Trent Hodkinson and Jarrod Mullen may be the answer for the Knights but they are running out of time

A POOR showing from Newcastle’s halves pairing could mean the end of Jarrod Mullen’s time with the Knights and the end of Trent Hodkinson in the NRL.

ONLY two Blues halfbacks have won an Origin series in the past 11 years. One is Andrew Johns. The other is Trent Hodkinson.

Hodkinson has been the Blues halfback for the last two seasons but was allowed to leave Canterbury in a move that was not only unexpected but applauded.

Hodkinson had a career high 16 try assists last season, but was hooked several times in crucial matches because the coach didn’t think he could get them home.

He delivered the final pass for the match-sealing try in Origin II, scored all the points in The Game That Broke the Streak, has a better winning percentage for New South Wales than Peter Sterling and is the only halfback not named Mitchell Pearce to start all three matches in a series since 2004 but the Bulldogs were happy to let him walk in order to keep an untested (albeit promising) rookie.

The new Knights halfback, who has been named a co-captain alongside Tariq Sims and Jeremy Smith, occupies one of the strangest spaces in rugby league — he’s been paid like an elite player, he’s been picked in rep teams like an elite player, he’s had clutch moments on the big stage like an elite player but can you win with him consistently at club level? Can he turn an ordinary team into an extraordinary team?

When the chips are down, your back is against the wall and you need some magic, some spark, some moment of impossible inspiration, can Trent Hodkinson stand up and be the man?

Despite what the stats say about 2015 there is no doubt that the best year of Hodkinson’s first grade career came in 2014, particularly in the period from Round 5 to Round 7 where the Dogs won a record three games in a row by a single point. Hodkinson himself was responsible for five game-deciding kicks that season, including a clutch field goal against Manly in extra time during the second week of the playoffs.

At times that season, Hodkinson showed the very best of his abilities. His kicking game, which should always be his basis, was on song. He played direct and at the line, he took on the defence when he could and his organising and ball-playing was sharp.

But even in the midst of his best season as a professional, Hodkinson was not all the Bulldogs needed him to be.

Canterbury lost six of their last eight matches, including a humiliating defeat to the lowly Tigers and a thrashing from the eventual eighth placed Broncos. Hodkinson looked timid, tentative and unable to seize control of the match. The week before the finals the Dogs got dusted by the Titans in golden point.

Even when Hodkinson was at his best it seemed ill-advised to bet the house on him. In the grand final, where the Dogs grimly hung in with a far more talented Souths outfit for 60 minutes before collapsing late, he was non-existent.

Hodkinson was made co-captain alongside James Graham following the injury to Michael Ennis and was reportedly troubled by a leg injury.

The duality of Hodkinson is that he’s perceived as an elite halfback and paid like an elite halfback and having a team built around him like an elite halfback but apart from one or two hot patches he’s never actually played like an elite halfback.

Entering his seventh season in first grade, Hodkinson might be a complete halfback who’s just struggled to put it all together on a consistent basis or he might be what he appears to be — a skilled but limited player who heated up at the right time and made the most of his shot.

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Now none of this would be a problem if Hodkinson, who has the skillset to be an important cog on a championship team instead of the main man, was paired alongside a half who could cover his weaknesses, but in Jarrod Mullen he has a partner with a first grade experience almost as strange as his own.

Saddled with the horrible task of having to follow Andrew Johns, who could pretty much start his own religion in Newcastle if he felt like it, Mullen wasn’t expected to match Joey but he was asked to fill the same role in the team. Johns was capable of doing everything — he could organise and create with equal skill.

Mullen has always been more creator than on-field general, but he was expected to be everything and more for an ageing Newcastle side from the age of 20 onwards after making his debut while still in school.

It didn’t help that he’s been saddled by a series of halves partners (Scott Dureau, Luke Walsh, Kurt Gidley, Tyrone Roberts, Ben Rogers, Chris Bailey) who either could not cover the gaps in Mullen’s game or didn’t stick around long enough to build a combination, as well as a series of coaches and a thousand roster changes in key positions. For Mullen, the expectation defined the reality.

The expectation train wasn’t helped by Mullen being thrown to the wolves for his Origin debut in 2007, where he was pitched into Suncorp Stadium at the age of 20 with all of 31 first grade games under his belt and then, like so many people not named Mitchell Pearce, was dumped and never seen again in a blue jersey.

This is unfortunate for the Knights, because Mullen can do everything.

He can throw gorgeous cut out passes, he has a howitzer boot, he can have great touch on the ball, he has fast feet and when he runs he can cut you to ribbons.

He’s one of the few players in the NRL willing to unleash the banana kick, a skill perfected by the Johns brothers that has sadly gone by the wayside in recent years.

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His career has not been without highs — he had more than 20 try assists four times in five years from 2009 to 2013 — but you’d be a generous marker indeed if you claimed he’d reached his ceiling as a player.

Its not Mullen’s fault that he’s been stuck at a club that has made a series of poor roster decisions over the years and failed to make the most of his considerable talents, but coming into his 11th season in first grade he’s reaching a point where, for better or for worse, he is who he is as a footballer. Athletes who start as early as Mullen and stick around as long as Mullen rarely transform into superstars 11 years into their career, things like that don’t happen outside of sports movies.

In a vacuum, you can certainly make the case that Mullen and Hodkinson will end up combining well. Mullen has never had a halves partner of Hodkinson’s calibre for an extended period while Hodkinson may at last thrive on a consistent basis. But if they don’t it could almost be the end of Mullen’s time with the Knights, while Hodkinson’s NRL career could be in the balance.

Mullen is under contract until the end of 2018, but another forgettable year could see him moved on.

Hodkinson has more time, but at 27 his four-year deal could potentially be his last in the NRL if he doesn’t fire. Notably, Mullen was overlooked as a co-captain and wasn’t even included in the six man leadership group.

The Knights are not wanting for promising halves. Brock Lamb, a five-eighth with enormous wraps, started last week’s trial at five-eighth in Mullen’s absence. The club is excited about the future of Jack Cogger, a young halfback who has just completed his first pre-season with the NRL squad.

Brown is here to crack heads and he’s not afraid to shake things up, as shown by the fact that he’s giving five players their NRL debut against the Titans.

Hodkinson and Mullen may be the answer for the Knights, but they are running out of time.