Nobody mentioned Hock after Salford

[platt-warrior]

Don't care if I sound like a record being stuck, but here it is again.
Gaz hock has the potential to be the worlds best second rower.
After only half a dozen or so games of match fitness he is already giving us glimses of his class.
For those who patiently waited for his return, its been well worth the wait.

Quite correct PM,but I think CP was elluding to the lack of comments re-the Salford match.I for one also think we saw glimpses of things to come next season,he standard of some of his off-loads was ist class.

[Exiled Wiganer]

I suppose I count as a doubter. My concerns were never that he could not be a world beater, but more that he could weaken the team in the real crunch games. It was telling on this score that he didn't play against Saints after his poor performance against the Wire. Now, if Cats win on Saturday, he can have another couple of pressure free games before the play off, so that we can see how far he can go this year before the next pressure game. In writing that I am assuming he won't be playing at Wembley.
He has come back more strongly and more quickly than I expected and I would be happy to eat humble pie with ketchup if he plays at Wembley and makes a positive contribution.

[cpwigan]

I may be wrong BUT the Wembley XVII Reserves seem to be Mickey Mac, Prop 3, Prop 4, Second Rower. The second rower being either Hock or Farrell. If Preccy cannot be trusted re fitness or there are doubts then that favours Hock over Farrell based on ability to play prop.

God. I think we have to remember all our players now play better under Madge than Nobby so the expectation is that Madge will make Hock a better player.

This season? I think you See glimpses of Hock being an out and out left. Interestingly both Hock and Hoff have the same unusual trait; run left side, carry with right hand and offload from inside to out. I do not think we will see the best of Hock until 2012 for various reasons, 1) needs a ful off season 2) still adjusting to new patterns of play 3) playing out of position whilst Hoff is here.

My point was though. Hock had a poor game and several people were on his back YET v Salford; his workrate was as good as our forwards manage, his average metres was getting towards our best forwards and was better than Faz. So bad game, people have a go; good game, silence

[Exiled Wiganer]

There's a bit of natural reluctance to admit that an opinion is wrong, but I think it is still valid to have some concern about a player who has yet to play a significant part in a significant game. That said, I would not lose any sleep over his selection. If MM is happy with him, that will do for me.
Now, insofar as this relates to people generally being proven wrong, Finch is an even better example this year. You could have raised enough money from fans to fly him home first class after a few games. At this point, he's pretty much at the top of the list of players I would like to see re-signed next year.