Thanks. What for?

So what I mean is, while Clarke maybe a slightly better hooker than Moore or McIlorum, both have shown great potential for the future and will almost certainly be better number 9's than Clarke has ever been. Therefore they would be ideal signings for us. Diskin is just genuinely a better player.

Clarke is a steady eddy IMO, he does evrything pretty well, i just think he lacks that X factor needed to be a top hooker.

His distribution from dummy half is accurate but a bit slow for me. and his dummy half running is a bit Embarassing.

Me too.

Having seen both players at Wigan & less fequently at Warrington, I'd say your correct.

However, an impact hooker is unofficially it's own position & Higham is one of the best in Super League.

I'm not defending him without reason. People are blinded by a couple of scoots here and there. When in regards to the whole game Clarke has more of an impact on it. He is a great communicator and passer of the ball. The reason why Carvell and Morley play so well is on the back of his distribution.

He gets an unfair amount of citicism on here and always has. He is a much better all round player than Higham as well. Slots in at loose and at half back when needed.

If I was given the choice to pick one or the other now I know who I would pick.

Diskin is not a better player. At all.

Agree Diskin is a decent first team hooker. Why Leeds signed Danny Budures I don't know???

Smith should try and get him at Wire if he can offload Clarke.

Newton is by far the most talented player on that list and by some margin. If he could have curbed his discipline problems he definately had the potential to be in the same bracket as Cunningham.

Clarke is on a similar level to Diskin IMO whilst both are streets ahead of Mcclorum and Moore

Fair enough, valid views. Why do you think he is the target for the criticism?

Because he isn't good enough that's why.

Because he is not Keiron Cunningham Or James Roby.

I agree Newton is the best of the bunch, but never in the same league as Cunningham. I was talking about ideally who we would have as hooker now. I would rather have Scott Moore or McIlorum than Clarke tied up until 2011, as TS could mould them into top quality hookers able to serve us for years to come.

Just continuing the debate, I think to dismiss Higham's contribution as "a couple of scoots here and there" do him a disservice. The statistics are impressive and I know we look more menacing in attack with Higham on the field. I would be interested to hear your views on which attributes you believe Higham to be stronger than Clarke.

Higham without doubt has an extra yard of pace on Clarke. Therefore when he spots a hole in the line he more often than not gets through it. He also is a better marker defender than Clarke. That seems to be an area we have improved this year and I put a lot of that down to him. Other than that I am struggling.

Also can I just add. I like Higham in his current role and I am glad he is at the club. I just don't think he is a better player than Clarke and I would rather have Clarke if I had to choose.

Clarkes hospital passes are by far the best in SL.

He is also an animal in defence generally. He is 7th in the SL tackle count charts as well as 4th in marker tackles.

I know stats are useless though according to some. I don'y know why all coaches seem to have someone recording and reporting on them

He should be sponsored by BUPA. Probably earns enough commission from them.

McIlrom from wigan is half decent imo and looks to be getting better and better.

Out of him, clarke and Higham i think id go for McIlrom.

The potential is there with McIlrom whilst the other two will never improve.

If Clarke was a giddy bleeder and ran from dummy half every play he'd go down quite well i'd imagine......

i'd be interested to hear the views of the Clarke haters on Say Danny Farrar... he never ran from Dummy half was a decent passer from marker and a great defender...... but was hardly spectacular

interesting that he was carried out of wilderspool shoulder high.......

We did a lot of that then (and now) in that I mean celebrating the distictly average.

some coaches wear sunglasses on their heads and not over their eyes, they dont get everything right....

also didnt someone on Sky probably Phil Clarke, say Higham is the most penalised player in the tackle...??

i'd use that stat just to you off.....

i'm with lefty on this one, i believe a lot of the hype with higham is down to a certain mike stephenson.
don't get me wrong, i am glad we have him in the team and i think he is a great impact hooker but it was glaringly obvious at the weekend that we played better and more controlled as a team when clarke was at dummy half.

Higham penalty to tackle ratio is 11/435 (2.5%), whereas Clarke is 2/220 (1%). So you are probably correct.

Not read through every post on this but when it came out that Brian Noble was not going to offer Mickey Higham another contract there were Wigan fans outside the J.J.B. with petitions to keep him.