Will be interesting to see how the Thewlis / Ashton battle develops.

Thewlis has been great this year and deserves his spot in the 13, I was critical of Price for not selecting Ashton on the wing and Thewlis at full back - but then Ashton puts in a performance like that. His pace gets him in good positions and he has a knack of being in the right place at the right time to score tries.

Price seems to have preferred Ashton at full back over Thewlis, be interesting to see how Powell sees it next year.

Battle might not even happen the way things stand. Ashton will be out of contract the end of November.

Assuming Ashton is still here? The only issue with Ashton is his injury record whereas, for a young lad, Thewlis seems to be tough as teak.

They both bring different skills to the party and I'd like to see them both in starting Wire thirteens for years to come.

As with Clark, I think had he been leaving it would have been mentioned before the Salford game.

I'm assuming he's staying, but accept we haven't had confirmation either way.

Matty is not exactly the polar opposite to Thewlis but he is very different. He is much faster, doesn't have the rugby brain, and has no specialised position. In broken play he is the most dangerous player on the pitch. So the challenge I think is to find a position he is comfortable in and exploit his speed.The FB position is a good one to choose because he can move in and out of the play when he sees a break or is involved in a set move. The disadvantage is that it requires a demanding skill set where he must jump for high balls, organise his defence after adding up the opposition numbers on either side of the ruck, and decide when to move back to cover the in goal area from a kick through.

Thewlis is an out and out FB and the natural stand in / successor to Ratchford. But Ratchford is among the top 3-4 players in our squad so there is no way you would wan't to leave him out of the team. And if you decide to play Ashton, then the only option is to put Thewlis on the wing. He is still only 19 and shouldn't get roughed up too much in that position. And it allows him to use his skills and rugby brain whilst picking up much needed match experience. He is signed until 2024 and only Toby King has a longer contract, so that's as big a statement of intent by the club that you are likely to see.

So regardless of who coaches the team I think we are likely to see this awkward triangle of Thewlis, Ashton and Ratchford and the choice of who fills the FB and wing positions. Price has gone for Ashton at FB but perhaps Powell will swap them around and move him to wing. Either way we don't seem to be in the market for a replacement for Lineham and I can't see a strong contender coming through from the Academy atm.

What do you think of Tom Burnett in the academy? Looked massive in a recent highlights video. Not sure how promising he is.

He does look big doesn't he ? I think he was playing centre originally and looks to be one of the better players in the Academy. I saw him last in the recent Lancashire v Yorkshire academy game but I wouldn't say he particularly stood out. I guess he stands a reasonable chance of being offered a place in next years reserves as he will be 19 in November and will not be eligible for the U18's.

Wire will surely tie him up, if they haven’t already. He wasn’t on the recent list posted by Rugby League Live as being off contract, which makes me think it’s already done but not announced. He’s had some injury problems but there aren’t many players about in this league that can pop up in the right position time and time again. He’s a bit of a throwback in that respect and there aren’t enough players of that type around anymore. Too many players just stick rigidly to systems and that means basics such as support play is dead (in the main).

He's the most exciting player we've had since Kevin Penny and he's much more of a rounded rugby league player. I'd be gutted if he left.

Signed for 3 years.

Great news….now Ratchford to loose forward please.

Brilliant

This is great news I think that sometimes we forget that he's still a young lad and came from another Club. I get the feeling that for all Thewlis's deserved plaudits there seems to be some misplaced (IMO) negativity or perhaps reservation by some in comparison is a fairer vibe?

Sure, he has had his share of injuries, but they are players with different qualities, and I'm looking forward to seeing plenty of these lads in the P&B.

Absolutely made up with this. A class act. If we had let him go you can bet your life Wigan, saints or Leeds would've been clamouring to get him.

Glad it’s done and dusted.

On his return from injury he’s scored 4 tries in the last 2 games, he has some frailties to his game defensively he needs to sort but you can’t deny his offensive record speaks for its self. I think Nickykiss referenced before he has the ability to be in the right place at the right time & you can’t deny his pace is frightening for any opposition.

Given that we have allowed Mamo to leave, there’s probably only him that has genuine pace & is quicker in the side. Fingers crossed, he can stay injury free and we can keep him on the field for the next few years.

When asked on social media a couple of weeks back about who was the fastest player in the squad Charnley replied it was between Ashton and Wrench and couldn't split them.

Did he admit he was the slowest?

Really chuffed about this, he is a player you're excited to watch and the big grin on his face when he is racing over for a try is brilliant.

They must hate him at Wheldon Road; he has already scored more tries under their posts than some of their props have.

This is great news, especially after a timely reminder of just how much potential he has and how good a support runner and finisher he is. Hopefully his next 3 years won't be disrupted by injuries.

Really pleased he’s signed up long term. His ability to find himself on the end of things makes him stand out as more than a winger - be interesting see how it develops

Fair enough, didn’t know Wrench had that in his locker as I haven’t see him sprint over a long distance. He does look rather agile and took his try well turning back inside last night.

Happy he's re-signed but gutted we've lost Mamo. Ashton, Mamo and Thewlis are Rapid and we will definately miss mamo.
But Ashton for another 3 years to develop is VERY exciting, Be interesting like others have said to see what Powell wants to do with them all?
I'm expecting The Bullock signing and Jason Clark 1 year deal to be announced very soon........hopefully followed by the announcement of a big ass enforcer aswell

He’s also a great support player. He’ll often loiter behind the ruck and support the carriers incase they make a break. It’s what the NRL fullbacks do nowadays especially Tedesco and Papenhuyzen.

Superb news 're Ashton.

Powell was probably on the phone to Kirkpatrick at HT. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S OUT OF F*****IN CONTRACT??????"

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