Quote: Cherry.Pie "I don't really get the criticism of Ellis. From what I've seen this year he's been a very good addition to the side. He's in his mid-20's so still time to improve but based on what he's produced so far I don't think there's much of an issue. He's our 2nd best prop in terms of metres made and tackles made per game (behind Havard in both) and is generally a very consistent performer. His form has dipped a little in the last 3 games but not to a worrying degree.
We're still in the situation where we don't necessarily have stand out props that are among the very best in Super League but we do seem to have a lot of good props at a similar level. If one has a quiet game then another tends to play a little above their level.
For me it's only his very recent form that means Ellis could be dropped, but I don't think Singleton has been that much better and Mago obviously stands out as the one who does considerably less than all our other props. Mago's value comes from his offloading ability and that he's different to all our other middles, but Cooper is a good offloader too and maybe gives that option to drop Mago.'"
I commented on Ellis, much like I commented on Cust the other day and in both cases I’d like to point out that I’m not criticising them. What I am doing is looking at them and making observations on things they can improve on. Nobody is perfect and they both have things they can do better. I’ve been pretty happy with both and they’ve been good signings overall. It’s a good sign that I say I’m pretty happy with both but Ellis has a fight on his hands to keep a first 17 spot for next week and beyond and I’d probably bench Cust when Tommy is back. That’s how it should be with good sides. Good players can miss out on a spot in the team.
In terms of Ellis, I just think he needs to let the handbrake off. Get charging the ball in and get some aggression in to his defence. If he can do that, I think you go from having a pretty good player on your hands, to having a very good one.