Re: Dec Patton has left the building : Fri Jan 08, 2021 2:16 pm  

[*]

Captain Hook wrote:

The real problem for Dec is that Championship teams are unlikely to commit to any new contracts at present, and most SL teams have done their business already.

Shame that he hasn't yet gained a contract elsewhere, hope this doesn't take long for him to be fixed up.

Re: Dec Patton has left the building : Fri Jan 08, 2021 2:17 pm  

My guess would be that Ratchford would be cover for Centre ahead of Roebuck and Half ahead of Dean with Ashton moving to Full Back.

This brings us back to the question as to how Price can utilise both Ratchford and Ashton in the same team when there are no injuries. I expect Ratchford to be given the number 1 shirt, and I think that Full Back is his best position, but you could also see that, given sufficient game time, Ashton could become a future England Full Back. Most likely he'll be the better Full Back by the end of 2021.

Re: Dec Patton has left the building : Fri Jan 08, 2021 2:33 pm  

St Helens Wolf wrote:

My guess would be that Ratchford would be cover for Centre ahead of Roebuck and Half ahead of Dean with Ashton moving to Full Back. Most likely he'll be the better Full Back by the end of 2021.

I really like Ashton and he’s probably the most exciting player we have.

In terms of what a player brings to the team overall, I’d place Ratchford in his full back role ahead of all the other players in the team. Maybe I’m missing something that other fans are seeing that I’m not.

Re: Dec Patton has left the building : Fri Jan 08, 2021 2:57 pm  

I can't say i was filled with glee when Ashton played at fullback In the CC semi. He may well shape up but his defence , positioning & anticipation need to be worked on. Still he is a young lad just learning his trade.

Re: Dec Patton has left the building : Fri Jan 08, 2021 3:04 pm  

easyWire wrote:

I really like Ashton and he’s probably the most exciting player we have.

In terms of what a player brings to the team overall, I’d place Ratchford in his full back role ahead of all the other players in the team. Maybe I’m missing something that other fans are seeing that I’m not.

This.

Re: Dec Patton has left the building : Fri Jan 08, 2021 4:00 pm  

There is a lot more to full back than pace, Ashton hasn’t knocked Ratchford off his perch yet.

Re: Dec Patton has left the building : Fri Jan 08, 2021 7:22 pm  

Regarding Dec, wouldn't surprised me if he was relieved that he won't be mentioned in this board so much now given the stick he's had. Hope he gets a new club and continues in the game.

Alffi - Ratch could also go in the centres as could Currie or Hughes, although full back, 2nd row and lose are their best positions respectively from my point of view.

Interesting that we haven't tried Currie as a ball handling 13 - similar mould to Nikau years ago.

Re: Dec Patton has left the building : Fri Jan 08, 2021 8:27 pm  

Better to have ball playing 2nd rows than loose forward. A good ball handling player would look good in either position, 2 out of 3 with good hands who can pick a pass makes the team look very dynamic and the ball moves across the line well. 2 out of 3 want to hold on to it and it all looks like a battle to have any fluidity. I'd we have space left on the cap I would try for a utility who can play 2nd row and centre. Mcmeekan would have been a good fit.

Re: Dec Patton has left the building : Fri Jan 08, 2021 9:09 pm  

Fantastic Mr Catpiss wrote:

i think arguably, his best season, was 2018, when he was bench hooker

Yeah i thought his best most consistant games were at hooker, i think he was much better there than in the halves. I thought he was gonna be an interchange with clark in future but just never happened. I think if there wasn't the uncertainty with the Championship he would have been picked up by now.

Re: Dec Patton has left the building : Fri Jan 08, 2021 10:13 pm  

ninearches wrote:

I can't say i was filled with glee when Ashton played at fullback In the CC semi. He may well shape up but his defence , positioning & anticipation need to be worked on. Still he is a young lad just learning his trade.

I agree, full back is a difficult position for a young player.