Ainscough to full back

[privateryan]

There is no doubting Shaun Ainscough,s ability with the ball in his hand. However I am becoming increasingly concerned that while playing on the wing he is becoming increasingly isolated which is causing problems for him and the team when we are defending, how soon will it be before this begins to affect his confidence.
He is potentially one of the best broken play runners in the game, and I just wonder whether this could be better utilised from full back a la Jason Robinson.
He would also be under less pressure from the high ball as he would either have time to catch it under without having to go up at the same time as a much taller winger, or he would have other players around him to give him support.
As the modern day full back is now used as a more attacking weapon than a defensive last line I believe that given the opportunity to play at full back is a position where we could see the best of Shaun and given time he could be devaststing.

[cpwigan]

Wing is the only position he can play.

[GeoffN]

Wing is the only position he can play.

In which case, he needs more defensive help from his centre.

[gw]

Wing is the only position he can play.

Has he been tried in every position then or is that just an opinion touted as fact??

[cpwigan]

Why not try him at prop.

He's an out an out winger nothing else.

[gw]

Who has mentioned prop??

I'm not for one minute saying he would be suited to full back but a reply "he can only play wing" with out any basis to it is a bit random!!

[yoda warrior]

he is a winger, defintely not a fullback. remember the WCC when badford bombed wesser with every kick as his biggest weapon was kick returns? it gave them time to get down there and tackle him as he caught the ball.(nice bit of coaching there by noble by the way) this would happen to ainscough every week, the difference being he probably wouldn't catch them like wesser did. he needs to stay on the wing and work on his game. people keep mentioning him alongside robinson, but he was far superior under the high ball than ainscough currently is. he contested the ball in the air and made it difficult for his opponent. maybe, given their similar stature and abilities, videos of robinson would be good for ainscough (if thats not happening already).

[MrDave]

Ainscoughs problem is his height. Opposition players have a running jump at Ainscough while Ainscough has a standing jump so even when stretching he is unlikely to get to the ball. Taller wingers like Richards and Roberts can more easily reach the ball with standing jumps.

When Ainscough gets close to the ball he can catch it so there is nothing wrong with his technique just most of the time he is not high enough to catch it. His height doesn't mean he will not become a good winger, Robinson and Dallas were both small but managed to be great wingers.

There are two main solutions to the problems the first one is to have a taller centre switch with the winger which helps with the height issue but it means switch players around which is not ideal. The second option is to train against to take running catches. Rather than standing on the try line during cross field kicks he stands behind it so he can take a running jump at the ball. Its not an easy thing to do because he has to have the power in his legs to jump as height as the opposite winger but also have to watch the ball carefully to make sure he jumps to the ball before it gets to the opposition winger.

If Ainscough can take a few catches then eventually teams will stop putting so much pressure on him just like not many teams kick high balls towards Radlinski because he was excellent at taking them.

[turf]

Ainscoughs problem is his height. Opposition players have a running jump at Ainscough while Ainscough has a standing jump so even when stretching he is unlikely to get to the ball. Taller wingers like Richards and Roberts can more easily reach the ball with standing jumps.

When Ainscough gets close to the ball he can catch it so there is nothing wrong with his technique just most of the time he is not high enough to catch it. His height doesn't mean he will not become a good winger, Robinson and Dallas were both small but managed to be great wingers.

There are two main solutions to the problems the first one is to have a taller centre switch with the winger which helps with the height issue but it means switch players around which is not ideal. The second option is to train against to take running catches. Rather than standing on the try line during cross field kicks he stands behind it so he can take a running jump at the ball. Its not an easy thing to do because he has to have the power in his legs to jump as height as the opposite winger but also have to watch the ball carefully to make sure he jumps to the ball before it gets to the opposition winger.

If Ainscough can take a few catches then eventually teams will stop putting so much pressure on him just like not many teams kick high balls towards Radlinski because he was excellent at taking them.

That isn't his fault really. Anyway, I would be all for giving him a try at FB. If it doesn't work, then so be it, put him back on the wing.