Dougal Howard

[perfectionist]

What number was David Dench ?

23

[CURLY]

So are you saying MacKay was on top of Howard until HT or not?

Howard was in the same situation as Weitering. There is no defending the King and McKay got.

I said in the game game day thread Howard and Wilkie are getting stitched by our midfield.

[B.M]

So when his opponent isn’t kicking goals he’s playing well

When they are, it’s the midfield?

Bit like Ratten

When we win, he is credited

When we lose, it’s the assistants yeah?

[Teflon]

So are you saying MacKay was on top of Howard until HT or not?

No you’re saying Wilkie should be our KPD abs we have no need for Howard cause he’s no good ??

I think that’s the porky you’re flying now

[CURLY]

So when his opponent isn’t kicking goals he’s playing well

When they are, it’s the midfield?

Bit like Ratten

When we win, he is credited

When we lose, it’s the assistants yeah?

No I’m saying he can’t stop everything. He’s our tallest defender expected to be a presence in the air. He can’t get to every contest no one can. Which one on one did he lose that he should have won? How would you suggest he defend Obrians kick?

[B.M]

I don’t want him to get to EVERY contest

I just want him to get to the contests with his opponent

[CURLY]

I don’t want him to get to EVERY contest

I just want him to get to the contests with his opponent

Oh so your the one. Get on your man I don’t know why we play that zone garbage.

[Freebird]

Got to say, I feel sorry for the kid...

Got his pants pulled down last night but for a while now he’s being treated like a player that is viewed as being able to do it all himself

He’s not.

Max Hudghton had this legacy of being an incredible defender that was rarely beaten but the reality is that in weaker teams when he was head and shoulders our best defender, he got smashed quite a few times and understandably so. In the better St.Kilda where he looked a $1million, he had Penny at FB, and Maguire at CHB whilst Max played third tall and led the backline, kept it organised.

Then at later times he had Fisher at CHB and a few guys that could go third man up without too much trouble.

Howard looked at his best when he had another contested mark taking tall with a bit of mongrel in him in Carlisle there with Wilkie playing the flexible tall...
It occurs to me now that the backs are really struggling without a clear leader as well. Don’t know who that is supposed to be exactly.

Obviously Geary drove that for a while and I’m starting to thinking that Clark as a clever and composed guy is being missed back there a lot more than ppl realise.

The super back 6 last year
Paton, Howard, Wilkie
Coffield, Carlisle, Clark

Paton and Carlisle was unfortunate
Coffield doesn’t seem to know what he’s down but should be playing smaller... seems like they’ve tried to use him as a Wilkie type whilst Callum goes taller
Webster has been good enough and earned his spot
Sinclair’s done very well but I still like Clark better as a defender and general of the backline and SInclair as a mid
I’m miffed whilst Clavarino and Battle pre-injury didn’t play key back more even if they are undersized, they could at least support
Highmore... i don’t get his role. A medium sized marker without the expectation of dropping in front of their talls

It’s all a mess.

Howard is copping the worst of it but I don’t think it’s his fault

Without a shadow of a doubt a CHB this off-season is a mess

Don't agree re Max beaten many times by lower clubs...I can only remember him having his pants pulled down a couple of times. Max Richardson once commented that Max was the hardest player he had played on. Max was also one of the quickest in our team

Interesting article on Max hereunder from the age 2009

Max Hudghton's relaxing life after football
By Greg Baum
October 24, 2009 — 11.00am

Max Hudghton can sleep easy now that he has hung up the boots.

MAX Hudghton's job was to hold the fort, and it made him nervous. The butterflies would begin to stir the day before the game and always were fluttering madly in the changeroom as he contemplated which goalkicking monster would be his to try to tame this week. In 13 years, the feeling never abated.

Nerves refined themselves into superstitions. Hudghton's favourite was to play Robert Tepper's There's No Easy Way Out - the theme from Rocky 4 - to himself just before he ran out. ''I used to tell myself, 'There really is no easy way out','' Hudghton said this week. ''You've got to scrap and fight for everything you get. It was almost a motto for me.''

Hudghton's outlook, which was manifest in the way he played, made him a favourite with fans, and this season something of a cause celebre as he fought unavailingly to convince coach Ross Lyon that he was worth a place in St Kilda's grand final team.

