Hooker (rugby league)
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Hooker is one of the positions in a
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
football team. Usually wearing jersey or shirt number 9, the hooker is one of the team's forwards. During
scrum Scrum may refer to: Sport * Scrum (rugby), a method of restarting play in rugby union and rugby league ** Scrum (rugby union), scrum in rugby union * Scrum, an offensive melee formation in Japanese game Bo-taoshi Media and popular culture * M ...
s the hooker plays in the front row, and the position's name comes from their role of 'hooking' or 'raking' the ball back with the foot. For this reason the hooker is sometimes referred to in Australia as the rake. Hookers have a great deal of contact with the ball, as they usually play the role of acting halfback or dummy half, picking the ball up from the
play-the-ball Like most forms of modern football, rugby league football is played outdoors on a rectangular grass field with goals at each end that are to be attacked and defended by two opposing teams. The rules of rugby league have changed significantly ov ...
that follows a tackle. Hookers therefore have much responsibility in that they then decide what to do with the ball, whether that be to pass it (and to whom), run with it, or occasionally to kick it. Therefore, together with the two halves and , hooker is one of the four key positions that make up what is sometimes called a team's 'spine'. A trend of halves converting into hookers followed the introduction of the 10 metre rule, and many players have switched between these positions in their careers such as
Geoff Toovey Geoffrey Toovey (born 17 June 1969), also known by the nickname of "Toovs" or "Tooves", is the former head coach of the Bradford Bulls and former professional rugby league footballer. Toovey played halfback for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, ...
,
Andrew Johns Andrew Gary Johns (born 19 May 1974) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest players in rugby league history. Johns captained the Newcas ...
,
Craig Gower Craig Gower (born 29 April 1978) is an Italian-Australian former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. He is a dual-code rugby international, having played rugby league for Australia and ...
and
Peter Wallace Peter James Wallace (born 16 October 1985) is a former Scotland international rugby league footballer who played for the Penrith Panthers and the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL. A New South Wales State of Origin representative, Wallace began his ...
. The
laws of rugby league In rugby league football, the Laws of the Game are the rules governing how the sport is played. RLIF, 2004: 1 ARL, 2009: 1 The Laws are the responsibility of the Rugby League International Federation, and cover the play, officiating, equipment and ...
state that the hooker is to be numbered 9. However, in some leagues, such as
Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...
, players can wear shirt numbers which do not have to conform to this system. One book published in 1996 stated that in senior rugby league, the hooker and handled the ball more often than any other position. In the
2013 NRL season The 2013 NRL season was the 106th season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia. The National Rugby League's main competition, named the 2013 Telstra Premiership after major sponsors Telstra Corporation, was contested by sixte ...
the top six players with the most tackles were all hookers.


Notable hookers

Hookers that feature in their nations' rugby league halls of fame are New Zealand's
Jock Butterfield John Rutherford "Jock" Butterfield (18 January 1932 – 14 February 2004) was a New Zealand rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. He was named amongst the finest that New Zealand produced during the 20th century. A New Zeala ...
and Australia's
Ken Kearney Kenneth Howard "Killer" Kearney (3 May 192418 August 2006) was an Australian rugby footballer – a List of dual-code rugby internationals, dual-code international player – and a rugby league coach. He represented the Australia national rugby ...
,
Sandy Pearce :''Sid Pearce directs here, for his son, the rugby league footballer of the same name, see Joe Pearce'' Sidney Charles Pearce (born 30 May 1883 and died 14 November 1930 Double Bay, New South Wales), better known as Sandy, was a pioneer Austral ...
,
Cameron Smith Cameron Smith may refer to: * Cameron Smith (rugby league, born 1983), Australian rugby league footballer * Cameron Smith (rugby league, born 1998), English rugby league footballer * Cameron Smith (golfer) (born 1993), Australian golfer * Cammy Smi ...
and Noel Kelly. The most-capped British international hooker was Wales' Tommy Harris.


See also

*
Rugby league gameplay Like most forms of modern football, rugby league football is played outdoors on a rectangular grass field with goals at each end that are to be attacked and defended by two opposing teams. The rules of rugby league have changed significantly ov ...
* Rugby union positions#Hooker


References

{{reflist, 2 Rugby league positions Rugby league terminology