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Why Robbie Farah will always be the No. 2 hooker behind Cam Smith
Darren Lockyer
The Courier-Mail
April 27, 2013 12:00AM
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STATISTICIANS reckon Robbie Farah handled the ball 101 times and made 63 tackles in NSW's win in Origin II last year in Sydney.
He's a terrific player. But he could do that every rep game and he would still be no better than the No.2 hooker in the game.
How close is Robbie, who leads the Tigers against the Broncos tonight, behind Cam Smith?
Well, if there was a game in the balance, I'd take Cam as my hooker every day of the week.
He handles situations under pressure better than anyone.
Farah will come up with some great plays, but the question mark has always been how he handles pressure and whether he makes the right choices at the right time.
I think that will always be the aspect of the game he falls behind the Storm and Queensland captain on.
It's no slight, plenty of people who go back further than me say Cam is the most complete hooker and dummy-half Australia has seen.
Cam has all the skills to pass well and read the game.
He isn't lightning out of dummy-half but he is stronger than he looks and it's his knowledge about knowing when to run and when to pass or kick that sets him apart.
Since his debut for both representative teams in the 2009 season, Farah has played five times for NSW and four times for Australia, replacing Smith usually in the frontline Tests.
He has matured a lot in the past few years and I thought he was NSW's best player in their 2012 Origin series when there were questions marks you would hear about him not fitting in with a representative team.
Robbie flew home during Australia's 2011 Four Nations tournament when his mother Sonia was bravely fighting her sadly terminal illness.
Things in life sometimes force you to adapt as a person.
Last year, it was clear that NSW coach Ricky Stuart was planning to recall Danny Buderus to the Blues side.
Assistant NSW coach Steve Roach went so far as to say publicly that Farah was not "an Origin type player''.
After Buderus was injured and could not play in Game I, Farah went on to play the whole series.
The criticism at times has been that he has been selfish with the footy. I think he has been better for his team in the past 12 or 18 months.
He's a creative player on the field and likes to take a few risks, which was permitted by Tim Sheens, the previous Tigers coach.
The Tigers have long had players who can create points and with Benji Marshall not there again tonight Farah is definitely the player who the Broncos have to keep quiet to ensure victory at Campbelltown tonight.
Tonight's game is one the Broncos are expected to win and if they don't it would be a setback to their season.
Robbie has a challenge in front of him with no Marshall to provide a second big playmaking option.
But he has a great engine and will give them 80 minutes to relieve the responsibility from the less established halves they have tonight, Tim Moltzen and the less experienced Curtis Sironen.
Even when the Broncos were 1-3, I was not too concerned because I could see some improvement coming after going down to Manly, the Roosters and Storm, who are all quality opposition.
The Tigers are only one loss worse off than the Broncos, but Brisbane would be feeling pretty confident they can grind the win out tonight.
Darren Lockyer
The Courier-Mail
April 27, 2013 12:00AM
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STATISTICIANS reckon Robbie Farah handled the ball 101 times and made 63 tackles in NSW's win in Origin II last year in Sydney.
He's a terrific player. But he could do that every rep game and he would still be no better than the No.2 hooker in the game.
How close is Robbie, who leads the Tigers against the Broncos tonight, behind Cam Smith?
Well, if there was a game in the balance, I'd take Cam as my hooker every day of the week.
He handles situations under pressure better than anyone.
Farah will come up with some great plays, but the question mark has always been how he handles pressure and whether he makes the right choices at the right time.
I think that will always be the aspect of the game he falls behind the Storm and Queensland captain on.
It's no slight, plenty of people who go back further than me say Cam is the most complete hooker and dummy-half Australia has seen.
Cam has all the skills to pass well and read the game.
He isn't lightning out of dummy-half but he is stronger than he looks and it's his knowledge about knowing when to run and when to pass or kick that sets him apart.
Since his debut for both representative teams in the 2009 season, Farah has played five times for NSW and four times for Australia, replacing Smith usually in the frontline Tests.
He has matured a lot in the past few years and I thought he was NSW's best player in their 2012 Origin series when there were questions marks you would hear about him not fitting in with a representative team.
Robbie flew home during Australia's 2011 Four Nations tournament when his mother Sonia was bravely fighting her sadly terminal illness.
Things in life sometimes force you to adapt as a person.
Last year, it was clear that NSW coach Ricky Stuart was planning to recall Danny Buderus to the Blues side.
Assistant NSW coach Steve Roach went so far as to say publicly that Farah was not "an Origin type player''.
After Buderus was injured and could not play in Game I, Farah went on to play the whole series.
The criticism at times has been that he has been selfish with the footy. I think he has been better for his team in the past 12 or 18 months.
He's a creative player on the field and likes to take a few risks, which was permitted by Tim Sheens, the previous Tigers coach.
The Tigers have long had players who can create points and with Benji Marshall not there again tonight Farah is definitely the player who the Broncos have to keep quiet to ensure victory at Campbelltown tonight.
Tonight's game is one the Broncos are expected to win and if they don't it would be a setback to their season.
Robbie has a challenge in front of him with no Marshall to provide a second big playmaking option.
But he has a great engine and will give them 80 minutes to relieve the responsibility from the less established halves they have tonight, Tim Moltzen and the less experienced Curtis Sironen.
Even when the Broncos were 1-3, I was not too concerned because I could see some improvement coming after going down to Manly, the Roosters and Storm, who are all quality opposition.
The Tigers are only one loss worse off than the Broncos, but Brisbane would be feeling pretty confident they can grind the win out tonight.