But it also made football a mostly grim endeavour for Hudghton, all siege and relief, siege and relief. The pleasure was only ever retrospective. An example is last year's preliminary final, in which he held Lance Franklin to one goal. ''I was pretty proud to walk away knowing I didn't get absolutely blitzed by 'Buddy', because he is a freak,'' said Hudghton. ''I love watching him play. Now that I look back, I enjoyed playing on him. But I didn't at the time.

''I always craved to play on the best player possible. I wanted to be tested against the best. But I can't say I wasn't crapping myself - and looking forward to the siren each quarter.''

Hudghton would not speculate on whether it might have been different for the Saints in the grand final if he and all his vast experience had been out there. ''AFL footy looks easy from the sidelines,'' he said. ''In the stands you can see the play unfold 10 seconds before. On the ground you've barely got even a split-second. It's very easy to say you could have done something better than other people. I definitely didn't think I could have.''

Hudghton played 23 games for the Saints last year, but only seven this year. The last was in round 20. The rest of the season became a saga, with Hudghton the reluctant lead. It was made more poignant for him by the oldest of his three children, Josh, 6, who this year became fully football conscious for the first time. Each week, he would ask his father if he was ''in''. Each week, he would be told that he was not. So is innocence slowly trimmed.

Hudghton admits he felt bitterly disappointed not to have played. ''I thought my body and form was adequate enough for me to play senior football near the end of the year,'' he said. ''Ross didn't agree with me. I didn't hate him, but I didn't agree with him. What player would? We were talking about the last opportunity of my career.''

Hudghton said he was never told that he was out of contention, but came to understand that only an injury would open up a place. He said he bore no ill-will towards Lyon. ''He's got a job to do,'' he said. ''He's employed to do it his way. He's the coach, he's paid to make decisions, to get success. My dealings with him were always respectful.''

Often, Hudghton is asked if St Kilda's ultimate defeat in the grand final somehow ameliorated the pain of his omission. He said he understood why people would wonder, but that the question was naive.

''It doesn't make it any easier, or any harder,'' he said. ''In an ideal world, I would have been part of it, part of a win, but I wasn't. The fact that they lost is no consolation to me. All I wanted to do, if I didn't have the opportunity to stand up there, was to see the boys stand up there and hold the cup up.''

Hudghton joined his teammates on the field at match's end, and stayed out there when the Saints left, watching Geelong's victory ceremony and joyous celebrations. It became for him a vicarious form of closure. ''I tried to visualise me up there,'' he said. ''It was amazing to see how awesome it would have been to hold up that cup. That's why we play, isn't it?''

When Robert Harvey retired last year, he said with touching simplicity: ''So many players failed to win a premiership. Well, now I'm just one of them.'' So, now, is Hudghton. The story of his career (like so many before him at St Kilda) revolves around that ever-fruitless quest.

''I walked in and in my first year played in a grand final,'' he said. ''It was an amazing year, but it was a blur. I don't remember much of it. You don't realise it's happening at the time.''

He was 21, a first-round pick from Brisbane, on a high. Naturally, he was sure the chance would come again, and soon. He gave it no other thought.

''You're selfish when you start off because you're worried about getting a game, establishing yourself, getting another contract,'' he said. ''Then, probably six years in, if you're lucky enough to go that long, you realise you're desperate for a flag. Then you get to the end, and that's all you crave. I walk away with only that one regret.''

St Kilda's best chance before this year was in 2004, when it lost by a goal to Port Adelaide in the preliminary final. ''You've got to take your chances when they're there,'' Hudghton said. ''And luck plays a part.''

It was the same again in this year's grand final. ''At the end of the day they didn't kick the goals they had to kick,'' he said. ''[Adam] Schneider's goal was like shelling peas for him; he's an awesome player.''

But like Harvey, Hudghton thinks of St Kilda not as unsuccessful, nor - as is often suggested - fatally flawed, just flagless. There is a difference. The Saints played in finals in seven of his 13 years. He played in four preliminary finals and a grand final. ''We had four years when we were really poor,'' he said. ''But culture wasn't the problem. Maybe we lost our focus, recycled players a bit, didn't go for younger guys. It wasn't about culture.''

Hudghton was a career defender, apart from one pre-season game in which Grant Thomas played him in the forward pocket, and a practice match in which he had a run on the ball. ''I didn't have much versatility,'' he said. ''I didn't get out of the goal square much. I was always going to be buried there.''

