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.