Quote Lord Tony Smith="Lord Tony Smith"It all comes down to what you think the job of a fullback is? Is it to be strong defensively? Be good positionally? Good under the high ball?
Or is to become a third halfback? To arrive in the line at pace at that precise moment in time to play that final killer pass that players such as James Tedesco and Latrell Mitchell are maestros at. It’s such an advantage in the modern game having this weapon.
I think you’re slightly overrating Ratchford especially as the third pivot. He’s decent in that department but he’s certainly no Brett Hodgson.
I think in Ashton, whilst yes he is nowhere near the finished article and will make mistakes defensively, I think his potential and his ability as an attacking weapon is tremendous. His try last year against Castleford where Currie set him up was superb. His ability to return the ball at pace and break the line outweighs Ratchford as does his ability to support players when we make a break ala Ryan Papenhuyzen at Storm. I rate Ratchford but I think Ashton gives us so much more in an attacking sense.'"
Is Ashton safer at kick retrieval? Or positionally? I honestly don’t. His kick retrieval isn’t the best, and Ratchford appears far better at communicating with his defensive line. Support play is great, and like I’ve already said the new coach may prioritise this skill over other, but for our current coach and his current system, he can’t do what is required.
Ashton’s chance will come, but I don’t think it’s now. He can’t play the role that the coach wants from his fullback. While his pace is useful, he can do that from a wing. Lineham, who is dreadfully slow, gets plenty of chances in the corner. And, especially in the Leigh game, we went to the left early and found Widdop and King in a bit of room, he could turn those into points from the wing while he develops his craft.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Ashton. He’s exciting, and that’s why we buy our season tickets, to be excited and entertained. But the coach wants the pivot option. And it works, see Lineham’s try reel.
Re: Ratchford exploiting gaps, while they are getting rarer he has shown the ability to break the line and get into the backfield over a long period. Magic weekend at Newcastle, the tip ons from Currie on the penalty tap, when we do get quick play the balls and he’s in at dummy half he can get in behind. The issue is, we don’t get quick play the balls.
Our pack is a 3 man job, Clark, Hill and Cooper. Philbin can be effective off the bench, but the rest are wet mattresses. Currie is a luxury back rower, doesn’t make a lot of meters and doesn’t knock anyone over. What he brings is the pass/kick threat which creates space outside of him. Hughes, well, is an enigma in attack. I don’t know what he contributes going forward. And the revolving door of J Clark, Davis, Sita etc whoever make up the numbers are really just there to hold the scrum up.
While we complain about props, and I am in that camp, you can get away with it if you have proper back row forwards who carry the ball. If we had Westwood and L Anderson/Waterhouse in the back row, who carried the ball 20 times a game and made meters while HITTING people, bending the defensive line and getting quick play the balls, you could justify having Ratchford at loose and Ashton at fullback. Nimble players to take advantage of half breaks and defenders that aren’t set. But with people who are carrying the ball slowly, getting knocked backwards and playing it slowly, you could have the fastest man in the world on your team, but he won’t have any breaks to support.
