A few weeks ago I'd have definitely said that a new hooker is a priority. Now I'm not so sure because McIlorum has been outstanding since his return from injury and with an offseason to improve I think he'll be even better and raring to go. Obviously if we can fit a world class hooker under the cap then we should go for it but I don't think its crucial by any means.

i cant agree with that i think it will be cruical i agree that McIlorum has been playing well in the play offs but i still think he needs a year or two to continue his development i dont think he is ready to be our number 1 hooker and i dont think Tommy is good enough to lead us round the field when he plays hooker for me we do need a very good hooker

I think we'll be fine with TL and MM, the problem is there's no obvious backup in case of injury to either of them - Logan needs another year or two IMO.

Did we not all think the same about Sam when he was coming through , after all early reports said that Logan was the best of the 3 brothers , would be nice to see him getting a break maybe a challenge cup tie like his bro

his kicking game was top notch in grand final best i ve saw him kick infact

Not really - most of us (except Nobby) thought Sam was ready in 2008, even before his superb performance in the CC game, and even then he was older than Logan is now.

Are you basing this on how you've seen him play? There is so much pressure on him because of the name on his back. When he is ready MM and SW will bring him through. I just hope he can handle the pressure because alot of the happy clappy fans will expect so much of him because of his last name alone.

I think we should go with what we have hooker wise and see how it turns out.

I couldn't agree more. There is sometimes an advantage to kicking dead deliberatley. It means the opposition forwards need to trudge back behind the 20 everytime. If the ball is retreived from the field of play then there is a risk of a break due to a poor chase or broken defence.

Not saying it should be used all the time, just that it sometimes is a deliberate ploy.

Come on lets be serious, over his time as a 7 Tommy's kicking game has been terrible. His HS was nothing to do with a good or bad kicking game, it was his dynamic play, which is what he offers our team.

Let's face it he can't kick or organise so he's not a 7, too slow and small to play anywhere else in the team bar at 9.
NZ spotted this a while back. And as it stands he's not exactly first choice there with the likes of Luke and Marshall knocking about!