Jake Simpkin signed until 2026

[manlyfan76]

Ignore the rose tinted glasses, from the collective imprisonment of having Croker as our only hooker for the past four years... What does Simpkin bring to the table?

He runs occasionally, and often these runs are pretty good.

Is he deceptive? No.

Does he dominate tackles? No.

Does he offer better service than Croker? Yes.

Is that a high bar? **** no.

I believe that we've swapped an inadequate hooker for another. I'm particularly annoyed about how he doesn't dominate the contact... That's one important asset that Croker had over him.

If we want long term improvement, we really need Zaidas Muagututia to fire in the short term. Unfortunately, it looks like Simpkin and Turpin will be our only "NRL-ready" options for early next year.

I wouldn't have thought that he was our hooking be all and end all, but with croks and GCKT we needed someone.
If he's sharing the duty next year with a up and comer who is getting experience then cool.

If Simp bulks up and has more impact in collisions next year then he might be a better option.

 

[mave]

It's the next ruck after he makes a tackle that is the main problem for me.

Ends up being two non-dominant in a row, and all of a sudden, momentum is ceded.

 

[The Who]

I reckon he's good; not in the top echelon but an important part of our team. He provides good service, he does plenty of tackling, doesn't give away penalties, and tries hard. Sure, he could run more, but he'll do me.

 

[LeonardCohen]

The Emre Guler try on Saturday is an example of the issue I have with his defence. Jack De Belin was able to win the wrestle with Simpkin, offload and the try was scored. He will often lose the wrestle in the middle, allowing the opposition to get on the front foot.

With the ball, he’s a step up from Coker but he’s a low tier 9 when it comes to tightening up the middle.

 

[manlyfan76]

The Emre Guler try on Saturday is an example of the issue I have with his defence. Jack De Belin was able to win the wrestle with Simpkin, offload and the try was scored. He will often lose the wrestle in the middle, allowing the opposition to get on the front foot.

With the ball, he’s a step up from Coker but he’s a low tier 9 when it comes to tightening up the middle.

Agree, if we were dominating a team and had all the ball he'd look amazing. Its when we are the ones being dominated that he's shown up.
Still he's not a total negative. But we have t landed a decent hooker in living memory