As a clumsy ex forward who doesnt know the intricacies of half back play I find it amazing to see the difference in the performance of Monaghan when playing at hooker rather than scrum half.
Of late he has taken the ball at dummy half run straight at the defence and has been able to spot the gaps as evidenced by his setting up VAnderson at Wembley.
I would have thought that as first receiver, a scrum half would have had a bit more time to spot an opening and feed a runner coming in on the angle as players such as Andy Gregory was a master at.
Is it because at dummy half he has the ball in his hands for longer as the players other than markers are 10 yards away or is it something else I am missing.
I am certainly not complaining about Monas play certainly in the later rounds of the Cup as hooker he has been sensational, but what makes this difference?

Possible reasons although i may get shot down.........

As hooker he can scoot forward making decent yards and in the tackle he can choose to pass or hold onto the ball making a decent play whatwever.

As a half back he is not over the advantage line and maybe feels he has to make something happen even if it is not on.

As first reciever players are ready for him whilst as hooker he has a number of options open to him.

As a half back he may have felt that he could not take a tackle (and force a stupid pass) as he would need to be ready to kick on the next play

At Scrum half, his markers are the A and B defenders (As Cull would put it).

At hooker, his markers are the 2 defenders from the play the ball.

His pace allows him to beat people at the play the ball very easily, he then gets more time to run at the A & B markers because they are caught in 2 minds and are wrong footed. If they go for him, he plays the ball out, if not he runs. If he was at first receiver and the ball is played straight to him, the defence is set and moving up to him quickly, anything he does is very easily dealt with. The way past that is to take a few steps back when you receive the ball. That isn't in his natural game though. (Nor Warringtons for that matter.)

Maybe he is a player that works better on instinct at that moment in time whereas at scrum half he has a bit more time to think about it.

maybe hes just a hooker and not a scrum half

the play the ball speed in the modern game means that jumping from dummy half is almost a sure-fire way of catching the A and B defenders cold and creating a gap close to the ruck area, especially if you are targetting players like Feka, who aren't as quick or agile, or even as fit, as other forwards, who are likely to be defending in and around the ruck area.


Sorry to use that phrase, "ruck area" so many times, but that's the cool name for it these days, it seems.

Nail on head there ( apart from it is metres not yards). It also plays to the strengths of Monaghans short passing game as his range is rather lacking, particularly to his right.

As happened against wigan in the semi he seems good at picking out the bigger guys so when there at the marker he works them so the next set there too tired to do anything!

his all round passing seems to have improved at Hooker which i don't understand at all

im sure pc once said that on boots n all