He played, and held his own, against all the great forwards of his time: Lloyd, Fevola, Franklin, Richardson, Lockett once, for one quarter. Fevola and Franklin gave him nightmares because their teams kicked to them so frequently, 25 or more times a game.

The onus weighed gravely. ''There's no doubt I was an extremely nervous person, week in, week out,'' he said. ''It's very daunting, knowing you carry a huge responsibility to hold the forward down. You play a huge role in the team's success on the day.''

Usually, he conceded height and body weight, but somehow, like Glenn Archer, found ways. ''I had good runs on players. Fev's well documented,'' he said. ''But I never went into a game thinking, 'I've got the wood on this bloke'. I was always taught to overestimate.

Once, in a pre-season game against Port Adelaide, he took it easy against a newcomer, one Warren Tredrea. ''He whipped me.''

Hudghton said he was rarely sledged, nor did he sledge. ''I tried to play a little bit respectful,'' he said. ''People still have their privacy. But, remember, all my career I played two quarters with our supporters right behind me, and two quarters with the others. Talk about sledging, I've heard it all.''

Football in Hudghton's time grew more professional off the field, more structured on it. Preparation became minutely detailed. ''It's down even to who you want to have the footy on the other side, and who you don't,'' he said. ''It's pretty full-on.''

It also became immeasurably quicker. Once, he could depend on up to 80 stoppages a game, of five or six seconds each, timely pauses. New rules have accelerated the flow. ''They change the game immensely,'' he said. ''They make it a lot quicker. You just don't get the chance to have a breather.''

Hudghton, though declaring himself not a strategist, foresees even more rigidity, making the game a series of set plays. ''Every player will know exactly what has to be done at every specific time,'' he said. ''It will become more like gridiron. It won't be so stop-start, but everyone will be a lot more specific in their roles.''

A man of his era, he protests the ever tighter injunctions on physicality. ''I hope they don't tamper with the game too much. It's an amazing game as it is.''

Retirement was not a difficult decision; it was a year later than he had planned anyway. He formalised his intention after playing against Sydney in round 18.

Unlike others, he had already embarked on the rest of his life. From the start, he was acutely conscious of the need to provide for himself and his family after football. He had started a plumbing apprenticeship in Brisbane when he was drafted by the Saints. Four years ago he got his builder's licence, and now runs his own small, but busy, construction company. ''Dad's a builder,'' he said. ''It runs in the blood, if you want to put it that way.'' This is one former player who will not fall through the cracks.

Two weeks ago, Hudghton accepted a position on Collingwood's coaching panel, but said it was more as a mentor than coach. He does not envisage himself as a career coach. Freed from the player's straightjacket, he has too much else to do. ''I want to enjoy my family, spend time with my wife, go away in March if I can, live my life a bit.''

The prevailing sensation now is relief. A day off now is a day off. ''We always had a day off before the game,'' he said. ''You'd like to relax on your day off, but I'd spend the day worrying about the game. And I don't have to stress about my body any more - that's probably the biggest thing. If I've got a sore calf, I don't have to worry.

''Mentally, it drains you, not just playing, but getting yourself up, week after week. I'm looking forward to not having the pressure to perform. Life's got its own pressures, but it's nice not to have to think about football pressures. I'm looking forward to not being spoken about and scrutinised.'' End of story.

[Teflon]

Loved Maxy
Lyon got that wrong imho Hudgton was older but he’d have died for that jumper to stop a goal ....you can’t train that

[skeptic]

Got to say, I feel sorry for the kid...

Got his pants pulled down last night but for a while now he’s being treated like a player that is viewed as being able to do it all himself

He’s not.

Max Hudghton had this legacy of being an incredible defender that was rarely beaten but the reality is that in weaker teams when he was head and shoulders our best defender, he got smashed quite a few times and understandably so. In the better St.Kilda where he looked a $1million, he had Penny at FB, and Maguire at CHB whilst Max played third tall and led the backline, kept it organised.

Then at later times he had Fisher at CHB and a few guys that could go third man up without too much trouble.

Howard looked at his best when he had another contested mark taking tall with a bit of mongrel in him in Carlisle there with Wilkie playing the flexible tall...
It occurs to me now that the backs are really struggling without a clear leader as well. Don’t know who that is supposed to be exactly.

Obviously Geary drove that for a while and I’m starting to thinking that Clark as a clever and composed guy is being missed back there a lot more than ppl realise.

