The Agenda: How Wests Tigers could solve Parramatta Eels’ hooking crisis

Wests Tigers hooker Jake Simpkin has landed on the radar of a rival club, with Parramatta desperate to solve the problem that could kill its premiership dream.

Selwyn Cobbo was in the thick of the action against the Canterbury Bulldogs. Picture: NRL Photos

Parramatta’s hunt for a hooker before August 3 has taken the Eels to Concord, as Dragons face a $700,000 fullback conundrum over star centre Zac Lomax.

Here are some of the talking points ahead of another huge week of NRL with the pointy end of the competition upon us.

MARKET WATCH - Jake Simpkin

Wests Tigers hooker Jake Simpkin has landed on the radar of the Parramatta Eels, as the club searches for a stop gap for injured veteran rake Josh Hodgson.

Simpkin is contracted until the end of season 2024 and would need a release from the Tigers to join a rival club.

There is a view that Simpkin could excel in the right system.

But given the rising player discontent at Concord, and the fact Simpkin was a long-term project of former coach Micheal Maguire, that release might not be so difficult for the Eels to secure.

Could Jake Simpkin be the answer for the Eels? Picture: Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images

St Helens hooker Joey Lussick has also been discussed and offers the upside of having already been in the Eels system.

Other hooker options available immediately include the likes of Roosters rake Jake Turpin, who is unsigned for next year.

The club is also open to the option of going down the player loan path if the right opportunity presents itself.

Hooker is just one of the two roster spots the Eels have to fill before the August 3 deadline, the other is likely to come in the form of an outside back.

LOOKING FORWARD TOO - Cobbo’s roving role

What would Brisbane’s Selwyn Cobbo say now if he was asked about Kevin Walters and whether the Broncos boss had any coaching chops?

Just 17 months ago Cobbo was sprung claiming ‘I don’t think Walters is a good coach’.

Now, Cobbo would be ruing those words.

Because that same coach, that Cobbo was so unsure of, has just pulled a positional switch that could be a masterstroke in the Broncos’ title push.

And because rugby league is poetic that way, Cobbo is the main man in Walters’ positional ploy.

Brisbane fans quickly noticed Cobbo playing in the middle last weekend against Canterbury, and Walters has indicated he’ll be used in a similar fashion this week against the Rabbitohs.

Kevin Walters has a new role for star winger Selwyn Cobbo. Picture: NRL Photos

Walters knows Cobbo is too much of a threat with the ball in his hands to be stuck out on the wing waiting for the action to come to him.

“We feel on the wing he just sometimes we don’t get enough out of him as we like. He’s a strong ball carrier, a big aggressive young fella. When I mentioned it to him, I wasn’t sure the reaction I was going to get but there was a big smile on his face. He looked dangerous when he was in there,” Walters said.

The move is an astute one, not only does it allow Cobbo to inject himself into the game but will give the Broncos attack an x-factor leading into the finals.

SELECTION CALL - Zac Lomax

Incoming St George Illawarra coach Shane Flanagan has made it clear both Zac Lomax and Tyrell Sloan have a future at the club.

But there’s enough reason to argue that the future for the $700,000-a-season Lomax has arrived this week against the Wests Tigers.

Lomax was re-signed on potential, and with the plan he would be the club’s long term fullback.

Right now the only return on that investment has been two starting games at fullback.

This Thursday should be game number three.

Lomax has a huge ceiling in the spine. He’s a strong ball carrier, has got good hands and can create opportunities.

He’s also an astute defender, which is just as crucial for a fullback as the flashy stuff.

Tyrell Sloan has been out with a calf injury since round 18. The youngster is due back this week but with the season done, there’s little incentive to rush him back before he’s ready.

It should open the door for Lomax to be a serious consideration at fullback. Lomax slotted in at fullback against Canberra when Paul Turner was off the field and showed plenty of promise.

Is Zac Lomax’s future involve the No.1 jersey? Picture: Matt King/Getty

PODCAST TAKES - Wooden Spoon Bowl

There might be two teams contesting the wooden spoon bowl on Thursday night, but it’s the poor Wests Tigers who will occupy all the column inches over the next few days.

The joint venture is at crisis point, to the extent that even a scheduled ‘crisis meeting’ was abandoned.

Peace talks between assistant coach Benji Marshall and new head of recruitment Scott Fulton devolved into separate talks with CEO Justin Pascoe.

“If Ivan Cleary had stayed at the Wests Tigers, he would have been sacked by now instead he’s gone on to win two premierships. The joint is a joke,” Paul Crawley said on The Daily Telegraph NRL Podcast.

“It was their decision to bring back Tim Sheens and couple him with Benji Marshall as a five-year plan. Here we are, it has totally been ripped apart… Scott Fulton was brought in without the knowledge of the head coach. It was a disaster waiting to happen.”

While this season might also be a write off for the Dragons, the bones of a re-build under incoming head coach Shane Flanagan are taking shape.

Flanagan has some impending challenges, like the uncertain future of veteran halfback Ben Hunt but has already had a coup by landing club great Dean Young as his assistant in 2024.

SUPER COACH - Nathan Cleary $857,400

Nathan Cleary was put on ice last weekend against the Dolphins but is set to be unleashed on Sunday to take on Canterbury.

The Penrith halfback returns with a high break-even of 129 points and could see a price drop of up to $50,000 after this week’s clash.

Cleary has an average of 56 points per game against but with the Canterbury leaking points at will right now, the playmaker could be on the verge of a huge score.

One thing to note though would be the fact that Cleary is coming from a hamstring injury. While Cleary would not return to the field before he was 100 per cent, soft tissue injuries can be unpredictable.