Just great news.

Yet not one of them has been chosen to play in the World Cup, it just confirms the standard of Super League.

I think this is a fabulous bit of business.

It seems every SL team was after his signature and we've been after him for years.
I thought that when we got King, that it effectively meant Wardle was going elsewhere and we'd had to move to the changing conditions.

To get them both, I'm made up and cant wait for next year....

Just a shame about the Hooker

What's wrong with Brad O'Neill?

Well he seems to be a decent distributor of the ball, but he's not the running dummy-half that many seemed to want,

Probably needs to shed a few pounds too if he is to become just that.

Is that because of his style or because of coaching staff instructions?

He did make more runs from dummy half than Powell but it wasn’t a massive difference. His buggiest ability was his link with forwards being able to it the line at speed, at good angles and on the gain line.

A quick look on super league website tells you he had the 7th highest average gain from 23 dummy runs.

Unsure on his minutes but the top two are Parcell and Levi in the 170s and 160s, Powell is 18th highest with 38.

Out of interest where was Roby? (Best hooker in the league for the champions) perhaps there are more ways to play 9 and scooting from dummy half isnt as important as made out on here to criticise Powell????

In his first year under Lam, Powell scooted more and with effect so I would say there is definitely a coaching/tactical element to it.

I think a scooting hooker has the ability to change the game up particularly when introduced off the bench, however lads like Dwyer generally give no direction to the team.

I’m not a fan of a “scooting” 9 and I personally believe the best 9s have the control around the ruck and give the team direction, but also have the ability to scoot at the right time and are able to identify that.

Roby is a great example of that. When he started out it was predominately as a scooting foil for Cunningham. His game has adapted to the master 9 he has become.

I don't think coaching, or tactics should come into it that much.
Or if it does, then the coach is a fool and it's worrying.

Take Cameron Smith as a perfect example, I doubt he ever topped a chart for any key hooker stats in his career. However, he more often than not, took the right option at the right time - whether that be running, passing or kicking. No coach should be telling an all rounder to not do something i.e.do not scoot etc.

The best players repeatedly do it all. If they see a marker offside, they run at them. If they see an opportunity for quick ball then they spread it and if they see an opportunity to kick, they execute it. That's what separates them from the rest. Why would a coach want anything different?

O'Neill for me "arrived" properly Vs Saints at home. He ran, distributed and controlled the game well. All he needs is more time on the pitch to recognise different scenarios and how to react.

Roby 9th and Lussick 10th. Both with double Powell.

You're right. A good hooker (and a 7 and 6 tbf) should play what is in front of them.

An element of coaching will always come into it though because they will have a specific way that they want the team to play at certain parts of the game and in certain circumstances.

Oh yeah definitely, but I don't think we can use the above as an excuse to mask over some poor stats from Powell (not that you are btw) I'll admit that I like the guy, but he is somewhat one dimensional. He might be told to do certain things in certain situations, but over the course of a full season (which is what these figures are from) he's got to be showing more of a running game imo.

The second you become a one dimensional player, then teams shut you down. In Powell's case, his lack of either a running game or the inclination of when to run means there's more pressure on Smith and Cust. Opposition defenders know he's going to pass it and if on the very, very rare occasion he runs - then it ain't much of a threat to worry about it.

What about Harry Grant? He's about the best in the business these days. Did you see him against Fiji? Is he a 'scooting' dummy-half?

It's almost like 'scooting' has a derogatory sense to it, But I don't think looking to run whenever the opportunity is there is a bad thing.