I watched Auckland City vs Nix reserves earlier this year.
City were way way better than the 2-0 margin - Tade, Morgan, Riera, and many others shone, by comparison.
Rogerson (who I don't think was A league standard) looked clearly the best of the Nix reserves, which included McGarry, Whyte, Patterson, Spragg, and one poor lad who looked completely out of his depth.
Sail didn't seem to trust his backs and mostly went for the long ball.
Think Whyte has a lot of improving to do if he's to make it in a top league as Boyd and Thomas have; ditto McGarry - but maybe Boyd and Thomas simply have more natural ability.
Selection errors happen all the time. It'll be interesting to see how Whyte goes.