What impressed me most about Russell last night was his one on one tackling when players made a break. On two or three occasions it was down to him to make the final tackle and he made them without any difficulty.
That ability is always useful in a fullback and can make a lot of difference in close games.
He certainly doesn't lack confidence either. The Hull KR game showed that even when he made an error or two he didn't let it get to him and was able to come back stronger.
I certainly feel Tomkins should go back to Stand off 'long term' because thats a position truely great players play in more so then fullback and I think he'd shone with the extra responsibility.
In terms of an ideal plan going forward-
Short term- Sam stays at fullback for the majority of 2012 especially in the big games but Russell gets plenty of gametime under his belt on the wing and at fullback in some lesser games.
Long term- When Leuluai leaves i'd be looking to push Sam back up in to the 6 position with Russell taking over the fullback berth on a fulltime basis.
Like I say this is in an ideal world but it's a real prospect imo.
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