Could it be that Wayne chalks this up to Houston's influence? That would explain why WB has persisted with him there despite his impotency in attack and the general census he is better suited to the ruck.
That's an interesting point. I've been very critical of Houston not playing in the middle, but I suppose this offers at least some sort of explanation.
From the right he is holding a fringe together, and and yet has still shown he can pop up closer to the middle to make vital tackles when needed. The fact he's our top tackler almost every game despite not being a lock or hooker says a lot about his ability on that side of the ball.
Don't get me wrong, I'd still much prefer to see Houston at 13 (especially next year), but I'm starting to feel less strongly about it. And his attack has definitely lifted, almost out of nowhere he is back to running hard and good lines, regularly poking his through half gaps or making clean line-breaks.
Still can't throw a pass to Gagai to save himself though - imagine if he had the skills McKinnon is starting to show out wide. Uate could seriously break 30 tries in a season if our right edge backrower was a ballplaying threat.
