At the time that Dagger left, I was uptight that Wire had not matched Hull KR`s offer and allowed him to leave.

Roll on a couple of years and I feel that Thewlis is a much better fullback, and Ashton can cover that position too.

meanwhile, where's dagger? he's been playing second fiddle to adam quinlan, and now lachlan coote.

i dont know if he made a mistake chasing that money, but its not done his career much good.

sliding doors moment though innit

This is a tricky one and I am glad I am not making this call. I don't think it is a clear cut as some think as Ratchford has always been first choice. I like Thewlis & Ratchford. Both make mistakes (as a full backs do). Obviously Thewlis has excelled recently ... but like everyone else didn't do so well last game. It would be brave to say that's it he's going to get the No.1 shirt if you have to decide today.

It will come down to money and the decision of the men who watch every move they make on the field (much more than us) and in game related training situations.

We have thewlis as full back now and Ashton is an excellent alternative. Even if we do offer ratchford a contract, it will more than likely be only 1 year. He'll easily be able to get a 2 year deal somewhere else like Hill did.

So if you believe it to be currently a tight call, wouldn’t you go with the 20 year old with the scope for improvement or the 33/34 year old who only has the scope to deteriorate? IMO Thewlis is a better option currently never mind next season.

On another thread on here, both Thewlis and Ashton are included in the England Knights squad, but no place for Dagger.

I'm really thinking about what Powell is thinking. I'm not sure he is certain.
A 20 year usually improves but I have seen a few that don't ... it is not a definite. I am excited by his potential but more cautious than some.

Agreed there are no guarantees Thewlis will improve, I have high hopes though. What is guaranteed is that Ratchford will continue to get slower and only return the ball to the 5m rather than the 10m he currently does. He will also continue to be unable to beat a man, continue to be just ok as a pivot and continue to be pretty good under a high ball and reliable defensively and as a goal kicker. It should be a no-brainer.

Yep. But obviously when Ratchford was last available Powell did not see it quite so clearly. He is still of the opinion that Ratchford is better than you think. What we really want is someone as good as or better than Jack Welsby, Sam Tomkins, Jae Field, Bevan French, Jake Connor or Will Pryce ... as Full Back is the place to attack from.
Imagine Bevan French was adamant that he wanted to play FB? Which might happen. Would you like him?

Come on ratchford is a lot better than you make out Ratty and as a loyal and long time servant of the club he deserves better as well IMO.

Its a squad game and the versatility of ratchford means that he will get a lot of gametime and allow us to ease Riley Dean and josh thewlis in to the team without signing an expensive player in their position who will stop them fulfilling their potential. Our 2023 squad is better with ratchford in it, maybe not the starting XIII, but definitely the squad. It all depends on what we offer him and for how long.

I remember when we lost Kevin Brown (designated half-back) prior to the first game of the season.
It showed that you need decent back up. You could very quickly miss Ratch if such a thing happened again.

I wouldn’t mind Ratchford signed as a utility player at all, I just don’t want him as first choice full back. He’d be very good cover for lots of positions.

https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/sport/r ... ap-7037663 Worth a look at re. current problems of recruitment

https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/sport/r ... ap-7037663 Worth a look at re. current problems of recruitment

1) The salary cap has not prevented teams from getting into financial difficulties.

2) The salary cap has not made SL more competitive as the same 3 teams have won it for 16 years.

3) The salary cap has caused the reduction in quality NRL players in our league and the loss of top British players to the NRL.

4) The salary cap has decreased in real terms.