Hooker (rugby league)

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Cameron Smith holds the NRL records for matches played, points scored, goals kicked, tackles made, grand final points scored and competition wins. Hookers such as Cameron Smith usually perform the role of "dummy half", picking the ball up to start play following a play-the-ball. Cam Smith 400.jpg
Cameron Smith holds the NRL records for matches played, points scored, goals kicked, tackles made, grand final points scored and competition wins. Hookers such as Cameron Smith usually perform the role of "dummy half", picking the ball up to start play following a play-the-ball.

Hooker is one of the positions in a rugby league football team. Usually wearing jersey or shirt number 9, the hooker is one of the team's forwards. During scrums the hooker plays in the front row, and the position's name comes from their role of 'hooking' or 'raking' the ball back with the foot. [5] For this reason the hooker is sometimes referred to in Australia as the rake. [6] Hookers have a great deal of contact with the ball, as they usually play the role of acting halfback or dummy half, picking the ball up from the play-the-ball that follows a tackle. [7] Hookers therefore have much responsibility in that they then decide what to do with the ball, [8] whether that be to pass it (and to whom), run with it, or occasionally to kick it. Therefore, together with the two halves and fullback, hooker is one of the four key positions that make up what is sometimes called a team's 'spine'. [9] A trend of halves converting into hookers followed the introduction of the 10 metre rule, [10] and many players have switched between these positions in their careers such as Geoff Toovey, Andrew Johns, Craig Gower and Peter Wallace.

Contents

The laws of rugby league state that the hooker is to be numbered 9. [11] However, in some leagues, such as Super League, players can wear shirt numbers which do not have to conform to this system.

One book published in 1996 stated that in senior rugby league, the hooker and stand-off/five-eighth handled the ball more often than any other position. [12] In the 2013 NRL season the top six players with the most tackles were all hookers. [13]

Notable hookers

Hookers that feature in their nations' rugby league halls of fame are New Zealand's Jock Butterfield and Australia's Ken Kearney, Sandy Pearce, Cameron Smith and Noel Kelly. The most-capped British international hooker was Wales' Tommy Harris. [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rugby league</span> Full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field

Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby XIII in non-Anglophone Europe and South America, and referred to colloquially as rugby, football, footy or league in its heartlands, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 m (74 yd) wide and 112–122 m (122–133 yd) long with H-shaped posts at both ends. It is one of the two major codes of rugby football, the other being rugby union. It originated in 1895 in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England, as the result of a split from the Rugby Football Union (RFU) over the issue of payments to players. The rules of the game governed by the new Northern Rugby Football Union progressively changed from those of the RFU with the specific aim of producing a faster and more entertaining game to appeal to spectators, on whose income the new organisation and its members depended.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scrum (rugby)</span> Method of restarting play in rugby

A scrummage, commonly known simply as a scrum, is a method of restarting play in rugby football that involves players packing closely together with their heads down and attempting to gain possession of the ball. Depending on whether it is in rugby union or rugby league, the scrum is used either after an accidental infringement or when the ball has gone out of play. Scrums occur more often, and are now of greater importance, in union than in league. Starting play from the line of scrimmage in gridiron football is derived from the scrum.

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Five-eighth or Stand-off is one of the positions in a rugby league football team. Wearing jersey number 6, this player is one of the two half backs in a team, partnering the scrum-half. Sometimes known as the pivot or second receiver, in a traditional attacking 'back-line' play, the five-eighth would receive the ball from the scrum half, who is the first receiver of the ball from the dummy-half or hooker following a tackle.

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Cameron Wayne Smith is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a hooker, spending his entire career with the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League (NRL). He has also been an assistant coach of the Queensland rugby league team under former Melbourne teammate Billy Slater since 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geoff Toovey</span> Australian RL coach and former Australia international rugby league footballer

Geoffrey Toovey, also known by the nickname of "Toovs" or "Tooves", is the former head coach of the Bradford Bulls and former professional rugby league footballer. Toovey played halfback for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, then played as a hooker later in his career at the Northern Eagles. He played 286 first-grade matches in all, and captained Manly to the 1996 ARL premiership and the 1995 and 1997 grand finals. He played in 13 international matches for Australia between 1991 and 1998. Toovey is the former head coach of Manly-Warringah.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noel Kelly (rugby league)</span> Australia international rugby league footballer and coach (1936–2020)

Noel Raymond Kelly was an Australian professional rugby league footballer and coach, who played at club, state and national levels. He was named among the country's finest footballers of the 20th century. Kelly played as a hooker, prop forward or lock for much of his top-grade career with the Western Suburbs Magpies, whom he played for in three consecutive NSWRFL grand finals from 1961 to 1963. Kelly was named at hooker of the Western Suburbs Magpies, Queensland and Australian teams of the 20th century.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joel Luani</span> Tonga & US international rugby league footballer

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References

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