Re: Jack Walker : Tue Jun 07, 2022 8:00 pm  

Simmo71 wrote:

Hull fans wouldn't swap Connor for Hardaker.
And defensively not in Radlinski's league.

You can make a strong case for Zack being in the top 4 all round full backs in the league. Neither Myler or Jack are close to that. As a minimum we need the same to be true of stand off, scrum half, and hooker before we can be confident of rattling the big boys on a regular basis. Not sure how far off that we are at the moment. Second half of the season should reveal the answer.

Re: Jack Walker : Tue Jun 07, 2022 8:06 pm  

ArthurClues wrote:

You can make a strong case for Zack being in the top 4 all round full backs in the league. Neither Myler or Jack are close to that. As a minimum we need the same to be true of stand off, scrum half, and hooker before we can be confident of rattling the big boys on a regular basis. Not sure how far off that we are at the moment. Second half of the season should reveal the answer.

Was he in the top 4 full backs at Wigan?

Re: Jack Walker : Tue Jun 07, 2022 8:40 pm  

Simmo71 wrote:

Was he in the top 4 full backs at Wigan?

All round? Still arguably the best. Obviously both Field and French beat him in terms of pure box office. However, on a rainy night in late September I know who would be my choice. All this supposes that Zack would not be unavailable for selection due to a off-Field indiscretion.

Re: Jack Walker : Tue Jun 07, 2022 8:46 pm  

I think we might be getting over-excited at the return of Hardaker.
Granted, he had a good game against Wite, and I'm sure he'll have more - he's playing for a contract ATEOTD.
And yes, he's the best FB we currently have.
But there's a reason Wigan let him go.
He was third choice FB and couldn't get in the centre ahead of Thornley and Bibby ffs!!!
I'm sure he'll do well for us, but his days playing in a team at the top table are behind him.

Re: Jack Walker : Tue Jun 07, 2022 9:07 pm  

Simmo71 wrote:

I think we might be getting over-excited at the return of Hardaker.
Granted, he had a good game against Wite, and I'm sure he'll have more - he's playing for a contract ATEOTD.
And yes, he's the best FB we currently have.
But there's a reason Wigan let him go.
He was third choice FB and couldn't get in the centre ahead of Thornley and Bibby ffs!!!
I'm sure he'll do well for us, but his days playing in a team at the top table are behind him.

Not quite true. Wigan let him go because he made it abundantly clear he didn't want to be at Wigan anymore. Pretty much did the same at Leeds as I recall. Don't get me wrong, I didn't want him to come back, but I've seen enough of him over the years not to under rate what he can do on the pitch.

Re: Jack Walker : Tue Jun 07, 2022 11:47 pm  

Hardaker may not be the best in the world but he's easily the best all-round full back at the club. I was watching the Warrington game and he has a presence in defence which our other options just don't have, and he's big enough to be able to return kicks in traffic far more easily than Walker or Myler. Sometimes bigger just is better.

Re: Jack Walker : Wed Jun 08, 2022 6:08 am  

Once were Loiners wrote:

Hardaker may not be the best in the world but he's easily the best all-round full back at the club. I was watching the Warrington game and he has a presence in defence which our other options just don't have, and he's big enough to be able to return kicks in traffic far more easily than Walker or Myler. Sometimes bigger just is better.

Agree on kick returns.
We all wince every time Walker and Myler run into traffic and then breathe a sigh of relief when they get back on their feet...

Re: Jack Walker : Wed Jun 08, 2022 8:36 am  

Once were Loiners wrote:

Hardaker may not be the best in the world but he's easily the best all-round full back at the club. I was watching the Warrington game and he has a presence in defence which our other options just don't have, and he's big enough to be able to return kicks in traffic far more easily than Walker or Myler. Sometimes bigger just is better.

Not just about being bigger, he has that type of body that just glides and avoids massive hits. He also has a great rugby brain, and his positioning in Attack and D is spot on most of the time. I actually think Wigan completely wasted him at centre for too long…..

Re: Jack Walker : Wed Jun 08, 2022 4:41 pm  

Shabino wrote:

Not just about being bigger, he has that type of body that just glides and avoids massive hits. He also has a great rugby brain, and his positioning in Attack and D is spot on most of the time. I actually think Wigan completely wasted him at centre for too long…..

He's definitely more dangerous and effective at FB than Centre

Re: Jack Walker : Mon Jun 13, 2022 12:20 pm  

Shabino wrote:

Not just about being bigger, he has that type of body that just glides and avoids massive hits. He also has a great rugby brain, and his positioning in Attack and D is spot on most of the time. I actually think Wigan completely wasted him at centre for too long…..

To be fair, I don't think anybody at Wigan thought that centre was where we would see the best of his talents. We even had a spell of playing him at FB over French at the start of last season, where he was briefly excellent.

When he has his head screwed on, he's still a very good FB and a slightly above average centre. But to say Wigan wasted him at centre suggests that he should've been playing full back in front of Field or French, and to be honest I really don't think there's a good case for that at all.