It wasn't in Canberra's pre-season plans, but Josh McCrone's makeshift move to hooker during matches has doubled his chances of playing State of Origin, according to Raiders dummy-half coach Simon Woolford.
But Woolford has downplayed the importance of McCrone's battle this Sunday with one of the best utility players in the game, Newcastle's Kurt Gidley, questioning whether NSW coach Laurie Daley should even opt for a half-hooker utility in this year's Origin series.
The Raiders have used three different starting hookers in just eight matches this season, but have started to find success by switching McCrone from halfback to hooker during matches, enabling Canberra more versatility on the bench. They will need to make another change again this weekend, with Glen Buttriss to miss at least two weeks with a badly dislocated finger. Woolford said he'd done limited work with McCrone at dummy-half, but his natural instinct for the positional change had increased his representative chances ''100 per cent''.
''It's probably not going to happen this year, but down the track certainly his versatility will enhance his rep chances for sure, I'd say it'd double his chances for Origin,'' he said. ''I don't think it was the plan at all in the pre-season to put him at hooker, it just worked out that way and he's made a fist of it. He's obviously got some things to learn about dummy-half play, but as far as natural instinct, choosing when to pick the ball up and run, he's really good at that.''
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http://www.canberratimes.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/hooker-move-puts-mccrone-in-origin-mix-20130508-2j8ec.html#ixzz2SiSF7RpW
Topic: Hooker move puts McCrone in Origin mix
