Hartley to remain Northampton captain
Dylan Hartley will remain the Northampton Saints captain for the 2010/2011 domestic rugby season.
Hartley took on the role for the first time at the start of last season. He had a productive first year as captain and the club's second place finish was enough to make sure he secured the role for at least another year.
Hartley has already said that he wants the club to push on and create havoc in the Premiership this season. It seems the disappointment of coming so close to the title last year is huge around the club.
Hartley has a number of qualities that make him the ideal candidate to be captain at the club. However, it will be harder than ever before for Northampton to push for the top of the table with a number of clubs expected to contend.
Hartley's qualities
Hartley plays in the hooker position and this makes him a very good candidate for captain. The position enables him to read the play in front of him and bark orders to the team. This makes them much more compact and well organised.
He seems well liked around the club and this is very important. It would have been a much more difficult decision for Northampton if Hartley was not a well liked or admired person. The fact he is allows them to strike off one big decision and move onto the next.
He's very much a player that likes to lead by example. If you watch Hartley in any game then you will quickly notice that he is one of the first players to get stuck in with a heavy challenge or tackle. This is vital in important games where a number of players may be a little more nervous.
Director of rugby Jim Mallinder said: "We had no hesitation in giving him the role for this season. Dylan has grown into the captaincy over the past year."
Difficult task
Northampton have a very difficult task ahead because there are more sides in the Premiership than ever before who are capable of challenging for the title. The likes of Bath, Leicester and Saracens are all considered early favourites because of the way they played last season and what they have done over the summer.
Clubs have upped the ante in terms of the players they have brought in. This is more evident at Bath than at any other club. Lewis Moody and Sam Vesty have signed for the South West club from Leicester and this will make it increasingly difficult for Northampton to score points as the games pile up.
There will be a number of things that the club could get away with last season that they cannot get away with this season. This means the club will have to fine tune all areas of the club, the squad and any game plan because they will start to lose games they would have been winning last year.
Betting advice
Northampton are always worth a bet to win the Premiership title. However, the best option is to bet safely and wait until two or three games of the season have been played. This will allow you to watch how they play and whether they look as good as or better than everyone else.
Hartley will be a very tempting player to back because of the way that he runs around the field like a mad man. Keep in mind the position he plays and work out another member of the side to back. The winger, flanker or kicker in the Northampton side is much more likely to score a high volume of points.
Tags: