Smith: Ryan’s in a good place
WHO’S GOT THE BEST SQUAD OUTSIDE THE TOP 17?
TONY Smith has tipped Hull KR winger Ethan Ryan for a bright future in the game, with the help of assistant coach David Hodgson.
The 24-year-old made a positive impression last year, scoring on his Super League debut against Wigan Warriors just before the shutdown before making it three tries in four outings after the restart.
As well as showcasing the finishing ability that made him a standout performer in the Championship with Bradford Bulls, the Ireland international has impressed off the field with his attitude and application.
Ryan has the perfect mentor in Hodgson, scorer of 184 tries during his own Super League career.
“He’s going to have a bright future,” Smith told the Mail as he discussed Ryan’s progress.
“He’s a good kid and applies himself. He’s got good speed, real good speed. He can catch a ball and knows where the tryline is.
“He’s always learning too and always asking questions about positional play. He’s got a great person to learn off in Dave Hodgson in that respect as well.
“He’s always bending Hodgo’s ear about positional play and good play from wingers and outside backs. He’s in a good place in his development.”
Ryan would have enjoyed more game time but for an untimely wrist injury that ended his season in September.
Because of the nature of the issue, Ryan has had to take a cautious approach to his recovery.
“He’s had a scaphoid and it’s a slow-healing injury,” Smith explained.
“He’s back doing everything with us now but it kept him out of a bit of wrestle here and there, and a bit of full contact at different stages whilst it got into a position of repair.
“He’s doing everything now and is applying himself really well.
“He’s another kid who will benefit from those outings he had last year.”
Ryan appears unlikely to start the season with Ben Crooks, Greg Minikin, Shaun Kenny-dowall and Ryan Hall seemingly above him in the pecking order after getting squad numbers two to five.
But if a so-called fringe player is performing at a high level day in, day out, Smith would not hesitate to throw him in.
“There isn’t anybody I’m ruling out,” he said.
“They can all push for a place this year, it’s up to them and their form. It’s up to opportunity as well.
“There probably is a pecking order to start with but it’s up to them to maintain their positions and push their way into positions of selection as well.
“That’s not only on the field but the way they apply themselves off the field. I’m not ruling anybody out.
“The numbers mean very little. It’s up to them to force their way in and take the opportunities when they arise.
“I won’t be surprised if he or any of the other young guys force their way through.”
An easy way to assess a club’s strength in depth is to take a look at those players allocated a squad number higher than 17. Most clubs will allocate their first 17 squad numbers in relation to their status within the squad, with the most notable and best players given numbers that relate to their position.
It’s not always the case, with Jackson Hastings being a clear example of someone who will play a key role for Wigan Warriors this year but will do so with the number 31 on his back.
The same can be said for Dan Sarginson at Salford Red Devils, who has chosen to wear 23 this year in a nod to his brother who passed away aged 23 and to challenge himself.
Largely, though, those larger numbers are reserved for those who might not be involved every week but have key roles to play when it comes to squad rotation, which will be key this year as club’s prepare themselves for a hectic season.
Super League clubs are guaranteed to play 26 games, including a Challenge Cup tie, between March 26 and October and some squads will be stretched to breaking point at times throughout the year with injuries an unfortunate inevitability.
With that in mind, the Mail compares Hull FC’S strength in depth to their Super League rivals,’ with the exception of Catalans Dragons who have not released their squad numbers yet.
Hull FC
Depth: 19. Ben Mcnamara 20. Jack Brown 21. Adam Swift 22. Josh Bowden 23. Connor Wynne 24. Cameron Scott 25. Masi Matongo 26. Jude Ferreira 29. Jamie Shaul
The first thing to notice about Hull’s first-team squad is its size.
Leigh are the only side running with a smaller squad at present, but with a host of youngsters training with the squad and the possibility of trialist Mitieli Vulikijapani being offered a permanent deal, there is still time for that to grow.
However, in Josh Bowden Hull are able to boast a prop who has won two Challenge Cup finals and has more than 160 career appearances under his belt, while Adam Swift is a winger who has scored over 100 tries throughout his career.
There is hope that Jamie Shaul could be fit enough to play some part in the 2021 season as he recovers from knee surgery.
Ben Mcnamara and Jack Brown are two of the brightest young talents around, too, and both took advantage of last season in order to gain valuable first-team experience.
Castleford Tigers
Squad depth: 18. Jacques O’neill 19. Tyla Hepi 20. James Clare 21. Jesse Sene-lefao 22. Daniel Smith 23. Greg Eden
24. Suaia Matagi 25. Jordan Turner 26. Lewis Bienek 27. Lewis Peachey 28. Brad Martin 29. Sam Hall 30. Brad Graham 31. Cain Robb
Daryl Powell has built a large squad with the likes of Suaia Matagi and Jordan Turner offering vital experience after making the move from Huddersfield Giants.
Jacques O’neill gave a strong account of himself last year, while in Greg Eden and James Clare the Tigers have two experienced outside backs who know where the tryline is.
Hepi, Smith and Sene-lefao can expect to be involved regularly throughout the campaign, too.
Huddersfield Giants
Squad depth: 18. Jack Ashworth 19. James Cunningham 20. Oliver Wilson 21. Leroy Cudjoe 22. James Gavet 23. Oliver Russell 24. Louis Senior 25. Owen Trout 26. Jon-luke Kirby 27. Sam Wood 28. Sam Hewitt 29. Ronan Michael 30. Chester Butler
Huddersfield have been busy and in Ashworth and Cunningham, they have two players who add plenty.
