Broughton isn't as bad under the high ball as some people like to claim.
He took a Robinson kick to the corner two years ago to win the game at Salford. Unfortunately he was playing against us that day.
David Hodgson acquired the name dodgy due to his weakness fielding kicks, but he was an impressive finisher. Whilst I would say Hodgson was a better finisher near the line (though Broughton finished very adeptly in the pre-season game at Halifax), Broughton has already scored tries for us where none of his current team-mates would (Leeds at home and Bradford at Manchester immediately spring to mind). It's quite correct to say speed isn't everything you look for in a winger, but it is certainly an important attribute. Ignore the ridiculous Dwayne Chambers comparison, by that reckoning there would be no place for Martin Offiah.
Anderson appears to prefer wingers who run the ball up hard. Forget subtlety, he seems to like all our players to take the ball up hard. Whilst he doesn't shirk the work, that simply isn't Broughton's forte. His key attribute, his speed - something of a USP in our first team - is not utilized, partly due to our playing style and partly due to his centre. In order to free his winger, Wardle needs to get on the outside of his opposing number and draw the winger. Wardle's passing, despite several years of Super League coaching, does not afford Broughton such chances. Credit to him, he comes up with some big hits, runs some decent lines and can be an imposing figure, but passing isn't one of his better traits.
When we played Leeds away a couple of years ago Brough put in some wonderful kicks for Murphy, whose pace is incomparable to Broughton's. With two quality kickers I would have thought we would be looking to utilize Broughton's pace more. Broughton was top try scorer for a struggling Salford side in 2010, 2011 and second (by one try!) in 2012. Their side wasn't as strong as ours, but they moved the ball better and created opportunities. We still seem to struggle a little in that respect.
If we want a winger who can provide some tough hit ups from dummy half (in addition to Jerry, who does that well) then Broughton probably isn't the winger for us, and we would be better spending his salary on a different type of player. Not all the wingers will have the speed and agility of Broughton. And with our half back pairing, it will be a shame if we can't (or don't) make better use of his ability. If we were able to pass the ball around and showed some flair, Broughton would be scoring regularly, but with limited opportunities to showcase his talent, his frailties, though somewhat largely perceived, are magnified. A little suspect under the high ball perhaps. But a winger being built for speed and balance instead of being built for hit ups isn't a weakness, it's an opportunity. Whether he gets it with us, and our style of play, however, remains to be seen. And with Wardle as his centre, I don't see there being much chance of that happening.
