Quote ="Staffs FC"I am listening and understand the point you are making however the Cameron Smith example isn't the same situation. Cameron Smith may be a bit better than Berrigan, but the difference in ability/quality between those two is way way less than the difference between Radford/Tickle/Manu and Crocker. So I think we are covered at Hooker and signing Smith would be ludicrous as you say, but our second row quality would have been massively improved by Crocker. I don't agree that we were well blessed with top quality second rowers when we signed Crocker. Infact we have been pretty regularly owned by opposition packs in the last couple of years and our second row has been part and parcel of that.'"
It depends how you look at it. I'd agree Crocker is much better at what he does than any of our current 2nd rowers, but where I seem to disagree is this being a problem area for us. I don't think we are blessed with top quality back rowers, but what we are missing there, as in the front row, and the reason our pack is regularly owned, is real metre makers or offloaders. Something which I think Crocker, despite all the attributes he does have, is neither.
Crocker's game is largely about work ethic and his defensive abilities, but I don't think our defence is too bad, personally. Certainly not to the point where I think it deserves strengthening over our attacking options. The only way I could possibly see him having an influence on this is by us having an additional quick PTB in the set. Sticking plaster on a broken leg IMO.
No pig-headedness intended. I remember some slightly different reaction but maybe I'm getting mixed up with all the other shiite regularly trotted out on here. I wish Crocker had come over this year and massively improved our pack, and hope next year we add a world class half and a centre if they are available.
