But like I said - you're comparing a 28-year old, and a 29-year old, to a 22-year old - a 22-year old who has is sitting at 6 and 1 after 7 rounds.
I have no doubt that as Mahoney settles further into First Grade, that he will run more.
I actually agree with Pou - I don't think he needs to run that much, given how we play, and so while it may be nice to have him run more, it's not a requirement for our hooker.
If Arthur thought a "run first" hooked was a requirement, he probably would have Will Smith on the bench.
The problem is he hasn't the exceptional passing game of C. Smith or even Harry Grant's at this stage of his evolution. It is solid to good with the occasional brilliant pass like the one to Stone on the weekend. But generally he doesn't engage the markers enough, or deceive the defense enough with his passing game.
I put this down to the massive workload that he does in defense. Now it is up to him and the coach to a lesser degree what type of player he wants to ultimately become. If he wants to be known as a tenacious defensive terrier like a McInnes, then fine he should keep doing what he is currently doing and he will achieve that goal. But if he wants to be a lethal ball playing and running dummy half that also has a running game and can do his fair share of tackles, then he needs to put more into that side of the game.
The problem for him at this young age is that if he doesn't focus more on the offensive side of his game, he will eventually feel comfortable to just make 50-60 tackles a game and as long as he has fed the ball out to the dominating voice on the field at speed and correctly, he will be content with his game. He will find it very difficult to switch over and do the magical little things the really great 9's do in attack. Andrew McCullough is a perfect example of this. When he first started out, for those who remember will remember that he too had a great little kicking game on occasion and his selective passing here and there was brilliant, and the occasional scoot that would light up the team off the back of it. Well what has happened to his offensive game? Has it progressed and flourished or has he bogged down to become a defensive workhorse?
Like I said, it is all up to him as to how he wants to evolve. More so then the coach, because no coach will tell a player to stop playing like C. Smith or Harry Grant, or Robbie Farah or Michael Ennis. I believe he has it in him to be a very, very good distributer and runner of the ball if he puts his mind to it and he has a kick in him too. He shows glimpses of it here and there that tell us that he has the skill set for sure. He needs to do it now though or in a couple of years he will have set his football brain to defender so to speak and for mine that would be a total waste of this players potential.
I get why he has turned into the player he is evolving into, but I don't believe it is warranted now. When he first came into our NRL squad, he was playing in a team that were lousy defenders of the ruck and quite frankly lousy defenders as a team depending on the personnel and game, right across the park. So the coach would have been on all the players backs big time on fixing their defensive lapses and drummed into the young and new number 9 that he needs to tackle, tackle, tackle, if he wants to stay in first grade. So now, his massive defensive workload is a symptom of those early couple of years and he has gotten into a groove of what is expected of him.
But I say, he needs to blow his game up to a certain extent and now focus on his attack more then his defense. It is not to late if he starts now. A year or two down the track will in my opinion be to late and players like Grant will have well and truly overtaken him like so many players have over taken McCullough and McInnes now. Sure McCullough is a handy hooker, but hardly a prized possession. When you defend that hard, just like McCullough, injuries will start to occur and eventually take their toll. As for McInnes, he will never let you down, but who would you rather have as your 9, McInnes or Grant?
In short, he needs to do less tackles and more heads up footy with the ball in hand or the die is already cast and in two or three years he will be considered as a great little defensive hooker but not much else. I for one don't want to see him go that way. If he make and average 10-15 less tackles a game, he will be much fresher and mentally alert and with that extra energy start to use it in his attacking game.
It's all about that little be of extra speed in picking up the ball off the deck, that one step at the ruck to engage a marker and then going the other way, or that healthier head space to look up and count the numbers correctly, and override the call from the 7, and go to the 6 that has a 4 on 3. The stronger and faster scoop and run from dummy half that splits the middle and pulls the defensive line out of shape. There are countless opportunities that can go missed or wasted, if our dummy half is massively under fatigue due to him just constantly getting of the turf from making that many tackles and then needing to be fresh and energized to make all the right calls at the play the ball. Not to mention late in the game he can become a liability in defense in a brutal game just like the one against the Roosters were he dropped off that tackle on Keary.
Anyway, time will tell, but unfortunately, I think he is already on the way to becoming primarily a defensive player and I know coaches love that, so I don't think he will be getting any real push from the coaching staff to change his game a little and that will be that.
Sorry, I know it is a very long rant, I just lost myself a little.
