I see this said quite a lot but why? His limitations as a scrum half also apply when he plays 9, i.e. his lack of pace and poor passing. You still need these skills as a hooker in the modern game.

I honestly think it comes down to what cap space he takes. In a capped sport he's an asset if he's not taking up much space. Otherwise I agree.

Maybe so but 7 & 9 are key positions I'd expect to be filled by a sides top players not a squad member type of player. If his role was back up hooker far enough. You could bring him on to tackle himself into the ground if the game warranted it. I think his 100% commitment and effort endears him to fans and coach alike and I don't think the coach has any plans on treating him as a squad player but will give him the number 7 (or 9) as first choice.

Like I said for me it's about salary cap. But I agree, 7 and 9 are key positions, I don't think either him or Tommy are what I'd want in a 9, but Wigan don't employ the same tactics as I would for a 9. At Wigan it's all about fast accurate passing from DH to to forwards for a role on, or to the 6 and 7 on either sides, Powell can manage this and tackle his heart out, if he's not on that much, then I can see why he's at the club.

But I agree, Wane sees more in him than I do, giving him the 7 jersey.

Tactically in our system the hooker doesn’t do any running anyway (rightly or wrongly) so a lack of pace isn’t an issue. I also didn’t notice as many poor passes from the floor or with that bit more time from dummy half as I am doing at scrum half. His work at hooker this year in fact has been good with him working well close to the opposition line and bringing our props on to some quality short balls which have lead to try’s. Don’t get me wrong he’s no Terry Newton at hooker but he’s a pretty good option.

Currently he's the best 9 at the club and we look a better side with their IMO

I see your point, Dave but I reckon the thinking comes from the fact he is solid in defense, passes well from the floor to get the team rolling (as opposed to having to make creative passes as a half) and the fact he can do an 80 minute shift which gives us an extra bench option. Very few teams run with 'creative' hookers. Cameron Smith, for sure, but not too many in Superleague. Most of the best are defensive and organising (Hull) or defensive and dummy half runners (Saints/Warrington). This is where the argument falls down a little for me as he is neither an organiser nor much of a dummy half runner which really leaves him there mainly for his defense, which he does well to be fair. Is that enough on it's own though?

People have said that he's as good/better than Tommy but I can't agree. Tommy has added a running threat that we haven't had for some time. More than that, he engages the line before passing which has made a huge difference to our attack in my opinion. He is also an organiser, although we might not always see it from the stands. I think it telling that Sam T. said it was Tommy's decision to go for the drop goal at Leeds against the advice coming from the bench.

I’ve been very pleased with Tommy so far. He isn’t running the ball just for the sake of it and he isn’t a scooter like a Roby or Clark but when he does take it to the line, there’s a real purpose in what he’s doing. He’s looking for gaps, for opportunities to get others in to space and he’s also clever enough to try and win a penalty against a defence that’s retreated slowly.

It’s a tough one the 9 position going forward past this season. As things stand I’d like to see Leuluai kept on but he’s clearly not got as much in the tank as Powell. If Powell isn’t doing at least 60+ minutes a game at nine then I don’t think his impact is high enough to share the roll but I’d be loathed to lose him and then there’s Ganson, who needs more game time.

I personally don’t think we need all three.,

I think at there is honest confusion with how our team plays.

We seem to have the same structure as most but have subtle differences to other teams. At wigan we have:

-FB who's basically an old fashioned 6. They are a ball player and link as a second receiver off the half to feed the edge players SR, centre and winger. they operate on both side of the pitch and are arguably the most important attacker on the pitch
-a left half and right half. often first receivers they control opposite side of the attack and no longer play as a pair.
-a 13 who links the play, can be a first receiver who helps the passing between half backs
-a 9 who's job is quick distribution to the 6, 7, 13, not really to scoot.
-props who's job is to make quick yards, contact, find your feet and PTB as quick as possible not allowing the opposition to reset their line.


-Playing Sam as HB takes away his freedom and ability to use both flanks in attack.
-Lockers is massive, why? cos he links the play, tackles in the middle and can cart the ball in like a prop, basically, he can do it all.

I even think the positional names are mis-leading.

Easier to understand how we play with some name changes:

FB-Second pivot
wingers-wingers
centres-outside backs
-second row-edge players
half back-right half
stand off-left half
prop/13-middles
hooker-dummy half.

Personally, I know what changes I would like to make to our playing style, but currently when I discuss team selections, I go off the structure and tactics we implement.

It's hard to criticise Powell because he does very little wrong. That said I don't think much is asked of him, he's basically a catch and pass man, no real kicking game and no real attacking threat running with the ball. He does do what Wane asks of him, so any criticism needs to be aimed at the coach, it's his choice to go with Powell, knowing his strengths and weaknesses.

Moving Sam from 1 would be the biggest error for me. He's a natural footballer, he knows when to link in the line, when to throw the cut out pass and when to engage the edge defenders. He's not got the pace to open up gaps like he once had, but he's light years ahead of Escare in this regard. Plus, he's better at organising the D with communication to the line. You lose this when moving him into the halves, not to factor in how many more tackles he'll have to get through, teams would target him in the line to tire him, hurt him etc.

Sam Powell is a great defensive 7. With Powell you don't have to protect him and move him out wide, he has experience of defending closer to the action without issue, this is underrated. However for me a 7 has to threaten the line, they need pace to go through the gap, and have great passing ability, Powell doesn't question the line, he doesn't put fear into the opposition with ball in hand.

Bateman v Leeds was impressive. can handle a range of positions including a ball playing lose. I was impressed with his lateral movement linking the halves, he can do it, he even, dare I say it, reminded me of Andy Faz with is movement, he's more than just a cart horse as a 13.

Yes, but even better IMO is Escare at #7 and Sam at #1. Forget the switcheroo and have TL and Powell as hookers, whoever starts and substitutes doesn’t really matter.

I'd say most follow the structure but operate differently.

For example we opt for our props to find their feet, quick play the ball then dummy half out with quick distribution to the halves. Other teams like a 9 who is given the opportunity to run, scoot from dummy half if they chose or even jump from dummy half into a first receiver position, then start the play from there.

Roby, Clark etc are allowed to scoot when they see fit, Rob Burrow was fantastic at quickly scooting, almost sideways into a first receiver position allowing for the whole attacking line to move on one, subtle differences can be the difference in starting the play.

Other teams like their props to 'hit and spin' looking for the offload, others allow their props to push for yardage after contact, there's pros and cons to the subtle differences in how you employ tactics.

Others chose to use the 13 as a straight up 3rd prop, this nulls a ball playing link like Lockers, but does allow for the starting props to remain in the pitch for longer, as the drives, workload is split by 3 not 2 props.

There's so much to it, the structure is merely the foundations.

But playing Sam anywhere other than FB? crazy.