Chris71 wrote:
Or conversely imagine if we hadn’t had Houghton we may not have achieved what we did in 16 & 17?
Your continuation of stating that Houghton not getting a GB call up whilst that is true it doesn’t prove he wasn’t good enough and you trying to claim this as a fact is tiresome and repetitive.
We all know the politics in picking England/GB teams for one thing & that it’s rarely a level playing field. Yes Roby was ahead of Houghton as his all round game was better but he came through very good St’s teams. We were also well stocked in quality 9’s in the British game at that period too.
Of course had Roby been at 9 for us we could possibly have achieved more as he’d have improved us but he’d have improved any team he went too (including NRL) so it’s a pretty moot point.
I think we have overused Houghton over the years due to him been not only very dependable in his role but also his fitness.
I’ve been one to criticise him at times but he has been an important and integral part of the clubs success which you seem unwilling to see or accept.
I was at Scott Taylor's testimonial event recently when Sam Burgess was a guest. Someone asked the panel why Houghton never had any international recognition and Burgess said sometimes it's just down the coaches personal preference. Some players get picked regardless of form, the coach just prefers them or they suit the coach's style of play,
Tommy Martyn and Lee Briers as a couple of examples had very modest international recognition despite both having great club careers.
