Jake Connor is one of rugby league’s biggest enigmas.
When he is on, he is on fire, but when he is off it, he can go missing and fail to pull his side out of the mire.
There are no question marks about his incredible attacking skills, with 22 assists making him Super League’s leader, but defence has sometimes been an issue with Connor failing to pull off the last ditch tackles that separate the good fullbacks from the special ones.
However, earlier in the week the maverick number one was linked with an NRL move, according to Hull Live with Canberra Raiders one of those clubs keeping tabs on him.
However, for former Hull FC star Paul Cooke, he doesn’t believe that Connor has the attitude needed to possibly build himself up if things do not go his way in the NRL.
“Is he the full package that’s ready to go out there and make a fist of it? If things don’t go his way will he knuckle down or throw his toys out of the pram? I don’t question whether he couldn’t go out there and play but I question if it doesn’t go his way whether he’s going to dig in. That’s what the sceptic in me says,” Cooke wrote in his Hull Daily Mail column.
Cooke also believes that Connor is lacking in one specific area: “The only thing he hasn’t been blessed with as a fullback is speed, when someone breaks through you worry they’ll skip around him and we’re not talking about just quick players here, but Liam Farrell did in the England and All Stars game last year. Farrell’s quick for a back-rower but he’s not a quick centre.”
It remains to be seen whether or not Connor would make a potential move, but he is a special player with a special talent – when he wants to be.
