I agree if there is an area Houghton could improve it would be his pass which needs more consistency, if he did this I believe he has the potential to be a top draw hooker.

Again your looking at the stats without actually reading into them.

Would expect more from someone with your coaching experince

I clearly am, if you believe is passing game is fine and he's the best defender in SL. Like I say t's all about opinions and regardless of the stats you've quoted between him & McCllorum, I would have McCllorum in a heart beat over Houghton.

McCllorum is way ahead of Houghton imo. He dominates the tackle much more and engages defences much better in attack. Houghton is behind him and Roby right now.

He's miles away from them.

Not knocking Houghton (I really rate him), but he is normally the 2nd or 3rd guy in a tackle - so the stats may be misleading

On Sunday he was the first man in on most occasions, also the stats are based on first man in not the second man.

Are they? I've never seen any detail published on how the stats are collected so I'd be genuinely interested if you could point me in the direction of where you got that info.

You should watch Phil Clark more



The same question was raised and officially the tackle is based on the first defender in, hardly brain science though is it when you watch the game closely, Lynch is involved in a lot of tackles but he is normally the 2nd man in due to the pace of the game, this is reflected in his stats as it is a lot of forwards.

Whether the stats say he's "the best defender in the league" or not (which they don't), there are loads of hookers in the league that I'd take over Houghton.

Loads?
Roby, Henderson, Monaghan, McIllorum and of course Aiton are the only ones I would take over Houghton possibly Moore too. But considering Henderson and Monas are getting on there would be question marks about them also. Robinson, Lunt, and Faiumu are good hookers too.

Nobody needs to do that. What he knows about stats could be written on a postage stamp with a crayon.


Brain science? You've been listening to Barry Mac too much. Next thing you'll be talking about rocket surgery.



That's certainly the [ilogical[/i way to collect the data but I've never seen or heard it officially confirmed before.

I wouldn't swap Houghton for any hookers. He is young English and has improved his game massively in the last couple of years. McIllorum is looking good this year, but over the past few years Houghton has been the better hooker, plus he plays for the by the best team in the league, how good would Houghton look in there team (same argument for Briscoe over Charnley). Roby is excellent, but I would guess that he is a lot better paid than Houghton.

We might start to release how good Houghton is, now that he might miss a few games.

Houghton is a fantastic hooker and his game is developing all the time. My only point was that I think he is behind McIllorum currently and Roby is better than both.

No arguments from me there as it currently stands, but for other reasons I wouldn't swap Houghton for these two.

Neither would I, and I guess neither would 95% of FC fans.

I think it will take more than that to convince a few on here tbh, recently Gentle wrote a piece in Rugby Express (think it was that one), suggesting that Houghton should start to be considered for the full England camp etc and how good and underated Houghton was and how he was working hard on the areas of the game he needed to develop etc...Even this appears not to convince some on here, I am convinced they either watch a different game or simply do not understand what the hookers role is.

You shouldn't speak for other fans,this is YOUR opinion,if people wouldn't swap for any other hooker in the league,that is their opinion,I personally think he is average and detrimental to the team,it is one of the most pivotal position's in the modern game and to get to next level,we need a lot better player.Time will tell who is right or wrong.

How am I speaking for other fans ?...If you read my post it is also my opinion . You are indeed entitled to your opinion however personally I believe most fans and myself would take the opinion of Gentle who has worked with the Australian International team as we know over yours, there is no doubt in my mind he knows his stuff.

out for 6-10 weeks i believe

Not good news at all, will really miss him if its true. Could do with Heremaia more then ever right now.

Oh dear that is not good at all.

Nightmare. On the plus side he'll get a hugely deserved rest. Who to spell with non match fit Heremaia? Guessing Jamie Ellis with either Horne or Whiting at 6.

Rugby League coach in bigging up his own player shocker.

Houghton is a decent SL hooker. That is all. He isn't even close to the standard of a player like James Roby. To suggest he is the best defender in SL based on the stats convinces me you don't understand the role of stats.

If you read on you will see amended that to one of the best defenders in SL which without a doubt he is, I agree he is no Roby however few are, we will agree to disagree that he is average because imo he is a very good hooker.