Has he ever played full back????

Its not only that, lets say he has been signed as a fullback. What sort of message will that send out to our under 20's fullbacks like Jordan Burke and Ben Helliwell, if its true that he's coming as a fullback then we have basically gone out and signed a fullback that doesn't even play as a regular fullback, Ratchford is a stand off/centre who may have occasionally flirted at fullback when Salford had injuries, he certainly wasn't thought of as good enough to stay there if he did give it a shot.

Salford wouldn't have gone out and signed Luke Patten and wasted a quota spot if they thought Ratchford had some potential as a fullback, he wasn't even getting in the Salford side earlier in the season.

Underwhelmed would be an understatement with this signing if its true, nothing against Ratchford as he's a solid enough player that has played well on occasions but we need to be aiming higher than that to try and get in front of and stay ahead of teams like Wigan and Saints.

He'd have done a better job than Bridge on Saturday

whilst that is true, we all know and im sure bridge would be the first to admit he is not a halfback, why we continue to use him as backup in that position baffles me.

but anyway, yes he would have done better than bridge, but i highly doubt ratchford would sign if he would be sitting on the sidelines until briers gets injured.

The truth is, if you're in the top 21 players at a club, you'll see action.

There are always plenty of injuries through the season and if he wants 1st choice rugby he has to step up and earn it.

If Tony rates him, so do I. All of his signings have been good for us, so I'm sure he has everything under control. A fair amount of Tony's signings have been questioned as well. I'm unsure where he'll play, but utility value is a plus and it means he can put various players under pressure for their place. Add to all that, he's pretty young so there's still room to improve and change.

I remember a few years back, people on here said we should have got him over Myler, Wire and Salford fans alike. Maybe things have changed, but TS is no mug and he wouldn't invest in a heap of mediocrity if it wouldn't improve us.

With Matty Blythe yet to sign a new contract, I can see him going to Widnes & Stefan Ratchford as a good replacement.

Look at saturday as a prime reason why we're signing him. Think he replaces Hodgson in time though,

We have one of the top right centres from the NRL playing for us (who would prefer to play centre) and we insist on playing Bridge there ...... me thinks we need a winger or is square pegs in round holes

Where did Paul Wood say this - follow all his tweets nothing mentioned yesterday unless you have hacked his DM???

I guarantee that plenty will be eating their words about Ratchford in a year or two.

He is a quality player, with stacks of ability and a huge amount of potential that will definitely be fullfilled under Smith.

He'll be a special player for years to come.

Agreed.

He's quality and he's one of the best youngsters in the game, not to mentioned he can play in three different posistions. I'm looking forward to seeing how he develops, because with players like Briers and Monaghan around him he'll blossom into a fantastic player.

i remember when Myler played for Salford, he was Gods gift, then we signed him and all of a sudden, he wasn't even the best player at Salford!! 'You've bought the wrong one, Ratchford is by far the better player!' 'Ratchford is gonna be a superstar'
If that's the case, thanks for the advice Salford fans, more than happy with how Myler is working out, so Ratchford's gonna be a useful addition.

I think he was at the time but since then has struggled to kick on (unlike Myler).

I wouldn't have minded Ratchford at Wigan, could have done with a utility half with a bit more experience than someone like Mellor. However if the rumours about the wage are correct I worry you may have overpaid (but obviously he could have taken less to play for Wire over Salford)

Therer have been many times this season we could have done with him in the team the most obvious being on saturday. For that reason he's worth it.

If he is even mediocre in the halves he can be of use. I have heard he is good in the halves and the the quarters.

This means that if briers, evans, atkins, bridge etc are injured there does not have to be a drop in quality.

I like Ratchford, more of a flair player than a grafter but we have seen how Tony Smith has improved the defence and work ethic of players of a simliar ilk. Good addition to any squad.

Warrington use their full back as a 3rd pivot coming into the line as do majority of the top sides so he will be playing as a pivot just in a different way.

Rob, the two you mention have been playing wing & scrumhalf for the 20's, nobody is getting pushed out here pal.

