Quote: Deus Dat Incrementum "What is it with decent centres from Wakefield. Are they destined to all end up playing second row. Ellis, Westwood and suggestions of Atkins. Far too many British centres have transferred to the pack but has left GB / England short of depth in those positions. Some player have been moved out of necessity ( Gary Mercer under Johno) due to injuries and were very effective some were moved to second row as they lost their speed. When you look at the Aussie second rowers over the last 10 to 15 years there has been a lot of grunt, aggression and hard work and less emphasis on finnesse. See Thaiday, Hindmarsh and Tallis. Westwood and Harrison are more like these players but I just can't see Atkins putting in that type of shift. Over the same time scale we have sent international teams out to play with the likes of Wilkin and Gilmour who in their own right are good players just a different type of player that was pulling on the Australian Jersey.'"
Atkins is more a centre for me than Ellis and Westwood were. Atkins is actually what I was expecting Westwood to be in 2002, when we signed Westwood and Plange said he was the next Keith Senior I thought we were getting someone who was a bit raw but would be a rampaging centre with good pace and a strong runner, but Westwood was a disappointment for his first two and a half seasons until we re-signed Kohe-Love and he took his place, then Noone got injured, and the rest was history.