The super back 6 last year
Paton, Howard, Wilkie
Coffield, Carlisle, Clark

Paton and Carlisle was unfortunate
Coffield doesn’t seem to know what he’s down but should be playing smaller... seems like they’ve tried to use him as a Wilkie type whilst Callum goes taller
Webster has been good enough and earned his spot
Sinclair’s done very well but I still like Clark better as a defender and general of the backline and SInclair as a mid
I’m miffed whilst Clavarino and Battle pre-injury didn’t play key back more even if they are undersized, they could at least support
Highmore... i don’t get his role. A medium sized marker without the expectation of dropping in front of their talls

It’s all a mess.

Howard is copping the worst of it but I don’t think it’s his fault

Without a shadow of a doubt a CHB this off-season is a mess

Don't agree re Max beaten many times by lower clubs...I can only remember him having his pants pulled down a couple of times. Max Richardson once commented that Max was the hardest player he had played on. Max was also one of the quickest in our team

Interesting article on Max hereunder from the age 2009

Max Hudghton's relaxing life after football
By Greg Baum
October 24, 2009 — 11.00am

Max Hudghton can sleep easy now that he has hung up the boots.

MAX Hudghton's job was to hold the fort, and it made him nervous. The butterflies would begin to stir the day before the game and always were fluttering madly in the changeroom as he contemplated which goalkicking monster would be his to try to tame this week. In 13 years, the feeling never abated.

Nerves refined themselves into superstitions. Hudghton's favourite was to play Robert Tepper's There's No Easy Way Out - the theme from Rocky 4 - to himself just before he ran out. ''I used to tell myself, 'There really is no easy way out','' Hudghton said this week. ''You've got to scrap and fight for everything you get. It was almost a motto for me.''

Hudghton's outlook, which was manifest in the way he played, made him a favourite with fans, and this season something of a cause celebre as he fought unavailingly to convince coach Ross Lyon that he was worth a place in St Kilda's grand final team.

But it also made football a mostly grim endeavour for Hudghton, all siege and relief, siege and relief. The pleasure was only ever retrospective. An example is last year's preliminary final, in which he held Lance Franklin to one goal. ''I was pretty proud to walk away knowing I didn't get absolutely blitzed by 'Buddy', because he is a freak,'' said Hudghton. ''I love watching him play. Now that I look back, I enjoyed playing on him. But I didn't at the time.

''I always craved to play on the best player possible. I wanted to be tested against the best. But I can't say I wasn't crapping myself - and looking forward to the siren each quarter.''

Hudghton would not speculate on whether it might have been different for the Saints in the grand final if he and all his vast experience had been out there. ''AFL footy looks easy from the sidelines,'' he said. ''In the stands you can see the play unfold 10 seconds before. On the ground you've barely got even a split-second. It's very easy to say you could have done something better than other people. I definitely didn't think I could have.''

Hudghton played 23 games for the Saints last year, but only seven this year. The last was in round 20. The rest of the season became a saga, with Hudghton the reluctant lead. It was made more poignant for him by the oldest of his three children, Josh, 6, who this year became fully football conscious for the first time. Each week, he would ask his father if he was ''in''. Each week, he would be told that he was not. So is innocence slowly trimmed.

Hudghton admits he felt bitterly disappointed not to have played. ''I thought my body and form was adequate enough for me to play senior football near the end of the year,'' he said. ''Ross didn't agree with me. I didn't hate him, but I didn't agree with him. What player would? We were talking about the last opportunity of my career.''

Hudghton said he was never told that he was out of contention, but came to understand that only an injury would open up a place. He said he bore no ill-will towards Lyon. ''He's got a job to do,'' he said. ''He's employed to do it his way. He's the coach, he's paid to make decisions, to get success. My dealings with him were always respectful.''

Often, Hudghton is asked if St Kilda's ultimate defeat in the grand final somehow ameliorated the pain of his omission. He said he understood why people would wonder, but that the question was naive.

''It doesn't make it any easier, or any harder,'' he said. ''In an ideal world, I would have been part of it, part of a win, but I wasn't. The fact that they lost is no consolation to me. All I wanted to do, if I didn't have the opportunity to stand up there, was to see the boys stand up there and hold the cup up.''

Hudghton joined his teammates on the field at match's end, and stayed out there when the Saints left, watching Geelong's victory ceremony and joyous celebrations. It became for him a vicarious form of closure. ''I tried to visualise me up there,'' he said. ''It was amazing to see how awesome it would have been to hold up that cup. That's why we play, isn't it?''

