Just for you Beeker -- from an English newspaper
HALF-BACKS HOLD THE KEY
By Ian Laybourn, PA Sport Rugby League Correspondent
The emergence of Salford and the early-season struggles of Wigan are the current talking points in Super League and both can be linked by a common theme - the quality of their half-backs.
So just who is the most important player in a modern rugby league team?
In the good old days, the top sides made sure they had a world-class winger to ensure they could score tries once the forward battle had been won.
Now, though, increasingly the focus has moved to a fast, mobile pack which can make ground and create the space for the half-backs to dictate play.
It has, however, always traditionally been the case that forwards win matches and the backs determine by how much - and in the modern, attritional game, that has never been more true.
But the individual with the biggest influence on the outcome of a game these days is undoubtedly the tactical kicker.
Successful teams still rely on their go-forward, but it is the ability of the kicker to put the hard-won possession to good use which invariably affects the result.
In many cases, a goal-line drop-out is greeted with almost as much delight as that of a try, and increasingly teams decline even easy penalty kicks at goal in order to maintain pressure on the opposition defence.
An extra set of tackles in the opposition 20-metre area is sweet music to the ear of a coach as his team plays the percentages.
The form of Bradford's Paul Deacon in the second half of last season was the crucial factor behind the Bulls' late surge to the title.
The supreme kicking skills of Leeds skipper Kevin Sinfield and St Helens duo Sean Long and Paul Sculthorpe have been huge factors behind their club's recent successes while Danny Brough's emergence has mirrored that of his club, Hull.
The brilliant kicking skills of Lee Briers ensures that Warrington are invariably competitive in every match while Huddersfield rely so heavily on the expert boot of Chris Thorman.
The loss of Stacey Jones easily explains Catalans Dragons' failure to build on their impressive opening win, while the lack of an astute tactical kicker might perhaps go some to way to explaining why Wigan have struggled since the departure of Andy Farrell.
Warriors coach Ian Millward has still to decide on his best half-back partner for Dennis Moran, with Sean O'Loughlin, Kevin Brown and Danny Orr all getting their chances to hold down the number six role.
Perhaps Millward ought to borrow a player from Salford, whose plethora of half-backs has been the major factor behind their excellent start.
Karl Fitzpatrick, a valuable utility player who caught the eye of Bradford coach Brian Noble last year, performed an admirable job to help the Reds through their injury crisis at the start of the season.
Luke Robinson, ironically reared and then released by Wigan, has made a big impact on his return from injury and Salford's close-season recruitment of ex-Leeds playmaker Andrew Dunemann is proving to be the one of smartest pieces of transfer business.
Salford fans have yet to see their other major half-back signing, Stephen Myler, because of injury so the omens for Karl Harrison's men are particularly good as they continue to make a mockery of their pre-season odds of 300-1 to finish top.
Wigan, on the other hand, have drifted from 10-1 before the start of the season to 80-1 with one bookmaker after losing four of their first five matches and face a crucial fixture with relegation favourites Castleford on Sunday.
