MORE from Tony Smith on this week’s extended and enhanced two-year deal for Stefan Ratchford.

"He loves it here and has had great success here. He didn't want to go anywhere else and I don't think he even considered it.

"We brought it up with him about extensions. He's wanted and he wants to be here.

“Stef had another year anyway but he’s at the age and stage of his career where he’s playing reliably and consistently well, and is mature enough to handle longer terms.

“We’re delighted that he’s committed and wants to be at the club as long as he can. He fits our mix, he’s capable of playing a number of positions but he’s been very good at full-back this year backed up by a really strong England performance as well.

“He’s been one of our more consistent players so it’s a great reward for Stef.

“The best thing for Stef, and probably for us, is that he’s probably been able to settle in one position more often this year at full-back.

“The fact that he can play somewhere else at some stage might still come into play at some stage.

“He’s a very capable player. We’re all seeing him do a good job at full-back and assume he’s just a full-back. I reckon if we’d seen him play from the start of the year until now at centre then I reckon we’d be saying we’ve found his position as a centre.

"I reckon he's really right for wherever you play him. I think he plays in the halves really well when he's given that opportunity and I think he's a good centre too.”