When Robert Harvey retired last year, he said with touching simplicity: ''So many players failed to win a premiership. Well, now I'm just one of them.'' So, now, is Hudghton. The story of his career (like so many before him at St Kilda) revolves around that ever-fruitless quest.

''I walked in and in my first year played in a grand final,'' he said. ''It was an amazing year, but it was a blur. I don't remember much of it. You don't realise it's happening at the time.''

He was 21, a first-round pick from Brisbane, on a high. Naturally, he was sure the chance would come again, and soon. He gave it no other thought.

''You're selfish when you start off because you're worried about getting a game, establishing yourself, getting another contract,'' he said. ''Then, probably six years in, if you're lucky enough to go that long, you realise you're desperate for a flag. Then you get to the end, and that's all you crave. I walk away with only that one regret.''

St Kilda's best chance before this year was in 2004, when it lost by a goal to Port Adelaide in the preliminary final. ''You've got to take your chances when they're there,'' Hudghton said. ''And luck plays a part.''

It was the same again in this year's grand final. ''At the end of the day they didn't kick the goals they had to kick,'' he said. ''[Adam] Schneider's goal was like shelling peas for him; he's an awesome player.''

But like Harvey, Hudghton thinks of St Kilda not as unsuccessful, nor - as is often suggested - fatally flawed, just flagless. There is a difference. The Saints played in finals in seven of his 13 years. He played in four preliminary finals and a grand final. ''We had four years when we were really poor,'' he said. ''But culture wasn't the problem. Maybe we lost our focus, recycled players a bit, didn't go for younger guys. It wasn't about culture.''

Hudghton was a career defender, apart from one pre-season game in which Grant Thomas played him in the forward pocket, and a practice match in which he had a run on the ball. ''I didn't have much versatility,'' he said. ''I didn't get out of the goal square much. I was always going to be buried there.''

He played, and held his own, against all the great forwards of his time: Lloyd, Fevola, Franklin, Richardson, Lockett once, for one quarter. Fevola and Franklin gave him nightmares because their teams kicked to them so frequently, 25 or more times a game.

The onus weighed gravely. ''There's no doubt I was an extremely nervous person, week in, week out,'' he said. ''It's very daunting, knowing you carry a huge responsibility to hold the forward down. You play a huge role in the team's success on the day.''

Usually, he conceded height and body weight, but somehow, like Glenn Archer, found ways. ''I had good runs on players. Fev's well documented,'' he said. ''But I never went into a game thinking, 'I've got the wood on this bloke'. I was always taught to overestimate.

Once, in a pre-season game against Port Adelaide, he took it easy against a newcomer, one Warren Tredrea. ''He whipped me.''

Hudghton said he was rarely sledged, nor did he sledge. ''I tried to play a little bit respectful,'' he said. ''People still have their privacy. But, remember, all my career I played two quarters with our supporters right behind me, and two quarters with the others. Talk about sledging, I've heard it all.''

Football in Hudghton's time grew more professional off the field, more structured on it. Preparation became minutely detailed. ''It's down even to who you want to have the footy on the other side, and who you don't,'' he said. ''It's pretty full-on.''

It also became immeasurably quicker. Once, he could depend on up to 80 stoppages a game, of five or six seconds each, timely pauses. New rules have accelerated the flow. ''They change the game immensely,'' he said. ''They make it a lot quicker. You just don't get the chance to have a breather.''

Hudghton, though declaring himself not a strategist, foresees even more rigidity, making the game a series of set plays. ''Every player will know exactly what has to be done at every specific time,'' he said. ''It will become more like gridiron. It won't be so stop-start, but everyone will be a lot more specific in their roles.''

A man of his era, he protests the ever tighter injunctions on physicality. ''I hope they don't tamper with the game too much. It's an amazing game as it is.''

Retirement was not a difficult decision; it was a year later than he had planned anyway. He formalised his intention after playing against Sydney in round 18.

Unlike others, he had already embarked on the rest of his life. From the start, he was acutely conscious of the need to provide for himself and his family after football. He had started a plumbing apprenticeship in Brisbane when he was drafted by the Saints. Four years ago he got his builder's licence, and now runs his own small, but busy, construction company. ''Dad's a builder,'' he said. ''It runs in the blood, if you want to put it that way.'' This is one former player who will not fall through the cracks.

