Wane’s Connor food for thought
IT was quite the night for Jake Connor as he had an eventful evening playing for the All Stars.
The Hull FC fullback was a standout performer as the All Stars defeated England 26-24.
Connor was a key architect on three occasions for the representative team, with the Black and Whites ace honouring his Trinidadian heritage.
It took him six minutes to get his first assist, firing out a sublime cut-out ball to put Ken Sio to the corner. He was the catalyst of their second try, too. With three different options he picked the right pass, feigning another cut out ball but instead ploughing Peter Mata’utia through on a crash play.
His main blemish came minutes later. Liam Farrell burst through a hole and burned Connor for pace as he raced to the corner, with Connor unable to catch him and getting a boot in the face as a result.
But beyond that, he performed his defensive duties well. He took a number of high kicks and organised his numbers well, a key improvement in his game Brett Hodgson has identified.
He played his part in the crucial late score, capping an impressive night against a nation he hopes to represent later in the year.
The question is whether that will happen. There’s no doubting that Shaun Wane intends to play Sam Tomkins at fullback. The England head coach made that clear earlier in the year and the fact he’s now handed him the captaincy adds to that. It’s hard to see Connor being able to dislodge him, no matter how well he plays.
He is capable of playing more than one position. Centre and halfback are two positions he knows well, but whether Wane would be tempted to move him again, especially given the options he has in those spots, remains to be seen.
Some will argue Connor is playing so well they need to find a place for him. Others will claim that playing people out of position for the sake of playing them is a failed practice. Either way, Connor is giving Wane plenty to think about.