He was the man set to make Parramatta fans forget all about Reed Mahoney, however just four games into his blue and gold career, Josh Hodgson has some friendly competition.
The former Raider trotted out for his 142nd NRL game on Thursday night, just his fourth for the Eels, however Brad Arthur changed his tactics regarding the Englishman before facing the defending premiers.
Hodgson had played every minute of every game for Parramatta over the opening three rounds, all resulting in four-point losses, as Arthur continued to run with a bench consisting of four hulking forwards, that was until Thursday night at least.
The head coach named debutant Brendan Hands in jersey 15 for the clash, a bench hooker originally hailing from Penrith himself, and it certainly paid dividends as soon as the 23-year-old entered the fray.
Forget 'Walker's on' - now it's 'Hands on'.
The youngster came on for Josh Hodgson some 50 minutes into the contest as the Eels and Penrith sat level at 8-8, and completely altered the contest.
While Hodgson's greatest strength lies between his ears, Hands ironically proved his strength was his feet, darting out of dummy-half and more than doubling Hodgson's run metres in just 34 minutes.
Hands even crossed the stripe just minutes in his debut, backing up a Will Penisini break to score adjacent to the uprights and regain the lead for Parramatta.
If Penrith didn't already know, they did now - Hands on.
However, while Hodgson would've been thrilled to secure his maiden win in Parramatta colours, the 33-year-old didn't step back onto the field after being substituted off in the 50th minute.
It was a telling sign from Brad Arthur, opting to play a debutant in golden point as opposed to a veteran that's amassed nearly 300 first-grade games, including his years in the Super League.
While Hodgson is crafty and brings his forwards onto the ball, the rake's service has been slow at times with a number of line balls thrown. Hands added speed to the ruck after he was injected, a crucial trait with running halves in Mitchell Moses and Dylan Brown.
There's little doubt that Hands will continue to be included in the 17 going forward after a try-scoring, tide-changing debut, however where does it leave Hodgson, with over 18 months left on his deal?
The English international will be 35 by the end of his contract, and while he's shown glimpses of form over the past month, there's no doubt Hodgson is in the twilight of his career.
Canberra often ran a tandem-hooker combo during Hodgson's seven-year stint in the nation's capital, either with Kurt Baptise or Siliva Havili in the utility role, though Hodgson would still often play the entire 80.
Fresh off an ACL tear in Round 1 last season, it's rare a player comes close to their best form the season after rupturing their anterior cruciate ligament, however at 33, how much juice has he got in the tank?
Especially down a man for the start of golden point after Junior Paulo was sin-binned, you'd assume Arthur would lean towards the more tactical of the two hookers for overtime, instead Hodgson watched Mitchell Moses kick Parramatta to their first win of the season from the sideline.
ON DEBUT!!! Brendan Hands ๐๐#PARRAdise #NRLEelsPanthers pic.twitter.com/O2RUcYKfId
— Parramatta Eels (@TheParraEels) March 23, 2023
While Hands isn't in Parramatta's top 30, Brad Arthur confirmed there were three spots available in the squad, and the Eels may look to upgrade the 23-year-old.
โIt doesn't always work out that way for blokes making their debut,โ Brad Arthur said in the post-match press conference.
โHe's worked really hard in preseason, he's not part of our top 30 but was given an opportunity and did a really good job. He didn't try to overplay his hand, pushed down the field and got lucky with a nice try.
"He's one of those blokes that the boys like to see rewarded, especially on the back of how hard he trained in the preseason.โ
It may just mean a reduction in minutes for Hodgson, however the greater the impact Hands has on this Parramatta outfit, the less their marquee signing will play.
There's no doubt we live in the age of the running hooker right now, increased fatigue and faster games, specifically with the six-again restarts, open the door for players like Damien Cook, Harry Grant and Apisai Koroisau, as opposed to your more traditional playmaking rake like Hodgson.
There'll be trials and tribulations as Arthur learns how to best capitalise off the two-hooker set-up, however only one thing is for sure - Hands is on.
