IMO Bud has been fantastic at hooker. He provides an attacking threat to the opposition markers/ruck, this adds some variation in our attack rather than one out running by our forwards or predictable sideways long passes. He's shown a good kicking game from dummy half & has crisp passes. His defence is also good for a small player, never goes backwards & looks like he enjoys the contact, he has good tackling technique.
It took me by surprise but I think hooker will be his position next year, he could be dynamic in that role. Great running ability, excellent passing & great kicking game. I really hope Hook develops him in a dummy half role throughout the off-season. Let Macca start & take up the initially physical stuff, make a ton of tackles etc then bring on Bud around the 20th min mark to cause havoc with the opposition tiring defence. Continue playing Bud for 20-30mins in the 2nd half either at the start or the end, it doesn't really matter. I think I'm most excited about his potential at hooker.
I say hooker for Bud because he won't get a spot in the halves due to Ben Hunt being our halfback & I think Amone has shown great potential at 5/8th. I also think playing at hooker will be good for his long term development when hunt eventually retries/leaves the dragons then Bud can move into the halves or if he excels at hooker he can replace McCullough.
It makes the Mbye signing look pretty dumb. Both will be competing for a bench utility spot & I hope Bud gets it rather than Mbye as it's better for the dragons long term future.
