I disagree, I don't think the difference between Riddell and Leuluai at hooker is anywhere near as great as that. As good as Riddell was he was always slightly hampered by his physique. He almost always made the right decisions at dummy half but he wasn't always the quickest to get into position which meant there was more that he could have offered had he looked after himself a little better. He was also caught out defensively a few times while he was at Wigan because having Riddell defending alongside the prop forwards would often mean a lack of mobility, particularly in the area behind the ruck.

Leuluai might not be a natural hooker but he does bring his own skills into the mix. He's very quick to get into position which further improves the pace of a quick play the ball. He'll often jump in and have a forward already on his shoulder for a quick drive before the markers have managed to get square. He was doing this very often against Huddersfield and at times they found it hard to cope with the pace. His quick passing from dummy half was also effective against Saints where he was putting out some short passes that were very hard to deal with.

Then there's the danger he poses in broken play. If the defence isn't set around the back of the ruck then there are few players better at making the most of the gaps. When he's close to the line he's also good at forcing his way over just like he showed against Huddersfield. When he's down the middle he's often up against big forwards who find it very hard to deal with such a small powerful player so close to the line who pushes and twists he way free of their attempted tackles.

Lastly, his defence tends to be better at hooker than it was out wide in the halves. He was sometimes susceptible to a bit of pace and agility because he was too keen to get his shoulder into the tackle. At hooker he usually has to tackle bigger, slower forwards that allow him to get the shoulder in and put in some big tackles. Joel Clinton will testify to that. He's also very mobile which allows him to keep up with any pacey players that want to get in and cause havoc among the forwards.

I'm not 100% sure which is his best position overall, but I do think that his best position in this Wigan team is 9. By having Deacon and Finch in the halves we have direction and organisation, with (what is turning into) a quality kicking game. We also have the speed, agility and power of Tommy when he's on, and the crunching tackles and tough, powerful game of McIllorum.

Had we played the same number of games as you we would currently be top. lol

9

9 If only to disagree with a cut it out. mods

This has nothing to do with Wire or me supporting wire this is a rugby discussion, what the forums should really be about rather than who has the biggest wang.

I have.

End of thread.

Alright then 9 is his best position.............just to disagree with the lovely wire fan

Either, but in our current squad he is more effective at 9. Brings something McIllorum doesn't and we generally look more dangerous IMO. That said, I think McIllorum has improved since rotating with Tommy.
Deacs and Finch is working well, and I don't think we should upset the combination if we don't have to.

He is very good at acting half back at the play the ball at standing square and not letting the opposition read which way we are going to go. The Mossop try against Saints was a classic example of this.

9 for me.

Hes good at both but we currently seem to be lacking somewhat at 9 so he is needed there at the moment.

Micky Mc isnt good enough to start at 9 IMO.

He's better at 7.

I suppose a good thing for you is the amount of guys you have who are able to switch into the halves naturally

There's no denying that we've played our best rugby this season with Tommy at 9. Having said that, I thought he was the best player on the pitch in the Exiles game at 7. In all honesty, I think he's just an outstanding player who has rarely got the credit he deserves. People always seem to have focussed on what he hasn't done rather than on what he has. The guy has only just turned 26! I think that Tommy is just hitting his peak now.

Hit the nail on the head