Could Hanbury be turned into a top class winger? : Tue Jun 18, 2013 7:09 pm  

I have raised the prospect of Hanbury being tried on the wing a few times and whilst many will see it as a waste of his broader talent his 80 metre try down the left wing reminded me of those heady days of Martin Offiah, turning players inside out on his way to the line. OK a different era and wingers play a different game but with Owens looking like the real deal at fullback and Brown and Mellor being first choices in the halves could his talents be unleashed on the wing?

OK our style of play would need to change in that the ball would have to find its way there more often and we would have to expect much less driving in from our wingers but Hanbury could be a sensation.

I realise that it can be argued that he is a sensation anyway, but there is always that little niggle that fullback is his least worst position defensively, albeit quite rightly that it is his best position attacking wise.

I suppose he may not be enthusiastic about playing there as he might see it as taking him away from the action, but used in the right way he could be sensational.

I am not getting carried away as I doubt very much whether it will happen, but a back line of Owens, Ah Van, Phelps, Marsh, Hanbury, Brown and Mellor would be pretty decent!

Re: Could Hanbury be turned into a top class winger? : Tue Jun 18, 2013 7:24 pm  

WirralViking wrote:

I have raised the prospect of Hanbury being tried on the wing a few times and whilst many will see it as a waste of his broader talent his 80 metre try down the left wing reminded me of those heady days of Martin Offiah, turning players inside out on his way to the line. OK a different era and wingers play a different game but with Owens looking like the real deal at fullback and Brown and Mellor being first choices in the halves could his talents be unleashed on the wing?

OK our style of play would need to change in that the ball would have to find its way there more often and we would have to expect much less driving in from our wingers but Hanbury could be a sensation.

I realise that it can be argued that he is a sensation anyway, but there is always that little niggle that fullback is his least worst position defensively, albeit quite rightly that it is his best position attacking wise.

I suppose he may not be enthusiastic about playing there as he might see it as taking him away from the action, but used in the right way he could be sensational.

I am not getting carried away as I doubt very much whether it will happen, but a back line of Owens, Ah Van, Phelps, Marsh, Hanbury, Brown and Mellor would be pretty decent!

Nah, leave him at fullback and have Owens on the wing for the time being. Rhys' pace means that he's a threat breaking through the middle and joining the attacking line, plus he still has the mind of a halfback and a bit of guile so I think he would be wasted out there. I would rather ease Owens into the first team out on the wing for now rather than risk him being put under the pressure that others have endured like Scott Yates etc.

Re: Could Hanbury be turned into a top class winger? : Tue Jun 18, 2013 7:32 pm  

Dr Chim Richalds wrote:

Nah, leave him at fullback and have Owens on the wing for the time being. Rhys' pace means that he's a threat breaking through the middle and joining the attacking line, plus he still has the mind of a halfback and a bit of guile so I think he would be wasted out there. I would rather ease Owens into the first team out on the wing for now rather than risk him being put under the pressure that others have endured like Scott Yates etc.

^

Roving role where he can see the gaps and attack them at will

Re: Could Hanbury be turned into a top class winger? : Tue Jun 18, 2013 10:57 pm  

If he was on the wing he'd never get the ball.

Waste of his talent there.

Re: Could Hanbury be turned into a top class winger? : Wed Jun 19, 2013 5:40 am  

Poggies wrote:

If he was on the wing he'd never get the ball.

Waste of his talent there.

Correct. A fast full back can choose where to go in attack, but even the fastest of wingers can be starved of the ball and rendered practically surplus to requirements, if they are the right words.

Re: Could Hanbury be turned into a top class winger? : Wed Jun 19, 2013 8:14 am  

Agree, what a waste that would be. He's a creator as well as a finisher.

If he wasn't such a good FB we'd probably have seen Owens / Craven there now and Rhys back in the halves.

BTW - Owens really needs to brush up his positional sense on the wing if he wants to stick around the first team.

Re: Could Hanbury be turned into a top class winger? : Wed Jun 19, 2013 12:18 pm  

So he'd be a boss winger if we could get him a clear 80m run in every game? Bring back Missili Manu!

Re: Could Hanbury be turned into a top class winger? : Wed Jun 19, 2013 2:54 pm  

J20 wrote:

So he'd be a boss winger if we could get him a clear 80m run in every game? Bring back Missili Manu!

No he'd be a boss winger because of his power pace swerve and step. I fully accept that we are unlikely to play him there and even if we did we would have to find better ways of bringing our wingers into the game (other than by them driving the ball in, which they overdo) I was merely suggesting that he might flourish there without the same worries about his defensive play as he could work in partnership with his centre on defence.

Happy to see him return to form at fullback (which he was close to on Monday), but Owens is only a stand in winger as it is not his natural game, he doesn't let the side down but he isn't a natural winger. It will be interesting to see what happens next season with Tickle playing and presumably taking the kicks as he has one of the best conversion rates in Superleague. Will Owens keep his wing slot or will we have recruited another specialist winger give Paddy another chance?