Masterstoke. I think the move has been very beneficial for us, and he has a lot more impact when there than at 7.

But does anyone think that when McIllorum comes on in his place we lose the intensity in attack and defence? Our poor patch mid second half yesterday was when McIllorum came on and we lost momentum. Would it be worth keeping Leuluai on as an 80 minute hooker?

Not sure about that, Mickey Mac is no slouch in defence.

I thought McIlorum did quite well. I don't think we lose anything defensively when he's on the field. In fact I think his very first action in the game was to put in crunching tackle. What was noticeable was that Wigan went up another level when Leuluai was re-introduced after having a break but I think playing Leuluai for 80 minutes would reduce his effectiveness, especially towards the end of the game and there wouldn't be anyone to bring on to increase the speed at the ruck and pose a different sort of threat.

Mickey Mac would make an adequate 2nd rower - squad player and that is all.

I was saying last night that my main issue with Leuluai at hooker is that he's an 80 minute player. As good as McIlorum is, he isn't nearly as good as Tommy and when Leuluai leaves the field, our intensity often does drop.

I disagree with you though that Leuluai has been a lot better for us at hooker than scrum half. I think he is equally as good in both roles but the fact he is off the field for as much as 30 minutes when playing at 9 leads me to think he should be playing at 7. Only a few months ago Tommy won the Harry Sunderland trophy from scrum half too.

For the rest of this season and when (if) all of our forwards are fit at the same time resting McIlorum and playing a four forward bench is certainly an option and maybe our best when playing bigger packs i.e. Wire in the cup.

For next season, the new coach has some big decisions to make re. where best to play Leuluai and Sam? For me we're going to need a hooker with Finch and Leuluai in the halves. For what it's worth, I also think Leuluai and Finch will complement each other better than Deacon and Finch too.

As someone has already posted, when Hock and Fielden come back and most others are fit, i can see Leuluai being an 80 minute hooker for us with 4 forwards on the bench. Eg:

Sam
Charnley Joel Carmont Richards
Finch Deacon
Fielden Tommy Coley
Hansen Hoffman
O'Loughlin

Lima Hock Mossop Prescott

Hardly a masterstroke, I have wanted this since 2008 when he played at hooker in the WC. Good decision though.

The main reason for his good form is not his switch to hooker but the inclusion of both Deacon and Finch, they do all the organising and it gives him and Tomkins a free role in the team.

McIlorum played well last night and iirc we scored most of our point with him on the field. I'm not trying to turn that into a comparison bewtween the 2 as Tommy is top line but Micky Mac seems to take some bad press and I rate him.

I read some Wire fan saying he was terrible last night which was simply untrue. He had a good game again against Saints like he did in the Grand Final when he was superb.

I'm happy with our hooking options for this year and next along as the halves continue to perform.

I was surprised to see the amount of bashing McIlorum gets on here, I mean Tommy is one of my favourite players, but I do rate Micky as well.

Both hookers played really well last nite unlike last week we we seemed to fall asleep/drop off when tommy went off at cas.

the usuall case int it , i like micky mc he always puts a graft in and he played well yesterday

A Wire fan having a 'go' at a Wigan player, no, I cant believe that !!!!!

It's not an intensity that drops, it's the creativity from the PTB. Leuluai is a much more dynamic player than McIlorum - his passing is better, he reads the game better, and he's a superior scooter too.

I don't think you can ask Leuluai to play 80 minutes at #9. Roby does it, but he's a machine. I'd honestly look at giving Logan Tomkins a shot on the bench next season to spell Leuluai.

I don't know what McIlorum's contract situation is like - does it run out this year? If not he's an excellent squad player to have around the team.

What is it with the forums dislike of Mcllorum? He makes it to international hooker and he's still not good enough, ffs. He's a cracking player who does a very good job in the team, there have been games where Wigan have scored more points with him at hooker than without.

A certain game at Old Trafford springs to mind!

He's no world beater but he's as hard as nails and is a very valuable member of the squad. He's a cracking player to have around in big, high intensity games.

Very much so. I don't understand the negative comments either. He's a different style of hooker to Tommy, but both are equally valuable.

and that's exactly what we need, two diffrent styles of hooker keeps the opposition thinking rather than having two of the same style or one on for the full 80

The hooker rotation worked well with no drop when Mc came on, if anything the extra game time seemed to affect Roby who was noticeable by his absence last night and its not often you can say that