Kurt Much More Than Utility Value
Newcastle Herald
Monday July 14, 2008
KURT Gidley is so versatile he has created a position that is quite possibly unique in rugby league's 100-year history.
Since making his NRL debut for the Knights in 2001, Gidley has spent time at fullback, winger, centre, five-eighth, halfback, lock and hooker and rarely missed a beat.And in Friday night's 30-18 win against Penrith at CUA Stadium, he redefined the utility-player tag by handling two jobs for the price of one, leaving long-time league watchers shaking their heads in amazement.When Newcastle were in possession, Gidley spent most of the game at dummy-half and clinically carved up the Panthers in a man-of-the-match display.In defence, he dropped out of the defensive line to fullback, where he was responsible for kick-returns, fielding bombs and making last-ditch tackles.The 26-year-old wore jersey No.9, but was he playing hooker or fullback?Or does his hybrid role warrant its own name, such as ruck rover?Whatever the case, he was freakishly effective against the Panthers, scoring a try, setting up another, kicking five goals and carrying the ball a game-high 198 metres.His dominance prompted Herald columnist Peter Sterling to comment on NBN yesterday that Gidley reminded him of Andrew Johns and Danny Buderus combined.The remarkable performance has provided all rugby league coaches with food for thought.Is the Gidley experiment just a stop-gap measure until Buderus and Matt Hilder are cleared to return from injuries?Or could it be the next phase in the evolution of the position of hooker, which in the game's 100 years has changed more than any other job description?For many years, a hooker's primary tasks were to tackle and win the ball in scrums, of which there were plenty in every game.Hookers were invariably as tough and battle-scarred as the props they wrapped their arms around.It was not until the early 1980s, when Balmain's Ben Elias incorporated ball-playing creativity into his duties, that hooker became a recognised attacking outlet.Elias played only five Tests before he was superceded by Steve Walters, whose direct dummy-half running was ideally suited to the 10m rule and created a template for the likes of Buderus to emulate.In recent seasons, Cameron Smith and Robbie Farah have taken the role a step further by regularly switching to first receiver and calling the shots as playmaker.Now Gidley has revolutionised the whole concept by playing hooker without defending in the middle of the ruck.Not that Newcastle's Mr Fixit can't tackle. Against the Dragons two weeks ago, he defended in the front line and topped the hit parade with 34. But Knights coach Brian Smith recognised two major advantages to be gained from Gidley's multi-purpose role, which was trialled briefly in the early rounds of last season before being reprised on Friday night out of necessity.By playing as fullback when Penrith had the ball, it reduced Gidley's defensive workload.It also gave Newcastle the opportunity to stack their side with six big forwards, which helped them to tame the much-vaunted Penrith pack.Smith was delighted with how the Gidley gamble paid off but was dubious if rival teams would consider plagiarising the experiment. "Not too many blokes have Kurt's motor and his ability to actually play fullback," Smith said."A lot of blokes wear No.1, but they don't play fullback nearly as well as he does."His capacity to read the game, as well as his motor, makes him a bit of a rare item."The game is beyond having anybody who is the only one who can do something. "But there are not too many around I can't think of anybody who could do it for 80 minutes.""Not too many blokes have Kurt's motor." BRIAN SMITH
© 2008 Newcastle Herald