MATTY Ashton has had quite the year.

From bursting onto the scene in the early rounds of Super League to everything shuddering to a halt – and not just because of Covid-19.

While he was electrifying Warrington Wolves fans with his pace and fearlessness, disaster struck in the shape of a torn hamstring that looked set to cost him large swathes of what was shaping up to be an extraordinary breakout year.

Enter the pandemic and given his injury, he was one of the shutdown's rare winners as he built himself back up to be available when fixtures restarted in August.

Whether it was full-back or wing, he excited people whenever the ball was in his hands – but where does he see himself?

"I’d probably say full-back out of the two," he said.

"I’m more than happy to play on the wing, though – I’ll play anywhere as long as I’m pulling that shirt on.

"I’ve still got a lot to improve upon in both positions that I’ll be working on in pre-season.

"There’s plenty of technical attributes that I need to get better at as it’s not all about speed."

The way his injury came about was perhaps symptomatic of Ashton's bravery with the ball.

Having scythed through the Toronto Wolfpack defence on the last tackle, he attempted to kick ahead, no doubt with the intention of chasing it down in an attempt to double his try tally for the match.

And that is when it happened.

%image('11060233', type='article-full', caption='Ashton scores against Toronto - the game in which he injured his hamstring. Picture by Mike Boden', alt='Ashton scores against Toronto - the game in which he injured his hamstring. Picture by Mike Boden')

"I was hopeful after the game as I thought it was only going to be a small injury – four to five weeks," he said.

"As soon as the scan came back saying it was long-term, I was devastated.

"I’d done all the hard work to get to where I was and it felt like it had all come crashing down on me.

"With the Covid situation, though, I didn’t end up missing as much as I thought I was going to. Luck was on my side, I guess."

Luck was indeed shining on him but while he could take some solace that everyone else was sidelined alongside him, there still the considerable challenge of rehabbing from a serious injury without the facilities on offer at The Wire's Padgate training base.

"It was definitely a struggle doing the rehab mostly from my living room," he said.

"I only really had a bike and a few weights at home so it was a struggle every day but I had to get through it.

"The physios at Warrington are world-class. They were ringing me every day to check in on me to make sure I was doing what I should have been.

"Without them, I don’t think I would have got through it."

%image('11689236', type='article-full', caption='Ashton made his return from injury in The Wire's first game post-lockdown against Hull KR in August. Picture by Mike Boden', alt='Ashton made his return from injury in The Wire's first game post-lockdown against Hull KR in August. Picture by Mike Boden')

Whether at full-back or on the wing, Ashton has a fight on his hands for a spot in the side.

Stefan Ratchford, Josh Charnley, Tom Lineham, Jake Mamo and Josh Thewlis are in the scrap for those spots and while Ashton finished the 2020 season in possession of a place in the team, he knows he can take nothing for granted.

"You’ve got to keep working hard and fighting for your place," he said.

"If you have a bad game, there’s somebody there waiting to come in so the pressure is always on.

"I don’t think that shirt’s mine yet – I’ve got a long way to go – but I’ll be working hard to make sure I can take it.

"You’ve got to go into every training session trying to better yourself.

"Some days are tough on your body but you have to go in with the same attitude."