The impending Hooper vs Pocock Dilemma

[Viking]

Pocock over Hooper. Easy decision IMO.

Pocock is strong, physical and dominate. Exactly what we need against the ABS and SA.

Hooper is mobile and energetic - which always gets him noticed on camera but his effectiveness at the breakdown is over-rated IMO.

Also i have always thought Pocock was a strong ball carrier - he will get you over the gain line and will secure his own ball very well. Hooper is short and fast and runs into half-gaps which gets him loads of metres. He does this very well - but he can be turned over much easier then Pocock. I recall numerous times Hooper being held up or being turned over. He also always gives away a few too many silly penalties in the wrong areas of the field.

2 very different players IMO.

Hooper: Average at the breakdown, superb in attack,

 

[Ruggo]

Pocock first. Very simple that one. I think Mowen is on borrowed time but what to do with Fardy is the big issue for me. No offence to Palu but I just work off the position he will be injured again, so I come up with the back row of

6/Fardy
7/Pocock
8/Higgers

I think that is a cracker of a back row. I also ponder MMM but he has the Palu issues. Should these players be fit, we will have real selection headaches.

 

[Slim 293]

6/Fardy
7/Pocock
8/Palu/Higgers

That's what I see..........

Despite his strong Super rugby form this year Higgers has yet to impress in test rugby, and Palu is generally out injured for half the test season.........

So the two of them can share 8 duties.........

Fardy is the best 6 we've had in a long time.........

And Pocock is Pocock..........

Hopefully we can figure out a decent, well-balanced lock combo by 2015.........

 

[Ruggo]

In regards to the next Wallaby captain, I am confident it will be Horwill again. I expect his form issues to be a thing of the past when the next Wallaby squad is named. He will be one of the first selected.

 

[cyclopath]

6/Fardy
7/Pocock
8/Higgers

This works too. I'd love to see Higginbotham style his game much like Read's - able to get the tough stuff done when required, but dangerous in the loose too. Be a machine. He has always had the latter, needs to tighten up the former. He looked like he was getting there this year. Looking forward to 2014.

 

[RoffsChoice]

Really, if we're playing a 6 and 8 who can carry the ball well then Hooper's running is just more of the same and poor backrow balance. Likewise, if we play a 6 and 8 who can't carry that well then Pocock doesn't fix it and we have poor backrow balance.

If Higgers is in the backrow, Pocock is too.

 

[Richo]

I've always felt that Hooper's destiny for the next few years was to be an impact player behind Pocock. He'd offer a good change up and would be really dangerous against a tired defense -- but Pocock can dominate a game physically like few other players.

 

[lewisr]

Pocock over Hooper. Easy decision IMO.

Pocock is strong, physical and dominate. Exactly what we need against the ABS and SA.

Hooper is mobile and energetic - which always gets him noticed on camera but his effectiveness at the breakdown is over-rated IMO.

Also i have always thought Pocock was a strong ball carrier - he will get you over the gain line and will secure his own ball very well. Hooper is short and fast and runs into half-gaps which gets him loads of metres. He does this very well - but he can be turned over much easier then Pocock. I recall numerous times Hooper being held up or being turned over. He also always gives away a few too many silly penalties in the wrong areas of the field.

2 very different players IMO.

Hooper: Average at the breakdown, superb in attack,

He is the absolute ideal super sub and I think we will see this develop over the forthcoming season.

 

[Train Without a Station]

I look forward to the discussions questioning Pocock's effectiveness and if injuries have dulled it, similar to those discussed pre-injury in 2012 due to greater scrutiny from referees than previous seasons.

But for those rare games where the referee throws out the rule book and the opposition player of similar style is injured he indeed will be dominant. And likely extremely dominant due to his ability in this facet of the game.

My concerns lie with the likelihood of these games occurring. Based on the refereeing, personally I speculate he would not have had a spectacular Lions series had he played.

 

[Dave Beat]

Both great players that bring something different to the game.
I also see them both as leaders, on and off the field.
Usually I'd say incumbent if the form is there to sustain selection - so I'll stick with that.
Then there is others;
Game plan.
Next years super form.
& bring back George

 

[Braveheart81]

I will be surprised if Pocock has the same impact he used to have in the first half of the season.

