Stuart Reardon and Matt Diskin have won the British equivalents, are they class too ? One man of the match perfomance doesn't mean your class.

Just to clear this up. We cant just release Berrigan. His final year was optional but it was based on him making 50 appearances which he has done. Therefore the "option" is not there anymore.

He's been on record as saying that those conditions have already been met.

The point is he consistently played that well, hence why he was only kept out of the starting Australian XIII by Cameron Smith. Is Wayne Bennett wrong?

Is Bennett wrong about what ?

He most certainly did...I idolised him in those days...however sadly he has failed to deliver those kind of performances here, or indeed any where near.

And we talk about Dobbins living in the past, but some are happy to let players stay on past performances??

That was on the form of three years ago though not now. Cam Smith is leagues ahead of Berrigan. Berro has been good for us but we are paying him is not a good players moeny, it's much more. That's not his fault but if he decides to take one of these NRL offers that have been muted then I reckon we could get another hooker for much less money and have money to spare for other players.

Cheers. So the questions become: do we keep him at starting hooker and relegate Houghton to the bench, do we stay as we are and have him off the bench rotating with Houghton, or play him somewhere else, or not pick him at all?

Houghton may be better on current form but Berrigan is without a doubt our best hooker and will hopefully return to form and to think berrigans not given houghton tips is just silly.

Does he currently warrant the wage he receives and could it be used better is a fine discussion but some of the posts in this thread are just sickening tbh.

He should start games and Houghton should be off the bench, that's what their respective games demands.

Thing is, we've already upgraded contracts for Tickle, Houghton and Whiting, plus I can't imagine Fitz will take a cut for another year. If Fielden is coming as well, he'll be on more than Cusack. Personally I'd look at Houghton/Washy at hooker and spend the rest in the backs.

"Berrigan is rubbish" is not a statement I'd agree with however I would question whether he'd been good value. I personally don't think he has - in the last 2 seasons fair enough as we've had no 6 or 7 and he's had to carry the side playing wherever the coach asks him. This season, despite us having one of the best packs in the league he's been disappointing hopefully he'll show his real class when it matters this season but he doesn't do enough for me for a former SOO and international player.

All depends on the details of this 4th year option. Surely the club have a say in if they want to take it as well?

The 4th year option has been agreed by both club and player and conditions have been met.

For the remainder of this season I would have Berrigan rotating with Houghton. Berro has played well at Hooker for us in the past and will continue to do so IMO. IF we decide to bring in another British hooker in anticipation of losing Berrigan after next season I would consider pushing Berro to centre for a season to strengthen the backline.

People seem to be judging him on these last few games, in which he's just returned from a pretty serious injury and also had personal things going on at that time too. Before his injury, he was in superb form but that seems to have been forgotten now. The last few seasons he's been shifted around but done a good job for the side, playing through injury a lot of the time. When he was at Brisbane, he had the likes of Petero Civoniceva and Shane Webcke to name a couple playing in front of him, not to mention being able to link up with Darren Lockyer. During his time at Hull, he's had the likes of Jamie Thackray laying a platform for him whilst linking up with Chris Thorman. There's a hell of a big difference between the two sides; he isn't Superman. Now compare that to this season, when he's got the likes of O'Meley, Fitzgibbon and Moa carrying the team forward and can link up with Long. Like I've already mentioned, he was playing very well before his injury and that was helped by the players he had around him as it allowed him to play his natural game a lot easier. When he's back to full fitness, judge him then rather than on the back of two games where he's played a bit-part role.

I agree with the sentiment and that it may appear that people are judging him on the last 2 games. However it's not as if this is the first time people have challenged the value for money we get out of him. Personally I think we'd have done even worse in the last 2 seasons without Berrigan - although out of position he put his hand up week in week out to play at hooker, centre, LF, SH, wherever and did a job for us. But the question was, IF we could spend the (big) money elsewhere, would we? Now that question seems to have been just hypothetical - he's here for next season.

So the question is now where to play him in the context of what's best for the club and the development of players who will be here in the longer term.

Also, does anyone know whether he can come off the quota under the Feb 2008 exemption thing?

I hope not.

Are you on drugs? When has Berrigan ever been superb whilst Hull FC?

Carried the team during the past 2 years when on the park, that alone deems him worth the chance to at least play around "some" decent players.

Get rid of Berrigan my arris, get rid of Fitz and co then?

Fairly simple for me next season. Use Berro in the centres, move Yeamo to the 2nd row. Bring in a winger and a prop. Job done!!

He's young and progressing. Don't think it has much to do with Berro IMO.

In general I think Berrigan has been disappointing, as the teams highest paid and arguably highest profile player you'd expect him to lift games and get the team buzzing. Swain and dare I say it Cooke were that kind of player for us the last few years, players who could lift a poor team performance or change a game with a piece of individual skill.

Berrigan seems to play well when the team does, but when the team struggles he drops to their level.

I'm not going to blame him for today, as Agar put him on at ridiculous times of the game (wasn't it 6mins to half time in the first half?) and therefore he wasn't able to get into the game.

but overall the 2.5years we've seen has been very forgettable, I can't imagine reminiscing about his time at the club like I do/will about Swain, Kearney, Jason Smith etc

Not unless he can magic up a UK/EU passport from somewhere