NRL MVP Index: Greatest hooker rankings prove Melbourne Storm’s succession plan trumps rivals

Newcastle has been searching for a spark to bring out the best in Mitchell Pearce for years. They believe a player returning from a major injury could be the answer.

After 19 seasons Cameron Smith was still the best hooker in rugby league.

The 37-year-old continued to defy Father Time as he led the Melbourne Storm to the 2020 NRL premiership, and the stats back up Smith’s heroics.

Which means replacing him is a herculean task.

The Storm have engineered a masterstroke in their succession plan, replacing Smith with youngster Harry Grant, who enjoyed a season on loan with the Wests Tigers to prepare him for the responsibility of wearing the purple No. 9 jersey for the next decade.

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE FULL NRL MVP INDEX HOOKER RANKINGS

But swapping the two Queenslanders is not necessarily a like-for-like replacement.

The pair were among the best dummy halves in the competition last year – Smith’s MVP Index of 76.5 for the season was easily top among hookers, while Grant was an impressive fifth in his debut season with 69.5 – but they went about it in different ways.

Where Grant’s running game and direct play were two of his great strengths, Smith’s canny ball-playing and ability to manipulate defenders made him the more effective creator.

Working out how to play with rugby league’s next great dummy half is a good problem for Melbourne to have, but given Smith’s influence over almost two decades with the Storm it will still be a major adjustment for the club moving forward.

The Storm’s ability to have two replacement options for Cameron Smith, arguably the game’s greatest player, has been fully revealed in the NRL MVP Index. Picture: Gregg Porteous

“Having someone like Cameron there from the end of 2002 until last year and the impact he’s had on every player that’s come through there, it’s not easy to replace,” Fox League analyst and Penrith Panthers great Greg Alexander said.

“Harry is more of a runner than Cameron – Cameron was always a threat because he was probing. Harry presents a different sort of threat out of dummy half.

“While Cameron Smith can’t ever be replaced by any player, Harry Grant can play his role for the Storm this year and it’ll be different but it’ll still be effective.”

Showing how dominant the Storm are at hooker, Brandon Smith, in his four starts in the No. 9 jersey, produced an MVP Index strong enough to rank him as the fourth-best hooker in the NRL.

Harry Grant could dominate the NRL for a decade. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

RICKY, HODGO & THE STAR

Josh Hodgson’s season-ending knee injury was supposed to also stop Canberra’s premiership hopes in 2020. But instead, Tom Starling helped lead the Raiders all the way to the preliminary final.

For the Green Machine to go one further, finding a way to fit both players into the top 17 – as well as getting the best football out of Hodgson – will prove crucial to Ricky Stuart’s plans.

Even before his injury, Hodgson was not producing his best football in 2020. His MVP Index of 60.31 had him ranked 24th among dummy halves, below the likes of Erin Clark, Reuben Cotter and teammate Siliva Havili.

To compare, Starling had the sixth-best MVP Index of any Raider at 66.43.

Hodgson managed just three try assists in his nine matches – compare that to Cameron Smith’s 17 in 19 – but with a full off-season to adjust to the new rules around the ruck, the Englishman could be set for a bumper comeback year in 2021 and Starling’s inclusion as an interchange weapon will make Canberra’s attack all the more dangerous.

Josh Hodgson looked sharp in the Raiders’ trial against the Roosters, but the crafty hooker didn’t have his best year in 2020 before injury ended his season. Picture: AAP Image/Craig Golding

“Starling was terrific last year and has been every time Ricky’s used him. Plus he’s had a terrific summer down there,” Raiders assistant and Fox League analyst Michael Ennis said.

“But Hodgson is a world-class player, he’s their captain, he’s a big part of why the Raiders are the team they are, even if he wasn’t on the park last year.

“Everyone expected players like Starling, Damien Cook (71.44), Connor Watson (57.37), those players who are busy around the ruck to just blow the game apart once the six-again rule was instituted.

“But instead it was more so the creative dummy halves like (Cameron) Smith and Api Koroisau (68.53) and Harry Grant who were really able to expose sides.”

KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOUR

Newcastle couldn’t land on a dummy half all through 2020 with Jayden Brailey, Connor Watson, Chris Randall, Kurt Mann and Andrew McCullough all having a run as various injuries forced Adam O’Brien to constantly chop and change.

Mann was the best of them – his MVP Index of 67.93 was good for ninth in the league among hookers – but Brailey will be the man to start at nine for the Round 1 clash with Canterbury.

Should he stay fit, Brailey’s consistency and underrated attacking game can help bring out the best in Mitchell Pearce (ranked 18th in MVP Index among halves) and Blake Green (ranked 24th), who both struggled to find their best football in 2020.

Mr Versatility, Kurt Mann, spent time at hooker for Newcastle in 2020. Picture: Ashley Feder/Getty Images

Brailey missed all but two games of 2020, but he has not been idle and Ennis believes he’ll return to the Knights’ line-up with a greater sophistication to his play.

“That time out of the game, being able to work on his body physically and sit on that eagle eye and watch the game from above in the coaches box will really add something to his game,” said Ennis.

“He came into a Cronulla side that was really set in their style and how they wanted to attack, and his mindset was probably to defend well, not make any mistakes and not let his teammates down.

“The injury took away his opportunity to develop his game with a new club.

“I think he’ll really add a new dimension to Newcastle’s attack this year, I’m expecting a big season from him.”