We all love Kevvy.
Solid, reliable, will never give in.
But if truth be told, Keven Mealamu should have been put out to pasture paddock years ago.
In the past three seasons for the Blues, he has been on the bench or in the stands more often than he has played. His calves are shot.
But still he stays and really it is more about who is in the queue behind him than the state and mental fitness of our Kevvy.
Hookers tend to be creatures of longevity.
Otago hooker Dave Latta played the position for a decade, racking up 161 games for Otago.
He said it was a position in which players did not easily move on.
''You look at the All Blacks and you've had Horey [Andrew Hore] and Mealamu there for more than a decade. It is a position of longevity,'' he said.
''You look at Otago. There was Anton [Oliver]. Before him there was me, before that Ken Bloxham, Dave Pescini.
"A lot of people look around at who is available but maybe it is a position where player turnover is not so high.''
All Black rugby could be just in that in-between period before someone comes through to dominate for the next few years.
Latta said the role was one which had changed over the years, and was very different since when he played from 1986 to 1996.
''It is a lot more technical now. A hooker is like a loose forward.
"Though with the rules changing maybe it is becoming a bit more about the scrums.''
Latta said it was a concern no-one was putting his hand up but hooker was a specialist position and players could not adjust to the role easily.
Like it or not, hookers lived and died on their ability to find jumpers at lineout time.
''It is a key role in the entire game and I do not think we should shy away from that. But it is tough.
"A halfback can throw the ball into scrums way off centre and get away with it. But a hooker throws the ball in slightly crooked and he gets pinged.
''I think hookers get a lot of criticism and it is not all their fault. The lifters may be off, someone has not heard the call right.
"But it is always the hooker who is seen as at fault.
''Lineouts are way different now. We had a much smaller target to aim at. They throw differently. They throw it higher.
"But you are still looking at the end result.''
Latta said many of the aspiring hookers were moving up the ranks and with that came upon different coaches.
''Maybe they are hearing too many different voices, telling them to do different things.
"When the reason they got there was what they have been doing right from the start.''
Otago's Liam Coltman, Bay of Plenty's Nathan Harris and Taranaki's Rhys Marshall look to be the next cabs off the rank but are stuck in traffic.
The likes of hookers and halfbacks are notoriously difficult to judge at colts level.
There is little difference in ability in up to a dozen players. Some players prosper, others fall by the wayside.
Former All Black selector Peter Thorburn is confident top hookers will come out of the woodwork.
''The regular guys have been there for so long which holds the other guys out. But there are three or four guys emerging.
"They will get taken into camps and be judged,'' Thorburn said.
''I'm confident someone will emerge. They just need the exposure and one of them, if not more, will show they are up to it.
"They will have the power, the basic strength to come through.''
He pointed to the likes of Harris and Coltman while players such as Ben Tameifuna and Motu Matu'u were possibilities.
''Four or five years ago we had no number 10s. Except for Carter. Then it was locks.
"Now we have four or five giants who are at the top or close to it.
''I just think the system we have here, always throws up good players.
"It starts at secondary school a wee bit and then goes into the ITM Cup.''
