I have said many times on here that Shaul should be used now as a nine.No such thing now as a hooker since the rule changes and Shaul would be ideal in this position given his pace off the mark.
Would like to see him used off the bench primarily for Houghton.
You dont have to be a great ball distributor in this position.Its now more of a running game from acting half.
Houghton is hardly the best passer of a ball and needs to be interchanged otherwise we burn him out again.
Johnstone is not the answer at 9.He has no running game.
Shaul in my opinion will be our future nine

He is staying at Catalan unfortunately

I really hope he can be improved in areas where we know he falls a bit short, I'd still be happy to see him at FB post working with a coach able to actually coach the required skills in that area, we shouldn't dismiss the possibility of a return there and move Connor back to centre. It would make our defence tighter and offer other attacking potential that Connor simply doesn't offer.

If that's a non starter then impact dummy half/cover the backline would be a decent use of his talents, I still don't like the fact Houghton gets flogged and how that impacts on him personally and the team as a whole.

Houghton has never been an attacking hooker no matter how many games he plays

That's why he's never ever got close to international cause you need a threat in attack Houghton offers no threat

He's lived on tackle 52

I've often had differing views to you but this is absolutely the right thing for Jamie. I recall watching him at the play the ball at Wakey, when he picked up the ball and went probably 60 metres before grounding in their end. His speed and agility would make him the perfect number 9. He doesn't need to be doing the number of tackles that Mint does and would offer a real offensive threat. Jake's doing too well for him to be moved elsewhere.

... until teams start targeting him, then we'll see how good he is.

I agree. There’s no and hard set rules were each position has to stand in the line during defence or attack.

There’s no set rules that the hooker needs to be at every ptb and make 50 tackles a match. Obviously tackling is important, but as several people have said on here, Danny’s and JJ passing from PTB is inconsistent, so there would be no impact there if Shaul evolved into the Hooker role in the future, even spelling with Danny initially. Jamie’s pace down the middle and scoots would bring an extra dimension to our game and at times could be used joining the line on the attack.

As I said, there’s no set rules saying where every player must stand at every stage of the game. Look at other sports, Pep has just won the title at Man City without a striker in most games. Even 10 years ago, people would have seen that as a mad idea.

If it comes off, I’d rather see Jamie doing it for Hull than at some other club.

Tackling in todays game is normally done by three players.
You dont see Daryl Clark making 50 odd tackles per game.His game is based on running .
The role is changing.Look at HKR two very effective nines who are not known for their defence.
In any case Shaul can tackle but his speed off the mark and elusive running make him ideal in this position

Mcshane, Clark and Roby average about 40 tackles a game. Parcel about 25-30.

Shaul is going to have to work his socks off in the middle.

He was criticised for his decision making at full back. I don't see it getting any better shifting him to 9.

Playing hooker is much more than scooting. I'd love to be proven wrong, but just can't see it.

I'd have him as wing/full back cover. He can still scoot from the wing, he'd help us with our exit sets for sure.

So what are these "missed tackles" we keep seeing in the stats? According to you they should never happen.

So you're judging his ability to make tackles before he even has a chance to prove otherwise? We know Jamie can tackle, that's not in doubt, and if he can meet the attacker sooner because he has greater speed off the line, then he meets the attacker before they get a chance to get up a head of steam, this makes a significant difference as you would (or should) know.

And do teams target Houghton, or does Houghton position himself to make tackles? If we are using Shaul as an impact hooker does he need to be making the same number of tackles per minute/set that Houghton does, isn't his impact/speed meant to take workload off the forwards in attack (and making their forwards work harder defensively) such that they are a bit more rested for defensive duties, this is a symbiotic thing, just as DH ability to give forwards a break by making more tackles.

Whilst Danny is a fantastic tackler, this is 90% of his game, he does the amount of tackles because he rarely gets spelled and that has a detrimental impact on him and the team overall. Just because he can make 50-60 tackles in a game doesn't make that the most effective use of what he could potentially do. The more minutes/work making tackles he makes, the more detrimental effect on his ability, that's not his fault, that's simply fatigue, and from that increases chance of injury and later season fatigue.

No, just common sense.

Someone who has never played hooker in SL is an unknown quantity, if he can cope with being targeted, then he's proved himself.

Sorry it's been a short reply, just trying not to bore people to death.

What was the criticism on decision making, you mean in attack in the final 20? Given he had Radford as a coach for the formative years of his Hull tenure is this really surprising?
Hodgson is a smart coach, one who played at the highest level in a skill position, Radford didn't, maybe, just maybe Shaul will learn something for any role he gets the chance at, if we get a rejuvenated Shaul with some added skills to his game then that's a big plus for the club.
If he doesn't progress or there's simply no role for him, he's a squad player, could he accept that, would he want to move somewhere were he'll get regular game time, that's what I'd be concerned about

I don't see your comment as being common sense though, you're pre judging, you've ignored that he's a good open field tackler and what he has been doing at FB and his main pluses are fairly aligned to being a dummy half, not all but some, hence why people have stated they think it could be a role for him going forward.
I think you and others are writing him off too soon.

His decision making with ball in hand isn't good enough to be a top SL full back. I lost count the amount of times he took space away from the centre/winger and just died with the ball.

Connor on the other hand can pick a pass, and 9 times out of 10 picks the right option.

Shaul is 29 now. I don't think we can expect more than what he already offers.