Are we better off with 2 hookers????

[TheBigFella]

I look back & found that i much preferred it when we had Bonetti & Crocker doing the job.. 1 hooker & 1 backrower that could do the job if the hooker needed a rest.

Did Maubs learn anything from Jaubs about playing hooker??

[Jacks Fur Coat]

No - Maubs would be a serious waste there.

My preference is for Jake to play the 80...and banish the Ant.

[Guest]

Great question Big Fella and perhaps something Brian Smith has not gotten right over the past two years. Although Jake could play 80 minutes I prefer bringing on a guy like Anthony Mitchell, or perhaps Mortimer or Dumbrell. The position is such these days that just that little bit of zip or change in tactics that a replacement dummy half offers that is too valuable not to nail if you are going to be a top team.

Brian Smith failed with Koups in 2010. Riddell was a disaster. Anthony Mitchell looked solid with room for improvement. Apart from the options mentioned we have this young Blackman fellow as well who could prove an option also.

Also I must say I hate when Smith brings on a second dummy half and then lets Jake play at lock. The bloke has a massive heart and a massive motor but fark me. Why use him only as a tackling machine when he has so much more to offer in attack when he is fresher?

It is my view that this question raised by the Big Fella is a critical piece of the puzzle for us if we are going to perform significantly better than that which was the rabble of 2011.

[Guest]

How would A Mitchell= Morts go if Jake was injured.

They wouldn't do as many tackles but they would certainly add some spark thrust & vision to our attack.

[Guest]

Answering this question seriously, I remember a time when the only rake we had at the club was Simon Bonetti. If he went down, we were weak as water in the middle of the ruck. Like with the Tigpies, if Farah goes down they have Heighnington and a couple of under 20s to replace him.

Morts is a half, not a hooker, whatever idiot is trying to make him one needs a whack across the head.

Anthony Mitchell is a fair replacement as I don't think Dumbrell is ready for prime time.

[TheBigFella]

So if not a backrower there, what about someone like Pez?? Quick darts out of dummy half... Not for long spells, just enough to give Friend a rest for 10 mins or so..

The reason I though of Maubs was just the need for someone/anyone from the back row to give Friend a break for 10-15 minutes a game. Instead of wasting a bench spot.

[melon....]

2 hookers are always better.....in artarmon.

[Guest]

2 hookers are always better.....in artarmon.

Melatonin, yours is the voice of reason in a mechanised ethos.

[The Brain]

smith needs to give up this two hooker thing he hasnt won a comp with it has he.
Its a waste of good bench spot.

[ism22]

The position of "hooker" really needs a re-name. I was talking to a friend who was a well known Souffs hooker back in the day... when hooking was a big part of his job. Thems were the days.

[Guest]

Morts is a half, not a hooker, whatever idiot is trying to make him one needs a whack across the head.

I disagree. I think he has all the attributes to be a very good dummy half. Ism is correct in that there is no "hooking" done in scrums so it's not a pre-requisite for the job. If you look at the best in the league Cameron Smith, he has a good passing, kicking and running game, everything Morts has. I think he'll be a revelation in the role although I'd much prefer to see him at 5/8.

Chook.

[novice chook]

I reckon the best option is to have a guy like Daniel Mortimer on the bench as a utility who can play FB, halves and hooker. Although I have a lot of time for Ant Mitchell he doesn't have the versatility Daniel could bring. Jake doesn't need much if any time off the field so I reckon carrying 2 dummy halves in your 17 is a waste of a bench spot. Smith is obviously grooming Daniel as a true utility and I reckon that's what is really needed on your bench, so an injury in the backs doesn't amount to a total reshuffle of positions.

NC

[Muffdaddy]

Could Morts be our new Craig Wing?

Wing was not considered big enough or tough enough for hooker or the utility role with which he played for NSW and Australia, but he was one of the best going around through that 2003 - 2008 period.

Maybe thats what Smithy is trying to get out of Morts.
If he puts on some kilos and bulks up a bit, he could fill the Wing utility spot, which could hark back to the late Freddy era, which is now the late Anasta era.

Quite coincidental really.

I hope we win more GFs than we lose in this decade though....

[chook 56]

I reckon the best option is to have a guy like Daniel Mortimer on the bench as a utility who can play FB, halves and hooker.

NC

That's why he is here.

[Guest]

Chook, do you think there's anything to be read from Braith not playing last week?