Is Ashton safer at kick retrieval? Or positionally? I honestly don’t. His kick retrieval isn’t the best, and Ratchford appears far better at communicating with his defensive line. Support play is great, and like I’ve already said the new coach may prioritise this skill over other, but for our current coach and his current system, he can’t do what is required.
Ashton’s chance will come, but I don’t think it’s now. He can’t play the role that the coach wants from his fullback. While his pace is useful, he can do that from a wing. Lineham, who is dreadfully slow, gets plenty of chances in the corner. And, especially in the Leigh game, we went to the left early and found Widdop and King in a bit of room, he could turn those into points from the wing while he develops his craft.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Ashton. He’s exciting, and that’s why we buy our season tickets, to be excited and entertained. But the coach wants the pivot option. And it works, see Lineham’s try reel.
Re: Ratchford exploiting gaps, while they are getting rarer he has shown the ability to break the line and get into the backfield over a long period. Magic weekend at Newcastle, the tip ons from Currie on the penalty tap, when we do get quick play the balls and he’s in at dummy half he can get in behind. The issue is, we don’t get quick play the balls.
Our pack is a 3 man job, Clark, Hill and Cooper. Philbin can be effective off the bench, but the rest are wet mattresses. Currie is a luxury back rower, doesn’t make a lot of meters and doesn’t knock anyone over. What he brings is the pass/kick threat which creates space outside of him. Hughes, well, is an enigma in attack. I don’t know what he contributes going forward. And the revolving door of J Clark, Davis, Sita etc whoever make up the numbers are really just there to hold the scrum up.
While we complain about props, and I am in that camp, you can get away with it if you have proper back row forwards who carry the ball. If we had Westwood and L Anderson/Waterhouse in the back row, who carried the ball 20 times a game and made meters while HITTING people, bending the defensive line and getting quick play the balls, you could justify having Ratchford at loose and Ashton at fullback. Nimble players to take advantage of half breaks and defenders that aren’t set. But with people who are carrying the ball slowly, getting knocked backwards and playing it slowly, you could have the fastest man in the world on your team, but he won’t have any breaks to support.
Last season Wire relented to fans pressure and played Ashton, he had an absolute mare and lost his starting spot as quick as he got it. IMO Ashton plays when we can’t play with the first choice. The lad is fast and reads attack well, but that seems as much as he’s grasped currently, but he did show some improvement on defence vs Swinton. So Ashton would go straight in for Lineham for me, as Mamo is required on the right centre, otherwise I’d have Mamo ahead of Ashton. I would not weaken the combined weight of the pack and interchanges by having Ashton take up a bench spot. He either plays a like for like starting position or he plays in the reserves.
To be fair to Ashton he exceeded expectations last season and was unfortunate to pick up a long term injury. I do agree he isn't first choice at the minute regarding full back but he has potentially got 3 games to make it very difficult for Lineham to get his place back. I hope he takes his chance. I do think he is a problem that Darryl Powell would rather have than not, he offers us something different that can't be a lot of teams won't be able to defend against against without positioning a defender deep which opens other doors for our (cough) attack.
He did NOT have an absolute mare in the Salford semi final. He made one mistake and on that one incident far too many fans are hanging him out to dry. There are always calls for our young players to be given a chance. With our fans, I'd be reluctant as a coach as every single mistake gets magnified beyond reason.
Last season Wire relented to fans pressure and played Ashton, he had an absolute mare and lost his starting spot as quick as he got it. IMO Ashton plays when we can’t play with the first choice. The lad is fast and reads attack well, but that seems as much as he’s grasped currently, but he did show some improvement on defence vs Swinton. So Ashton would go straight in for Lineham for me, as Mamo is required on the right centre, otherwise I’d have Mamo ahead of Ashton. I would not weaken the combined weight of the pack and interchanges by having Ashton take up a bench spot. He either plays a like for like starting position or he plays in the reserves.
He did NOT have an absolute mare in the Salford semi final. He made one mistake and on that one incident far too many fans are hanging him out to dry. There are always calls for our young players to be given a chance. With our fans, I'd be reluctant as a coach as every single mistake gets magnified beyond reason.
It was the wettest day for years (probably since records began). Any full back can make a mistake in such conditions. Bevan French playing for Wigan on the same day (who is a super player) did have a bit of a mare v. Leeds.
From 2022 under Powell, I think the fullback position will be up for grabs between Ashton and Ratchford. For now, I would let Ratchford continue as he is at full back unless he has a serious dip in form. Under a new coach with his own team and own ideas there will be a lot of tough decisions to be made on & off the field.
Especially, when you consider the amount of players out of contract at the end of the year and linked to the NRL (Clark/Widdop).. We could see a serious overhaul of players and staff, which I would actually welcome to be honest.. the team seems very stale at the minute & has been for the last 18 months or so.