Two weeks ago, Hudghton accepted a position on Collingwood's coaching panel, but said it was more as a mentor than coach. He does not envisage himself as a career coach. Freed from the player's straightjacket, he has too much else to do. ''I want to enjoy my family, spend time with my wife, go away in March if I can, live my life a bit.''

The prevailing sensation now is relief. A day off now is a day off. ''We always had a day off before the game,'' he said. ''You'd like to relax on your day off, but I'd spend the day worrying about the game. And I don't have to stress about my body any more - that's probably the biggest thing. If I've got a sore calf, I don't have to worry.

''Mentally, it drains you, not just playing, but getting yourself up, week after week. I'm looking forward to not having the pressure to perform. Life's got its own pressures, but it's nice not to have to think about football pressures. I'm looking forward to not being spoken about and scrutinised.'' End of story.

Just to reiterate... I’m not suggesting that he was a bad defender or regularly beaten. I’m just saying it’s not as though Hudghton was never ever beaten as the narrative has gone on to grow. He’d have a couple of tough games a year... especially when we had rubbish teams that were trounced in the middle

[magnifisaint]

Howard had a stinker last night. Gives his man too much latitude.

[The_Dud]

The best thing about Max was that he punched above his weight, did better than he had any right to.

If they were the same size Wilkie would be the number 1 key defender, as he’s much better one on one. I think Howard wants to be the Nick Maxwell / Sam Fisher third man up type of player.

Also, hasn’t Frawley been available the last two weeks? If so, clearly shows Ratts thinks our current talls down back are good enough to do the job.

[B.M]

Ratts has clearly stated

Howard is the #1
Wilkie he trusts as a #2
Highmore the 3

I believe that is an issue - as it leaves Wilkie exposed for size

My belief is Howard should be a #2

Wilkie a 3

Coffield in as a ball carrying/intercepting number 4

Paton, Sinclair and Hill as the smalls

[saint6709]

Ratts has clearly stated

Howard is the #1
Wilkie he trusts as a #2
Highmore the 3

I believe that is an issue - as it leaves Wilkie exposed for size

My belief is Howard should be a #2

Wilkie a 3

Coffield in as a ball carrying/intercepting number 4

Paton, Sinclair and Hill as the smalls

Yep definitely need another KPD

[Teflon]

Ratts has clearly stated

Howard is the #1
Wilkie he trusts as a #2
Highmore the 3

I believe that is an issue - as it leaves Wilkie exposed for size

My belief is Howard should be a #2

Wilkie a 3

Coffield in as a ball carrying/intercepting number 4

Paton, Sinclair and Hill as the smalls

Where has Ratts clearly stated that? Link please
Or are you reading stuff off the web again and reporting it as fact ?!
Tsk tsk

[groupie1]

Max was rarely beaten

Played for 13 seasons

Played 1.5 seasons with Penny

Played 3 seasons with Goose (injured in 06)

Played as an undersized FB for most years he played, and was rarely beaten

I remember Max being livid once when a team mate made a mistake and it resulted in Max'es direct opponent kicking his only goal for the match in the last couple minutes of a game we won by 40 points. Max Hudghton was one of the best ever. Silvagni good. He went a couple years where his direct opponents simply didn't score. Not underrated here; but probably still lacks the credit he deserves.

[B.M]

He has said it twice in interviews Teflon

When asked about the return of Frawley

He said they were happy with the current set up and that Wilkie is doing the job in the current set up and that Highmore has been massively impressive

[Teflon]

He has said it twice in interviews Teflon

When asked about the return of Frawley

He said they were happy with the current set up and that Wilkie is doing the job in the current set up and that Highmore has been massively impressive

No he hasn’t you made that up - give us the link?
I’ve never heard Ratten or any AFL coach publicly rank their players
It doesn’t happen
Stop with the fanciful stuff

[B.M]

Link
It was an interview

He didn’t rank them

He said he was very happy with Howard, Wilkie and Highmore

And that they were doing the job

[maverick]

Ratts has clearly stated

Howard is the #1
Wilkie he trusts as a #2
Highmore the 3

I believe that is an issue - as it leaves Wilkie exposed for size

My belief is Howard should be a #2

Wilkie a 3

Coffield in as a ball carrying/intercepting number 4

Paton, Sinclair and Hill as the smalls

So the question, is clavarino big enough to be no1
Or is he another number 2, good enough we need to find out
Big enough is the question?

Many defenders don’t start their careers off brilliantly