Re: Gareth Hock : Wed Feb 25, 2015 9:03 pm  

Signing Gareth Hock will either be a stroke of genius or an absolute nightmare. Either way makes for a interesting Championship!

Re: Gareth Hock : Wed Feb 25, 2015 11:50 pm  

If the bulls players where guilty of playing niggling rugby and getting wound up by the leigh players as people say, then Hock will have a huge target on him for every game, if anyone can get into his head (who knows whats going on in there) they have won the battle already.

Re: Gareth Hock : Thu Feb 26, 2015 9:54 am  

broadybull87 wrote:

If the bulls players where guilty of playing niggling rugby and getting wound up by the leigh players as people say, then Hock will have a huge target on him for every game, if anyone can get into his head (who knows whats going on in there) they have won the battle already.

Yep, he's just too volatile for my liking. Before he became available, we were perfectly happy with Haggerty, Goulden, Dixon, Sarsfield, Barlow, Hopkins and Aspinwall as back row options, so feel this is a gamble where we stand more to lose than we stand to gain to be honest.

[Bulliac]

Re: Gareth Hock : Thu Feb 26, 2015 10:06 am  

LeythIg wrote:

Yep, he's just too volatile for my liking. Before he became available, we were perfectly happy with Haggerty, Goulden, Dixon, Sarsfield, Barlow, Hopkins and Aspinwall as back row options, so feel this is a gamble where we stand more to lose than we stand to gain to be honest.

He's a good player when he has his head on, but yeah, he does seem to lose it more than a bit. All clubs have had players they thought they could 'tame' and 'bring into line', but best of luck with that one.

Re: Gareth Hock : Thu Feb 26, 2015 10:49 am  

One of the Salford guys commented that the only coach he's played under since 2008 and didn't get a ban was Nobby. So it can be done. But he was injured for a few of those weeks & Nobby was gone when he started playing again that season.

Re: Gareth Hock : Thu Feb 26, 2015 11:47 am  

On the basis of cost benefit analysis I wondered whether Ferguson or Hock would be the better waste of a salary.
If he has signed for Leigh then it provides a chunk of light for any opponents team talk ..... as long as they can find the right button to press. I suppose it's fortunate that their coach is up to the challenge.

Re: Gareth Hock : Thu Feb 26, 2015 12:12 pm  

8ULL5HITT4 wrote:

...
If he has signed for Leigh then it provides a chunk of light for any opponents team talk ..... as long as they can find the right button to press. I suppose it's fortunate that their coach is up to the challenge.

Maybe, but as far as I saw, the "kneel on head" incidents weren't the result of any buttons being pushed, he was just being a dirty grub, and just thought that was Ok to do. I don't think either player had upset him, and he seemed to do it in a sly manner, not in any rush of blood. He himself told the disciplinary it was "needless aggression" (as well as the pathetic attempt at an excuse, which was laughed out, of "poor timing" - is he saying he should he have put the knee in quicker? )

"Needless aggression". So admitting he kneeled on players' heads as an "aggressive" act. Gareth, it isn't the AGGRESSION that is "needless", we need all the aggression we can get, it's the kneeling on helpless opponents' heads that is needless.

[Bullseye]

Re: Gareth Hock : Thu Feb 26, 2015 12:17 pm  

Posted this on the Leigh board:

Hock offers quite a bit of “x factor” when he’s on song. He can bust the line almost at will and has a great offload. He’s tough in defence and has a bit of pace. His ability isn’t in question. Attitude wise it’s another matter. He played under a fair few coaches and never managed to sort out his ill-discipline. If Rowley manages that he’ll have done something no other coach has done before. I don’t really see why Rowley will have any more chance of doing that, he’s clearly highly rated by Leigh fans but hasn’t really had to coach under pressure yet.

It’ll be interesting to see how Hock integrates. Over the years I’ve had first-hand experience of playing in sides that are settled and then seeing that disappear when a new player comes in who rubs everyone up the wrong way. It can seriously mess things up. If a player has a bad attitude it can be really difficult to communicate with him positively when things are going wrong. Then you end up with the team in one faction and the bad apple on his own. It can often be a relief to play without him. I’m not saying that will happen with Hock but it’s not beyond the realms of possibility. Do Leigh need that? They’re the top team in the division and settled and happy. An “on song” Hock offers a lot but will he deliver?

I remember a story I was told about Hock when he was a kid when he was on the point of being chucked out at Wigan before he’d played a first team game. Back then he went by the name Gareth Charnock. After being read the riot act he came in the next day and said Gareth Charnock was no more. He was Gareth Hock and was ready to make a fresh start. Since then he’s had more ups and downs than the big one at Blackpool.

If he can overcome the discipline issues he’ll be superb for you. I expect he’ll take time to settle down and Rowley will have a real challenge to get on his wavelength. He’s always a second away from losing it when provoked which makes him a real gamble if you’re investing serious money. If I were in charge I’d have plenty of clauses in the contract meaning it’s void if he blows it again.

Re: Gareth Hock : Thu Feb 26, 2015 12:23 pm  

They're banging on about family values in their board. Are they serious?

Re: Gareth Hock : Thu Feb 26, 2015 12:51 pm  

broadybull87 wrote:

if anyone can get into his head

Well there's plenty of space in there.