Whilst Pocock is fairly super human, I can't think of anyone who has bounced straight back to their best after a knee reco.

 

[Ignoto]

I will be surprised if Pocock has the same impact he used to have in the first half of the season.

Whilst Pocock is fairly super human, I can't think of anyone who has bounced straight back to their best after a knee reco.

I agree completely. The only difference I can see compared to more recent examples ie Quade and Will, is Pocock will have almost a full year in recovery and rehab where the other two had about 6-7 months.

From the Ortho's I've spoken to, a player coming back in 6 months makes them nervous, 7 is ok but 12 months is the time-frame they want.

 

[Braveheart81]

I agree completely. The only difference I can see compared to more recent examples ie Quade and Will, is Pocock will have almost a full year in recovery and rehab where the other two had about 6-7 months.

From the Ortho's I've spoken to, a player coming back in 6 months makes them nervous, 7 is ok but 12 months is the time-frame they want.

From my own experience, the biggest determining factor is when you regain the confidence to act like you never had a knee reconstruction in the first place.

There's definitely a fair amount of physical improvement between 6 and 12 months but a fair amount of what you need to overcome is psychological.

 

[Brumby Runner]

From my own experience, the biggest determining factor is when you regain the confidence to act like you never had a knee reconstruction in the first place.

There's definitely a fair amount of physical improvement between 6 and 12 months but a fair amount of what you need to overcome is psychological.

His recovery from the knee reconstruction is the only concern for Poey. As good as Michael Hooper is (and that is very, very good) Poey is the best No 7 in Aus. Those who think he can't break the line or play a link game between forwards and backs have not been paying attention. In his last year at the Force and before his injury at the Brumbies, he was running as hard as anyone, making breaks, scoring tries and setting up supports. He is the No 7 other teams and countries don't want to face.

 

[fatprop]

Why is it a dilemma? we might even end up with a decent bench

 

[USARugger]

Luckily it looks like there will be a full season of Super Rugby in which the strengths and weaknesses of Gill/Hooper/Pocock can be analyzed. Very much looking forward to it but any discussion now is little more than speculation given Gills limited game time and Pococks complete lack of it.

 

[Zander]

Luckily it looks like there will be a full season of Super Rugby in which the strengths and weaknesses of Gill/Hooper/Pocock can be analyzed. Very much looking forward to it but any discussion now is little more than speculation given Gills limited game time and Pococks complete lack of it.

Is Super Rugby going to tell you much? Some people here thought Gill had a superior Super Rugby campaign than Hooper.

Play Pocock against big packs than don't use the ball much. South Africa, England, Italy, Argentina etc.
Play Hooper against mobile packs that put width into their game. New Zealand, Wales, France, Ireland etc.

 

[Braveheart81]

Is Super Rugby going to tell you much? Some people here thought Gill had a superior Super Rugby campaign than Hooper.

Play Pocock against big packs than don't use the ball much. South Africa, England, Italy, Argentina etc.
Play Hooper against mobile packs that put width into their game. New Zealand, Wales, France, Ireland etc.

They were the ones who made their decision after the first four rounds.

Hooper improved dramatically over the season (mostly with other Waratahs forwards improving around him) and Gill stayed largely the same or perhaps went a little backwards.

That said, Gill was the better player when the Reds beat the Tahs in the final round of the season.

 

[USARugger]

Is

Is Super Rugby going to tell you much? Some people here thought Gill had a superior Super Rugby campaign than Hooper.

I'd reckon it's far better than nothing.

You're also not giving Pocock nearly enough credit in terms of his ability to get around the park, he's one of the most fit and mobile players we have when healthy. You're also overlooking the impact that a dominant scavenger can have on a team trying to play with width, kinda hard to do that with slow ball or no ball at all.

 

[Zander]

Definitely, he's mobile, I wasn't saying it was weakness on his part but he's more suited to heavier packs. Loose, wet days will also suit him where as hard, dry tracks would suit Hooper better.