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| Quote ="Wirefan"Would you honestly mess with Gidley and Sandow at 6 and 7?'"
no sane person would.
they look the best HB pairing in SL
we have gone from the worst HB's to the best
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| Really looking forward to seeing Dodds play. Just after we'd signed him, I went on to the Broncos site and their fans seemed to rate him. When fit he was always in their first 17. Garbutt for Leeds was never in the Broncos first 17 but he's made a good impact already in SL so hopefully it'll bode well for us.
I don't want to be too positive about anything though as our gypsy friends in St Helens might think we're being arrogant.
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| Quote ="Wirefan"Would you honestly mess with Gidley and Sandow at 6 and 7?'"
Defo not. A lovely balance of flair and astuteness. Wouldn't swap our hb partnership with anyone else.
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| Quote ="Kevin Turvey"But I think he was interviewed and said he wanted to play a more attacking game over here. I suspect we will be pleasantly surprised.'"
So he was right then
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| Playing Ratch at 6
Sandow at 7
Gidley at 1
Would give us our strongest nucleus.
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| Why anyone would even contemplate messing with the best halfback partnership we have had since 2001 is beyond me.
Its like Good cop / Bad cop. Gidley cool thinking workhorse with plenty of tricks in the box with the Maverick that is Sandow.
Someone tell me where putting Ratchford in place of either one of these guys is gonna lead.
Let him fight it out for that other centre spot with Atkins , Jullien and Currie and leave the halves as they are .
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| What was wrong with Ratchford and Sandow when they finally got paired up at the very back end of the season when we had nothing left but dead rubbers?
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| Gidz and Sandow in the halves, Russell at fullback, Ratch to fight it out with Atkins for centre. 1, 6 and 7 look spot on so far, don't change it.
Atkins had operations to fix long-standing injuries end of last season, he may come back better but until he proves otherwise he's the weak link in the team for me.
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| Ratchford played right centre on the last day of last season and looked dangerous. It will no doubt give Lineham plenty of ball. Atkins is a good athlete but the flaws of Atkins (poor passing and doesn't create space) doesn't benefit picking Penny, so I guess the choice is Atkins or Penny.
If it's Atkins, pick a solid defender on the wing and a good kick returner, maybe Evans.
If it's Penny, then he needs a genuine centre, which would suggest Evans.
My choice would be:
Russell, Lineham, Ratchford, Evans, Penny, Gidley, Sandow, Hill, Clark, Sims, Hughes, Currie, Westerman
Dwyer, Dodds, Cox, Westwood
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| Quote ="rubber duckie"What was wrong with Ratchford and Sandow when they finally got paired up at the very back end of the season when we had nothing left but dead rubbers?'"
They played one game as 6/7 the hull fc game at home. the rest of the time ratch was at fullback or after this centre.
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| Quote ="Barbed Wire"Ratchford played right centre on the last day of last season and looked dangerous'"
He played there against Wigan at home last year when we beat them, one of his best games last season I thought
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| He played halfback when Myler was eventually dropped and Patton back to reserves if my mind served me well.
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| We would all agree that Lineham must have good service so for me it's between Evans and Ratchford, It's been mentioned that for some games Gidley could be rested giving Ratchford another shot at six but if he's doing well at centre then leave well alone giving Patton a chance, the permutations keep on growing.
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| It is my view that Ratchford is actually falling into one of two positions ,either a centre or a rangey loose forward ....i also think he would make a good stand off if only he would pass more to his team mates & keep both hands on the ball, where possible, when running. He reminds me of another Wire great with his reluctance to pass, Willy Aspinall, & there is no reason why Ratch couldn't become one of the games great players ,but can he do that as a utility player?
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| You mean like Ellery Handley, Paul Sculthorpe and to lesser likes of Jamie Lyons and Jiffy?
These players were shoehorned in at any position that would allow them to get there hands on the ball in a team.
Jiffy was put in at GB fullback even though he had only played mainly at right centre for us.
Great players can play anywhere.
