Quote ="sally cinnamon"I think when we signed him it was as an eye to replacing Briers. Bringing in Myler and Ratchford made sense as people were talking of those two as a potential England halfback pairing of the future.
I don't think it would have been a bad thing if we'd have stuck with him as a 6. You could make a case for him being better than all the others who played 6 between Briers and Austin (Bridge, O'Brien, Gidley and Brown).
If he'd been used as a specialist fullback right from the start, would he be a better player now....? I'm not sure. I think what has separated Ratchford from the very top players in the game is he has a few limitations. He has never had a kicking game that can really damage a defence, which was a limitation at 6. He's more of a running player. He's like Iestyn Harris was, an elusive runner with good footwork who glides past people. But he lacks express pace which caps his upside as a fullback. If he had Matty Ashton's pace he'd probably be the best outside back in SL. When he slipped past someone he'd be able to run it home to the line.
The other thing is more of a character/personality one. He seems like a relaxed, cool character. Generally that's been good, he doesn't flap under pressure and he's played well in big games, if he hadn't got injured in the 2013 Grand Final we'd have won. He's handled moving around different positions well, he doesn't seem to be uncomfortable in different roles, doesn't complain, seems like the kind of guy who is just capable and can be relied on.
But, I wonder if he lacks the super-driven intensity that very top players, Radlinski, Tomkins, Wellens had. For a long time Ratchford would be the guy who would run casually with the ball in one hand and sometimes lose it. It's hard to make this kind of conclusion from the outside, but I just wonder....
On the plus side, if he'd been a player whose game had been all about pace, I'd be thinking, hmm, 31, 33 by the end of this contract, will he be a declining asset. He could actually peak over this time.'"
On top of that I'd add that his vision as a fullback is outstanding and his intelligence when joining the line is what puts him at 1 instead of 6 for me. Some of the things he's executed at 1 during the last couple of years have been world class. Limited kicking game compared to the best [ihalfbacks[/i, but still some pretty decent stuff from the boot over the years when compared to the average fullback.
