, White played 48min for 95m; Royal played a mere 22min for 81m.
Against Broncos, they both played 33min. Whites total runs were a pathetic 50m, Royal 84m.
Obviously neither Royal nor White are going to do for a team what Steve Price does. For one thing neither of them plays big minutes. It's hard to compare stats when White played so few games, so it comes down to personal observation and imho Royal advances the ball at least as effectively as White (obviously you see things differently; I guess it depends what one watches for), and is a far more skillful footballer. Thus I rate him higher.
