Warrington’s Stefan Ratchford says lessons from the Championship can help him
Full-back stayed in the second tier with Salford in 2008 and what he learned back then can help propel the Wolves towards Super League Grand Final glory
STEFAN Ratchford admits everything he learned at Salford can help him take Warrington to the very top, even though his old side stunned them on Friday.
The Wolves' full-back could have left the Red Devils when he was a youngster after they were relegated in 2007.
But he stayed and that year in the second tier is still proving as vital even though he is at the very top end of rugby league.
England star Ratchford said: “I could’ve stayed in Super League back then but I stayed a did a year in the Championship.
“That taught me about dealing with expectation as we were expected to win pretty much every week as we were playing several part-time teams.
“So I had to deal with that pressure and we were going to stadia like the DW, Headingley before we were relegated – then we were going to part-time grounds where the changing rooms were 10ftx10ft and that sort of thing.
“I learned a lot of lessons in the Championship and they definitely still apply today as you can always call on past experiences.
“At Warrington, it’s very much the same situation that Salford were in in 2008.”
Warrington boss Steve Price is seething after his side was shocked 36-12 by Salford, who are looking for another big name scalp by knocking over Wigan today.
And Red Devils boss Ian Watson believes just keeping hold of the ball can be the difference for his side.
He said: “If we have a good share of the ball, our defence is very, very good and teams struggle to break us down.
“But when you’re turning ball over and making errors, you make yourself do that much extra defending that at some point you’re going to break.”
Watson also hailed the impact of unsung heroes like Gil Dudson and Greg Burke, adding: “We can’t have too many of the big glory guys as without the hard workers, you’re not going to get very far.”
