Standee wrote:
Saints have had other creative players than Cunningham.
And Swain wasn't "creative", he milked penalties and was great at acting half with the first pass.
IMHO
Who was saying that the hooker had to be the creative player? The question was whether or not a hooker was a player to build around. The distribution from dummy half is essential to be creative, without necessarily being where the creativity happens. The hookers have to lay the groundwork for the creative players to be able to produce, by providing the time and space they need.
The 2 examples I gave were not intended to be of 2 creative hookers, they simply display that building around a hooker who can consistently choose the right option from dummy half and distribute accurately is an essential part of building a good attacking side, not the defensive option you stated. In fact, if you look at the top 6 sides I think it's probably Wigan who are the least based around their hooker, and they are also the most defensive-based IMO.