I think after our first season with the new-look hooking options at the club, the jury is still out on who should be starting hooker for us. I have seen in another thread that it is guaranteed to be Api, but there is a lot of support on here for Parcell as well. It is hard, after having such a stable and reliable hooker for nearly a decade, to look at new options and do anything other than compare them to the great Matt Ballin. But he ain't coming back, and the club needs to settle on an option that can take us forward, and gel with our spine.
Api - very tough, throws himself into tackles and often cleans up guys twice his size. Enthusiastic and energetic - runs all over the place all day long, tries his hand at things, takes on the line. However, his organisational skills and vision seem to be lacking, and his passing out of dummy half is poor.
Parcell - very fast, good backing up. Energetic in defence, but I have not seen him do much more than jump on someone that is already falling. Better passing game than Api? Did not see him in space last season, which is a shame. But then we seldom broke the line, so nothing much to back up on I guess. Very fit, but quite slight - doesn't look like he has bulked up at all in the off-season either.
Interested to hear eveyone's thinking on this. We gave up an exceptional defensive player with a very sharp passing game, but one that offered little when moving out of dummy half or around the field. Did we add anything to the team with either hooker last year, and do they have the potential to grow into the role for us?
Api - very tough, throws himself into tackles and often cleans up guys twice his size. Enthusiastic and energetic - runs all over the place all day long, tries his hand at things, takes on the line. However, his organisational skills and vision seem to be lacking, and his passing out of dummy half is poor.
Parcell - very fast, good backing up. Energetic in defence, but I have not seen him do much more than jump on someone that is already falling. Better passing game than Api? Did not see him in space last season, which is a shame. But then we seldom broke the line, so nothing much to back up on I guess. Very fit, but quite slight - doesn't look like he has bulked up at all in the off-season either.
Interested to hear eveyone's thinking on this. We gave up an exceptional defensive player with a very sharp passing game, but one that offered little when moving out of dummy half or around the field. Did we add anything to the team with either hooker last year, and do they have the potential to grow into the role for us?