He'll be a cracking signing for us. Next year, he offers you versatility whilst he learns the ropes from BH, then he steps in as your 3rd pivot fullback, quality. He's young, ambitous & talented, and he'll fill one of the gaps that people keep telling us we need to fill over the next couple of seasons.

With him, Myler, Gareth O'Brien, we could have plenty of talented ENGLISH players occupying our pivots in the next couple of seasons.

JWP

Whose playing fullback at the min in the under 20's ? How far away off a first team run out would you say they are ? Ben Helliwell looked class at fullback for the Bulls in a couple of clips ive watched, suprised we have him on the wing.

As for Ratchford, its one of them where time will tell if its a good signing or not. I hope he turns out to be the next Brent Webb and some of us are left eating our words.

Whats this link up with Salford we seem to have in recent years, they have took Mike Wainwright, Ian Sibbit, Richie Barnett Jnr, Rob Parker and Vinnie Anderson off us, we have brought in Richie Myler, Steffan Ratchford and Karl Fitzpatrick.

Ben Helliwell is only about 17 or 18

Ratchford will be like Bridge a player who can fill in many roles.

When he's fit & here, Chris Riley is playing fullback for the U'20's, just my opinion but I'd say he's miles away from a first team start. In all seriousness, I think Smith has made up his mind about him, I'm here to be proved wrong but I'd be surprised if he's here next season and I think this is another nail in that one. We've used Williams, Evans, Blythe, even Bridge on the wing instead of him this season and we've just signed a 'back up' fullback for a season that will then become the fullback, it doesn't look good.

Hellwell has played wing when I've seen him Rob, I think as the season has gone on, plenty has changed positionally with the 20's, Riley was a first teamer then dropped down, O'Brien stepped up then injured, Evans in & out etc, so people have had to move around, Burke at 7, Mendieka at 6 etc, but when I've seen Hellewell he's been wing.

On Ratchford, what I would say is all of TS's recruitment is considered, to a point where a player is only signed with specifics in mind it seems, he'll have seen what he wants from Ratchford. Next year might be ideal for him, almost a settling in year, not the burden of expectation that Myler had, he can get on with it, learning the ropes from BH etc.

According to most it was Wigan we beat to get him.

I don't rate the lad that much from what I have seen but I haven't seen him play week in week out and soon as he puts a Wire shirt on he will get my full support.

Going slightly off thread, Riley is a mystery to me.

How can you go from narrowly missing out on SL top tryscorer, to go out on loan to a poor side, all in the space of 6 months.
Especially when (as JWP says) he's had
Blythe (just NOT a top SL side's 3/4, second row maybe)
Evans (great prospect, but still inexperienced. Riley has 5+ years of experience)
Bridge (never a winger)
Williams (imo, just not good enough for us, if we are to stay a top four "big team"icon_wink.gif
in front of him.

What's gone on?
Has something gone on, behind the scenes?
Are there compromising photos?
Or, does Smith just not rate him all of a sudden?
Baffling.

Going back to Wire_85's comments...I too have not seen to much of Ratchford that sets my world on fire, BUT, if the rumours are true as to his signing, if he plays for us, I'll give him my support, too.

Firstly, not sure it's confirmed. Ratchford is known to be a joker on Tw@tter (the card) and has announced he's leaving in the past on there - for Hull I think? I suppose Vinnie Anderson getting in on it gives it more credence but I wouldn't rule it out being a joke.

Secondly, and having said that, if we have signed him (as I suspect we have) then I suspect the logic behind it is:-

- He can play FB/SO/Centre
- Hodgson is our 32 year old FB
- Briers is our 32 year old SO
- You can never have enough Centres(!)

He'll be playing with much better players at Warrington, under a much more experienced coach in a successful environment (sorry other teams fans, it's 3 years since we ended a season potless). He's bound to improve here.

Lets also remember the gnashing of teeth when we signed Myler on the Salford board about how 'Ratch' was the one they really wanted to keep. Suspect Adamson will now become the next best thing (till we sign him)

According to GMR he was offered alot to stay but still wants to go.

If he does come I wonder if its to link him up with Myler again as our long term 6 & 7?