Quote: NickyKiss "People have a real hang up about playing lads out of what is deemed their position. Widdop plays stand off for St George so therefore he should only play there for England but to me he still looks like a full back playing in the halves. Add in Sam Tomkins starting to look more and more like a half playing at fullback and I'd seriously consider a swap. Widdop only moved in to the halves because he couldn't get a game in front of Slater.
Zak Hardaker has defended well but offered no sort of link or threat in attack. I'd consider going 1-Widdop, 6-Tomkins and 7-Smith for next years four nations.'"
I wouldn't disagree about Widdop, but is he really a better full-back than Hardaker? I'm not convinced. I might be wrong, but my recollection is that he always *was* a half, who was drafted into full-back when Billy Slater got injured. And did pretty well there. Hardaker did do a bit more to try to join in the attack yesterday, but to dismiss him after three very solid defensive displays where he hardly put a foot wrong seems very harsh. I'd be happy for ZH to stay at full-back and any two from three in the halves from Tomkins, Williams, and Smith, depending on tactics/conditions. Widdop doesn't deserve an automatic place; no-one does. Also, Gale deserves a shot too.
Also, I have another theory about the Melbourne Storm.
Playing second fiddle there for too long is bad for your development as a player. Widdop had it for years, now Blake Green is in his shoes. Watch any Storm game and see how many touches Green gets compared to Cronk and Smith. Cronk hogs the ball, and Green gets limited runs, with limited options, generally down the left flank. Go back a couple of years, and it was Widdop it was happening to. Another point is, it's hard to develop a good kicking game when you're teamed up with two of the guys who are thought to be the best kickers in the business. For me, Blake Green's performances have tailed off after a bright start for the Storm, and I don't think it's hard to see why.