Matty Russell looks very lively at dummy half. We will need to give him the opportunity to show his skills.

I agree KT. I think we will have to play with a different style. Maybe Russell will play a bit more like Webb did for Leeds hanging around the ruck waiting for a quick play the ball or offload. Ratchford was more of a threat like that than Hodgson was. I do worry about our ability to create tries when we are 20 metres out now that Briers and Hodgson are gone.

With 2 FIT ex-england international centres, we dont necessary need to be so creative in the halves.

So, after 12 pages of posts, does anyone actually know what Brett Hodgson is doing ?

You should know by now that we know absolutely nothing of any value on this site, in fact it is a membership requirement. If the mods get any inkling that you know what you are talking about, you are thrown out and have to join the TotalRL board. They know even less than we do, but can write in long paragraphs and sound much more well informed.

You should also be more careful about trying to derail threads.

For what it's worth I think he may well show up in London.
He would be a good choice for captain of the club.

Cue another 12 pages.

I like this thread - with all it's twists and turns.... and I've made more comments on this than any other and still going......

Re Botica, I know he did play in the halves and as centre (and I think his preferred position was in the halves) but I just remember his exploits at full back.
Forgotten he was an All Black too. Boy was he a good kicker !


By the way - Hesford - heard he'd gone to Spain and was running a bar but seems to have disappeared.
Where's Hessie?

I thought about this the other night. Can't see it happening as he probably only has a year left in him then he will move back to Oz, I doubt he will want to move his family down to London for such a short period and it is a bit of a commute!

Hodgson was a better fullback than Radlinski or Wellens though.

Its only in the last few years that SL has caught up with the NRL in terms of how they see the FB's role. English RL has had an obsession with "ball handling" loose forwards and "strong defensive" fullbacks which is thankfully disappearing. IMO its no coincidence that a major weakness for GB/England has been this mindset of a plodding extra ball handler in the pack as opposed to one who can hit the line at speed.

Its also weird to suggest that a good attacking fullback shouldn't also be good defensively. Slater is a damn good defender, especially of kicks. Ben Barba is the only current NRL fullback I can think of who isn't a very solid defender.

IMO Wellens would never have had much of a career in the NRL at fullback (perhaps at halfback), as like Mathers his attacking play was never at the required level. I also never understood the Wigan fans' adoration of Radlinski - probably because I moved to Aus about the time he was playing, and the gulf in standard between British and Aussie fullbacks was enormous.

BTW I remember Steve Hesford - my second game watching Leeds was vs Wire in the old John Player Trophy. Wasn't he quite slow? Not at all unusual back then - Whitfield at Wigan, Hogan at Leigh, Mick Burke, Keith Mumby, even Fairbairn wasn't that quick. Mind you, I suspect Leeds unearthed the slowest and shall we say "least athletic" fullback ever once Ian Wilkinson moved there.

I see from the news that Ronnie Biggs has died. Now he was a real criminal, none of this hacking the internet stuff looking for personal banking records, or going fishing. He was a far better criminal than all the modern tosh we see nowadays. He was out there on the tracks with his sawn off shotgun, covering any moves from the guards " look out, he's gotta shooter !", so his mates could grab the mail sacks. Now HE WAS a last line of defence. Can you imagine the chaos if he suddenly decided he was going to catch the tossed mail bags and stack them in the getaway car ? Or get involved with the attack on the mail van ?

Get real

go home winslade, you're drunk.

I picked up my disability allowance this morning, and I will spend it how I like.

"Buster Edwards" for me every time, never saw him drop a mail bag !!! and he was far quicker at the get away than your average criminal.
Back on topic, in the modern game, Hodgson was a great full back for you guys, however, I think Russell will be better.
One off the standout youngsters at Wigan, two tries on his debut at Widnes and a pity we had to let him go IMHO.