We were really struggling without a proper hooker even in those three final games we won. The middle was really struggling but we came up with some great plays at crucial times. Wigan also paid for not having any big metre making props to bust us down the middle in that 2nd half. A Chris Hill or Alex Walmsley (whose ankle was nowhere near fit for the playoff semi) could've finished us off.

And when titles and a treble are on the line you can find that bit extra to cling on in defence to send some legendary teammates off in the best way....can you do that week in week out when it's Round 6 away to Cas or Round 13 away to Warrington with final league placings still well away.

Absolutely. The team deserve huge Credit for the way they dug in and showed champion mentality to turn it around when all seemed lost.

My main point is the warning signs were there regards the hooking role in particular despite the success we had.

And we were without many players for that period. Including Burrow. That's why we werent the same team.

We were very good rotating Burrow and Aiton, then Aiton got injured and we carried on being good, then Burrow got injured and we were crap, then Burrow came back and we beat the top 3 teams in succession.

Somehow this has been rewritten as a journeyman like Aiton being some kind of world beater and a 'proper hooker' being the missing piece of the puzzle when its clearly never been the case.

We have shown for nigh on 15 years we can win with Burrow, when we have gone with a 'proper hooker' the only time it has been successful is when we have gotten a very very good one. Thats why Millard didnt really work, its why we didnt really miss Aiton, its why Falloon was a dud. Its why Diskin did work, its why Buderus did work, and why Segeyaro has worked. The link here isnt 'a proper hooker' its that they are very very good players.

That is the problem, not Burrow holding the team back, but the fact we lost an outstanding player in Sinfield and didnt replace him, and then saw McGuire barely play. We go with Thurston and Cronk in the halves and nobody is worrying that we dont have 'a proper hooker'.

OK then, we need a very very good hooker Smokey... glad we all agree, lets leave it at that

Yeah, apart from winning a challenge cup by a record score, beating the team who finished 2nd twice, the teams who finished 3rd, 4th and 2nd in successive weeks and beating Hull we really struggled.

Apart from the treble who knows how good we could have been if only we had Papua New Guinea's 3rd best hooker.

We have a very very good one now. And a more than capable back up/top quality impact.

If he doesn't get poached sometime in the coming weeks, yes i agree.

We did struggle in those last three games, just because you win a game doesn't mean you didn't struggle or play well.

Oh and Burrow didn't even get on until 50 mins in the cup final when we were already about 5 scores clear and didn't get on until the second half vs Wigan in the Super 8's and as mentioned he wasn't at hooker for the Hull game either so you can hardly point to them.

We beat the best other three teams in the league. In succession. As well as beating the 2nd best team again. At the business end of the season. Yet we were struggling, not playing well. Crying out for PNG's 3rd best hooker to replace a player with 7 grand finals, 2 challenge cups, 3 WCC, 3 LLS, and 2 Harry Sunderland awards.

I mean its not like 5 weeks earlier Aiton had started a game against Wigan, you know when we were super duper unbeatable, before we were struggling, before we werent playing well, before we had to suffer Burrow at hooker.

Do you remember what the score was in that game? Surely we must have beaten them by 30-40 points considering how well we were playing and we had Aiton to be a proper hooker for us? and considering we could beat Wigan twice when we were struggling and not playing well, surely we walked that game?

I imagine the reason it's not announced yet is because we haven't secured safety yet, he obviously won't stay if we were in the Championship.

If you want to base it solely on the final result then so be it. Can clearly see through that you issue isn't about Burrow at all it's just harping back to your moan last year about not liking Aiton.

If Burrow had been our starting hooker last year and no Aiton then we wouldn't have been 6 points clear heading into Wembley IMO and then the end of the season looks very different. If you want results, Aiton was the starting hooker when we won 10 of our opening 11 to get away from the pack, he remained starting hooker to help get us to 1st spot after 23 Rounds, he was starting hooker in e previous cup matches before Wembley. He might not have been available for the end of the season but he was definitely hugely responsible for getting us there over the course of the year.

You are right, Aiton was the hooker when we lost to Warrington, when we lost to Warrington again, when we lost to Widnes, when we drew with Huddersfield, When we lost to Wigan, When we lost to Wigan again, When we lost to Cas.

Burrow, playing for the team that was struggling, not playing well, beat Wigan, beat Wigan again, beat Huddersfield, and beat St Helens.

You know what, 7 grand finals, 2 challenge cups, 3 LLS, 3 WCC, and 2 Harry Sunderland trophies and yeah, im pretty comfortable basing it on final results. You and Paul Aiton with your 1 challenge cup (as a back up to guess who?) can judge it on something else if you want.