Gareth Hock is too good a player to leave rugby league under a shadow, says Terry O'Connor
Wednesday 25 February 2015 18:04, UK
Gareth Hock is a special player and may still have a chance to turn his rugby league career around, says Terry O'Connor...
I was sad to hear that Gareth and Salford had parted ways and I really hope that this is not the last we see of him in Super League.
I hear that the ambitious Leigh club have made a bid for Gareth and I really hope he gets one more chance to redeem himself and leave the sport with his head held high. Gareth Hock is too good a player to turn his back on rugby league.
I met him back in 2000 when he first came to Wigan as a youngster. He always came across as a very quiet and a little bit insecure. He was always a scrapper though and his talent was obvious to anyone who watched him train.
Gaz has got a big cross on himself every time he plays, the opposition know that they can get under his skin and he has to learn to handle himself in adversity.
Rugby league is a physical sport – it is unnatural in some ways because you have a 17 stone man hurtling at you and you have to put him down from a standing start. In any other walk of life that would be assault. It is a sport that rewards big, strong, aggressive men and it is what clubs look for in a player. Gareth Hock fits the bill perfectly but it’s controlled aggression that is needed and he does not seem to know how to control it.
I know him very well and he is a good mate of mine but I do not condone the things he has done – and I shake my head at some of the things he does when he snaps and sees red.
A lot of sports have those sorts of players; a genius on the pitch but when you get under their skin, they crack – look at Luis Suarez.
Gareth Hock is one of the best players I have ever played with, I have stood there and thought, 'this lad is just unbelievable', however in the same game I have stood there and thought, 'what the heck are you doing!'
Unfortunately, at the moment Gareth will not be remembered for the brilliant things he has done on the pitch – who remembers when he played against the Aussies in 2006 and absolutely terrorised them? He should be recognised as one of the best forwards in Super League.
It is a little bit ironic that it is his abrasiveness and scrappy attitude that makes him such a good player. He makes the opposition wary of him and they know that they have to go in hard because he is such a fabulous player. But there is a line, a line that you should not cross and unfortunately Gareth has not worked out how to stay on the right side of that line. The great players know how close they can get to that line and bring it back.
Let down
I am not making excuses for him, but I think that during his career he has been let down by people. People have let him get away with things that he shouldn’t have and perhaps turned a blind eye to certain things because of his performances on the field.
On the other side of that he has been given every opportunity to redeem himself. He has been in good cultures at clubs and has had plenty of support from players and coaches who have tried to mentor him as well but he just has not learnt – the bottom line is that everything Gaz has done has been his decision, his choice.
Since 2008, Gaz has played 110 games and missed 102 games – that is one heck of waste of a talent but he has to accept it is all his doing and take responsibility for it.
Gareth is in danger of resenting the game once he finishes playing, which will be a huge shame. There are not that many people who get the chance to play a sport for a living, to play in front of packed crowds, to get paid to keep fit and to hear your home fans cheer you on and your opponents' fans boo you – it does not get much better than that and only a few of us get to experience that. You can’t waste those opportunities and I really hope he realises that and gets back to making the headlines for the right reasons.
Gaz has got a big cross on himself every time he plays, the opposition know that they can get under his skin and he has to learn to handle himself in adversity.
He is running out of time though – in four years’ time it is going to be all over. I want him to look back at the game with fondness. I want him to be proud of what he has done – yes he will have some regrets but from the bottom of my heart I hope he turns it around and shows us the very best of Gareth Hock.
