Melbourne

Recipie uses russet spuds - which are not common here. Also they recommend Idaho spuds, also not easily found here. Both of these are extreme 'floury' spuds and used for french fries and mashing. If your brushed spuds were a bit more waxy, then I can see that this recipie wouldn't work so well. Brushed spuds are usually a good allrounder variety, mashes and bakes fairly well, but are not extreme floury or waxy though they do tend more towards the floury sort. I also use a salad spinner to remove moisture rather than the towel method, as I'm lazy and it works very well. I usually add a couple of heaped tablespoons of plain flour and an egg to the shreds (well mixed in) before frying as I find this works to hold the shreds together reliably with practically any potato, and gets nicely crispy.

Also, the heat in the pan matters for getting that nice brown crust. A hotter pan and use a mixture of butter and oil so it doesn't burn as quickly, then let the hb sit on the heat for a good 5 mins to get a nice crust on it before turning. Cast iron is perfect for hbs, as it holds the heat so well. I think the recipie is probably very good indeed for extreme floury spuds, but might be difficult to adjust for less floury spuds unless you add a bit of flour and an egg to bind.