I also think that despite the wraps in defence this is also an issue. One on one he is eye catching. But it is also no coincide that the inside push drops off when he is on the field.

The slide defence drops pace due to a lack of push from the middle, his best spell for me was when he played as a second row.

Houghton showed how a good young hooker should play. Ran the show for Hull.

Agreed.

I tend to agree with what Jonh says, he talks a great deal of sense and knows his rugby but I'm afraid on MM I'll have to differ. It would be great to have another genuinely world class hooker but in the SC era you have to have the odd hardworking if slightly limited player in the side and we could do a lot worse than MM.

I do not think you need a world class second hooker, an effective one would be a start.

It would be very interesting to see our points for and against with him on the field. I would wager with him on the field we score far less and concede far more.

He reminds me a little of Adrian Vowles, very eye catching at times but in truth fairly limited.

I agree with eveything you're saying on this issue jonh!

Thing is though, he will have the odd good game like he did in the grand final and everyone will forget the 20 average games he has.

If he was an aussie we would have the usual suspects on here screaming to 'bring in the kids' and get rid!

He was solid in defence and thats what type of game it was . A arm wrestle in the end , deacs injured , Sam injured , finch injured before game . It all played it's part . Oh and Hansen was defo missed tonight , thought faz had a shocker

There is more to defence than making the tackle and i think that is where he struggles, his ability to read the game and communicate really lets him down in my opinion.

In a dream world maybe. Let us know when you find a world class hooker that doesn't mind playing 30 minutes a match at most.

edit: Failed at reading. It's late, forgive me.

Just watched the game again, with particular attention to MM. Would you have him in your team?? I definitely would. To say he's a weak link or something is rubbish. He plays the modern day hooker role perfectly. Maybe not as quick on his feet or his thinking as Roby or Tommy but miles better than Higham or Clarke. Try and remember what Tommy was like when he first signed, a good player with potential but prone to mistakes. MM in my opinion is the same, good player with potential to get even better.

Leave the lad alone.

Completely agree.

Spot on.

Fortunately, Madge and Waney agree.

We have different perceptions of a perfect hooker that is all I can say. A perfect hooker sets up positions for plays and guides the team round the field.

I genuinely do not think it is any coincidence 90% of the time he comes on the field we seem to lose all momentum. I don't have the stats to back it up, but I would bet we score considerably less and concede more when he is on the field.

I think it is vital to look at the bigger picture not just him in isolation. Watch the team when he comes on rather than him.

I 100% appreciate his endeavour and application but I think he is very limited in relation to game/ruck skills and smarts.

MM is just going to be one of those players that will be under-rated when compared to someone like Tommy, but would be seen to do a decent job if he was at another club.
Very similar to Jon Clarke who never really matched the expectation levels of the club he grew up in, but has had a decent career since leaving [and was a GB international!].

In the age of SC, its players like these who are the difference when you have the inevitable injury crisis. Until someone better comes along, lets leave him alone and see how he develops. After all, hes still learning.
When hes been overtaken by one of the juniors, thats the time to talk about repacing him. At the moment hes an integral part of the reigning Champions, so why should we replace him/doubt him when there are other positions which are far more pressing.

It's only a few that under-rate him, to be fair. He's handily placed at 9th in our MoM voting, ahead of quite a few players that seem immune from criticism.

I'm going to watch MM more closely over the next few weeks. I think you're probably being a bit harsh on him, and that there is probably something in what others are saying about the other players that tend to be substituted when he is and sliding defence issues, but I have to confess I don't think I have enough info to come up with a definite view, there are a lot of factors that might be at work here.