Warrington captain Stefan Ratchford turns 35 in July but is only now becoming centre of attention.
Not in the sense of being an influential player: he’s been that for most of his 12 year career with the Super League leaders. But the ex-England international, who’s starred either as an attacking full-back or stand-off, is for the first time now actually regularly playing centre. And as unbeaten Wolves bid to make it seven successive wins against Hull on Saturday, it looks like Ratchford has played that position all his life.
He told Mirror Online: “It is a bit weird I’ve never really been there full-time before. I’ve played there in fits and starts, the odd few games here and there. But this is my first proper crack, where I know I’m going to be playing centre for an extended run more times than I’m not.
“And it’s been good. The left edge has a good connection going on there. We’ve all played together for a few years but this is obviously for the first time as a full edge. I’m really enjoying playing down that side but when the team’s performing well and results are going the right way, it helps you enjoy your performances.”
The left edge Ratchford mentions is certainly a formidable one. England stand-off George Williams is at the heart of it and is in arguably the best form of his life. But with second-row Ben Currie and six-try Matty Ashton also raiding down that flank, and Aussie full-back Matt Dufty chiming in, Warrington have been too hot for most opponents.
It’s all a far cry from last year when Daryl Powell’s side could barely muster a win and only relegated Toulouse finished below them. But Ratchford, also made skipper for 2023, warned there’s much more to come. He said: “Results-wise it looks really good but from the way we’re looking at it we know we’re not quite hitting our straps yet.
“There’s still patches in games where we’re not great. We’re either coming up with too many errors or giving too many penalties away. We’re not putting 80 minute performances together. We know there’s still improvement in us and it’s something we’re looking forward to: achieving that goal of putting in that full performance.”
They hope to do that against a Hull side who are stuck on a four-game losing run. But they are coached by Tony Smith, who led Warrington to three Challenge Cup glories in his time at Halliwell Jones Stadium. Ratchford, 34, said: “Their results have been a real mixed bag but we know it’ll be a difficult game. They have a big, physical side. We have to make sure we don’t present them with any opportunities."
Meanwhile, prop Thomas Mikaele plays his final Warrington game against Hull after the club today agreed a transfer fee for his move to Gold Coast Titans. He joined from Wests Tigers last May and has become a crowd favourite but has been allowed to leave on compassionate grounds. Mikaele, 25, said: ""I've had a wonderful time since coming over here, the boys, the club and the fans have all been great with me and my family. I'm sorry it didn't work out as originally planned but family comes first for me and I'm sure that's something that people can understand."
