a good FB is a ball player, when used effectively a FB is one of the most important positions in attack, many NRL teams use their FB as a main source of attack, often as a deep lying second receiver or as someone to link up out wide to create an overlap with the winger and centre.
Take a look at K Gidley, KM Hunt, Billy Slater, Minnacello, and Stewart at Manley, they all link up with the halves to create another attacking option.
Manly have greatly missed Stewart (their top try scorer) since recent proceedings.
So how does Sam fit into the FB role? He is a skillful young man, someone who can stop a gap, someone who can side step and someone who has pace to round defenders. Sam running off the halves would give Wigan another attacking option. Currently he's wasted as a 6 next to Tommy as a 7 who can't play 7, did you see how we failed to use Sam as a 6 against Wire? Did you see how slow and awkward the team moved the ball around? It just wasn't happening, and it won't with Tommy at 7.
Sam himself is an old fashioned running 6 a controller who throws the ball around like Smith would, so playing split halves is also a bad option.
At FB he could observe the game from on the pitch, and not be in the thick of it at 6 where every pass need to be creative, the pressure to deliver in attack would ease off if he was linking up from FB.
He has the intelligence to contribute as a great support player and speed to finish a try.
How will he be defensibly? He's never let us down yet, with 2 wingers (Roberts and Richards) who can pull back and catch it will support Sam at FB.
Currently we look dire in attack, no creativity at all in the halves, look at how poor our results are its clear we need to change things around, our defense now looks solid, we just need to attack. Give Flanny or Pryce a go at 6. Let Sam support from 1.
Remember Wigan started Shaun Edwards at FB and Brisbane started Lockyer off at FB and both them two turned out just fine.