The Giants’ youth system keeps churning out players with a lot of quality and the above list is testament to that with Ian Watson having the luxury of working with a host of hungry youngsters this season.
Hull KR
Depth: 18. Matty Storton 19. Will Dagger 20. Mikey Lewis 21. Owen Harrison 22. Nick Rawsthorne 23. Ethan Ryan 24. Joe Keyes 25. Rowan Milnes 26. Will Maher 27. Luis Johnson 28. Muizz Mustapha 29. Anesu Mudoti 30. Will Tate 31. Thomas Whur 32. Charlie Cavanaugh 33. Jimmy Keinhorst
Tony Smith has built an impressive looking side this season loaded with talent at both ends.
The likes of Storton, Lewis, Johnson and Mustapha are expected to have big roles to play.
Rovers aren’t able to boast a huge amount of Super League experience at the lower end of the squad, and that showed at times last season.
Leeds Rhinos
Squad depth: 18. Tom Holroyd 20. Bodene Thompson 21. Alex Sutcliffe 22. Sam Walters 23. Callum Mclelland 24. Luke Briscoe 25. James Donaldson 26. Jarrod O’connor 27. Jack Broadbent 28. Corey Hall 29. Liam Tindall 30. Levi Edwards 31. Morgan Gannon
This isn’t the most experienced bunch, but Richard Agar won’t be too concerned as his talented academy products continue to work their way into the first-team picture.
Holroyd, Broadbent and Walters were among those to impress in limited game time last season and the Leeds boss won’t hesitate to throw them in when needed.
Donaldson and Thompson go about their business diligently and regularly slotted in seamlessly last season.
Leigh Centurions
Squad depth: 18. Matty Gee, 19. Nathan Mason, 20. Adam Sidlow, 21. Tyrone Mccarthy, 22. Craig Mullen, 23. Tom Spencer, 24. Keanan Brand.
This is where Leigh look particularly short of Super League quality. They’re still building their squad and could make more additions before the season starts.
Salford Red Devils
Squad depth: 18. Chris Atkin, 19. Elliot Kear, 20. Harvey Livett, 21. James Greenwood, 22. Rhys Williams, 23. Dan Sarginson, 24. Matty Costello, 25. Jack Ormondroyd, 26.
Jack Wells, 27. Sam Luckley, 28. Darcy Lussick, 29. Dec Patton, 30. Connor Aspey
As mentioned above, Sarginson has chosen to wear the number 23 shirt this season, but there are a couple of other big names in the depths of Salford’s squad.
Lussick and Patton will almost certainly be involved regularly when the competition gets underway, while Costello and Livett look like savvy signings.
There’s been a lot of change at the AJ Bell Stadium and how Salford fare after the departure of Ian Watson remains to be seen.
St Helens
Squad depth: 18. Jack Welsby 19. Aaron Smith 20. Joe Batchelor 21. Lewis Dodd 22. Josh Simm 23. Jake Wingfield 24. Josh Eaves 25. Dan Norman 26. Tom Nisbet 27. Matt Foster 28. Nico Rizzelli 29. Ben Davies 30. Sam Royle
Kristian Woolf showed a lot of faith in St Helens’ youngsters last season and they make up the majority of his squad beyond the 17
jersey. Welsby will be flying high in confidence after his last minute try was enough to win the Grand Final, but 24-year-old Smith is probably the most experienced on the above list. Simm is one to watch this year after he underlined his potential with a hat-trick in a win over Leeds Rhinos last year.
Wakefield Trinity
Squad depth: 18. Innes Senior 19. Jordy Crowther 20. Joe Arundel 21. Alex Walker 22. Adam Tangata 23. Josh Wood 24. Jack Croft 25. Brad Walker 26. Yusuf Aydin 27. Lee Kershaw 29. Ryan Hampshire 31. Connor Bailey 32. Oli Greensmith 33. Harry Bowes 34. Dane Windrow
Wakefield struggled with injuries last season but Chris Chester will be hoping his side have enough to cope should they have fitness issues this time around. In Arundel, Alex Walker, Tangata and Hampshire he has relatively experienced options to bring into the squad regularly throughout the year ahead.
Warrington Wolves
Squad depth: 18. Jake Mamo 19. Robbie Mulhern 20. Sitaleki Akauola 21. Rob Butler 22. Ellis Robson 23. Josh Thewlis 24. Riley Dean 25. Eribe Doro 26. Ellis Longstaff 27. Connor
Wrench 28. Nathan Roebuck 29. Jacob Gannon
The additions of Mulhern and Butler give Steve Price plenty of options through the middle and help to fill the gap left by Leilani Latu, who was released by the club earlier this month.
Mamo and Akauola featured regularly last season while Price will be hoping the youngsters in his ranks can take the next step after some impressive showings in the first team last year.
Wigan Warriors
Squad depth: 19. Liam Byrne 20. Harry Smith 21. Ethan Havard 22. Jake Bibby 23. Mitch Clark 25. Joe Shorrocks, 27. Kai Pearce-paul 28. Sam Halsall 29. James Mcdonnell 30. Umyla Hanley 31. Jackson Hastings 32. Ben Kilner 33. Amir Bourouh
No Super League academy is quite as prolific as Wigan’s and their squad features a host of homegrown talent. Smith and Havard were amongst those to shine last season, while much has been made of the talent Pearce-paul and Hanley possess.
Jake Bibby is unfortunate not to be given a top 17 number after a series of impressive showings last year, while Clark is an older option to be called upon by Adrian Lam.
Hull FC’S Jamie Shaul