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| Big problem is that ratchford isn't GREAT, certainly not fit to lace the boots of those players you've just mentioned. Comparing him to jiffy is making my teeth itch
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| Quote ="rubber duckie"You mean like Ellery Handley, Paul Sculthorpe and to lesser likes of Jamie Lyons and Jiffy?
These players were shoehorned in at any position that would allow them to get there hands on the ball in a team.
Jiffy was put in at GB fullback even though he had only played mainly at right centre for us.
Great players can play anywhere.'"
With Ratchford, it is hand (singular) on the ball, unfortunately. And he hardly ever passes. The four you mention are top quality, I'm don't think Ratchford belongs in that bracket.
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| Quote ="ratticusfinch"Big problem is that ratchford isn't GREAT, certainly not fit to lace the boots of those players you've just mentioned. Comparing him to jiffy is making my teeth itch'"
Nobody is comparing Ratch and Jiffy???
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| Quote ="rubber duckie"You mean like Ellery Handley, Paul Sculthorpe and to lesser likes of Jamie Lyons and Jiffy?
These players were shoehorned in at any position that would allow them to get there hands on the ball in a team.
Jiffy was put in at GB fullback even though he had only played mainly at right centre for us.
Great players can play anywhere.'" Utility players can play anywhere. GREAT players(hanley, sculthorpe, lyon) play GREAT anywhere.
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| Ratchford remains an enigma, but on his day is a wonderful, wildcard player who can scatter defences in a way that few others can.
The problem we have is Sandow is another wildcard, off-the-cuff player and we can't pair two players of this nature in the halves. All my favourite halfback partnerships have had a straight man/funny man/good cop/bad cop element and the Gidley-Sandow combination is a good example of that. And, to be blunt, Ratchford's kicking and passing game isn't up to snuff for a half-back.
However, I'd agree we have to find a place for Ratch in the 17. Full-back gives him space, but he scares the willies out of me returning the ball in one hand, and is sometimes more laid-back than Perry Como in both attack and defence. Maybe loose-forward one day, but not yet, and our back-row options are looking very tasty at the moment anyway.
So, for me, he gets the centre spot vacated by Mr Atkins. And no, this isn't me induldging in some Ryan bashing, simply an acknowledgement that if we want all our gamebreakers on the pitch, someone has to make way.
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| I've only 2 positions in mind for Ratchford. One is at halfback and the other is loose forward.
Okay he needs to pack on another stone ideally, but very reminiscent of my all time fav loose forward John Pendlebury.
Ratch is nearer a John Pendlebury than he is a John Woods that I admit, but he's a million miles off a Allan Bateman or a Brian Johnson, so no at centre or fullback for me.
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| A lot of the posts on here seem to neglect the fact we have a season that will contain anything between 31 and 36 games, so it cannot be a case of 'first choice 17 plays until someone's form drops'.
Or, if it is, we will find ourselves at round 14/15 wondering why we have 7/8 injuries and why the guys coming in have no match sharpness and don't know the systems.
Ratchford is the new Grix, in that he is being written off while injured, on the evidence of a season where he was more or less playing injured throughout. His versatility will give us terrific options and flexibility later in the season. I would still play him at full-back more often than not, but he does need to be a bit more urgent in that position (unlike at year when he was, as I say, not fully fit). Still our best footballer when in the mood.
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| We do seem to have short memories here. Ratchford's last game was v. Saints at the end of the season. He produced a sublime bit of skill to put Jack Johnson in for a brilliant try (Johnson by the way looked a very good player). He is a top player.
Last year when Matty Russell was injured he seemed to be put down on this forum as was Rhys Evans.
God help you if you get injured.
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| Well said Smiffy and Browny.
Shame on many others.
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| I was watching back the 2012 and 2013 GFs and I was surprised at how poor Ratchfords' defence is. Anyone who thinks he can play in the middle six is a bit deluded.
He needs to earn his place back in the reserves as does Dodds. This club has made mistakes in the past by selecting players on the basis of reputation or the size of their salary.
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