Dont get me wrong I like him, at full back he brings the ball back well but has no defence, on the wing hes not doing anything, the odd glimmer of something but he seems out of place, next week they have Johnston who is fast we need someone like Penny if we want to have a chance against them, yes penny is not great defensively but he has improved and offers something going forward.

Don't Wakey also have a flyer called Johnstone too? Wakey won't take this game lying down & a performance like yesterday will save Wire fans having to book for Wembley.

Johnstone has been out for a couple of weeks. Not sure if he will play next week.

No idea what you do with him, for me he as a confidence issue when the ball is coming at him. Do you give him a spell at Rochdale so the pressure is not on him to perform at SL level, I don't know but something as to change for the lad or he is heading for a big crash.

Johnstone has a slight fracture in his Tibia, highly unlikely to be playing in the Semi.

Is this the same Russell that many lorded on here as the best player in P&B just a few short months ago

He is and always has been limited at fullback, on the wing he is just lost

Yesterday when Ratchford went off I thought Gidley didn't really impress at fullback either

Against Wakey if Ratchford doesn't play then Matty at Fullback and Penny on the wing

We need the fastest and most mobile players out there next week in their most familiar positions Johnstone, Miller and co will really test our defence and especially our backs

Well Gidley could hardly have impressed at FB yesterday as he wont have trained for that.

It's one thing not training in that position but it's another thing looking like you've never played that position

He should have been in familiar surroundings, he is a specialist at fullback and after all has no 1 on his back

In Gidley's defence, almost everything a fullback does in attack now is running off one of the halfbacks. Since he's played all year in the halves, he'll have no fluency running off a halfback and getting the ball on someone else's terms rather than his own. Yeah he's a specialist fullback but that doesn't automatically give him an understanding of how his teammates are going to give him the ball. Playing fullback you cover the most ground out of everyone too, so he was probably knackered as well.

Far as I could see Russel went to fullback when Ratch went off.

They swapped in second half.

You might be getting confused because of his positioning, he looked liked he was playing second row defending those 3 tries Ormsby scored on his wing

I get it with the familiarity of a position but you have to adapt quickly and yesterday he didn't do that and the fullback role definitely exposed his age and general condition at the moment with the amount of ground you have to cover, he was blowing out of his ass

He must of had a night out with Currie

He may have slipped into a korma he was that knackered at the end

That sounds very much like what another poster on here as repeated as nauseum.

I am not aware of the post or the poster, it is just my opinion on how a specialist in his position performed when he moved to fullback

Back on topic, to sum Matty Russell up I would say he is a strong,quick athlete who happens to play Rugby League

I'll say it as it see it.

Russell Lineham and to a lesser extent, Penny(good reserve winger) are not the future.
We are too week with them when you rival teams that have guys like Hall or Charnley etc.

Evans and Atkins cannot time a pass like the decent centres although I don't question, their knowledge of the try line and defence, and so are ideal to face up to the threats of class modern day wingers.

We just need to sort out this weak dirge on centres. We lost a class centre with Bridge although moving him on was smart, and failed to address the lack and recruit to fill that void.

I'd be tempted to move Hughes into the 3/4 position for the remainder of the season until we buy another.
Toby and Hughes at centre with Atkins and Evans on the wings.

We need strength and balance, we seriously lack it. TS still hasn't grasped the positive of having some structure in the quarters.

RD fully agree except for Hughes to 3/4 bit as not sure it achieves anything. Wings and Centres are weak although Evans and Atkins been solid enough this year to get by. Wings horrible.

What has Penny done wrong? The last game he played in was against Hull KR. The team on Saturday must include Penny on the left wing & Russell on the right.

I'm not sure what Penny has done wrong either, but, as far as Russell is concerned his lack of confidence under a high ball puts his place in the team in jeopardy for me. It was exposed at Widnes (was it two years ago when he got a belt in the mouth?) and then again at Widnes this year having to swap with Johnson on the wing depending upon whether we were attacking or defending.

As it stands get Penny back IMO Russell to play if Ratchford is unavailable I be saying my prayers that he is fit

Well TS said Ratchford should be fine but could just as easily be mind games.

I think some of these players would develop more consistency if there wasn't as much chopping & changing by the management. Confidence among some of our fringe players must be paper thin . Most other clubs allow their players to make positions their own over time.

A valid point arches and Ratchford is a 'victim' of his versatility IMO. Nailed on as FB for me when he displaced Hodgson but suffered a bit of a dip the Russell 'experiment' the talk of Gidley as FB, playing at 6 centre and loose and now back on top form.

Penny for me has done precious little wrong and if Ratchford isn't fit then I think we may see Penny at Fb

Ratchford will be fit & Penny on the left wing.