DAVE WOODS has praised the contributions out of position of Danny Ratcliffe and Danny Allan – and is now considering launching them back into their preferred roles.
A lack of options at half-back has seen Ratcliffe switch from full-back to scrum-half for the last eight games, while injuries in the three-quarters has seen Allan fill in at centre for three matches.
However, the arrival of Harlequins loanee Ryan Esders – who bagged a hat-trick at centre on his debut off the bench at Swinton on Sunday – can free up Allan to move to loose-forward or stand-off, while the emergence of young Scott Woods provides another choice at half-back.
Either of these options could in turn allow Ratcliffe to return to his number one role – as happened when James Haynes went off after suffering a ‘stinger’ to his shoulder in the first half at Park Lane.
Haynes will also be in the reckoning this weekend, when promotion rivals – and potential play-off opponents – Oldham come to Huntington Stadium.
Woods said: “James probably could have gone back on in the second half (at Swinton) but Danny Ratcliffe was doing a great job so we left it like that.
“He’s done a job for us at scrum-half because we needed someone to do it. But full-back is his preferred position and that might be the way we go.
“We’re looking at a few things. We’ve got different options.”
The Press understands the team trained on Tuesday night looking at using Allan at stand-off, the position he played in after the reshuffle on Sunday caused by Haynes’ departure.
Woods said of the former Heworth ARLC junior and Leeds Rhinos youngster: “He’s been filling in at centre, though the plan was to play him in the back row or at loose-forward.
“I think he’s more a loose-forward than a stand-off. He could be a ball-player or be a runner.
“We could let him go anywhere on the field and he can be a link man for the halves.
“I’d want to see more of him at stand-off before thinking that’s his best position, but it is another good option for us.”
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