Take your point, BH and you are 100% correct. Isn't it a pity though that (very well paid) international coaches can't spot a diamond in the rough? RL is a team game, generally (not always) the best TEAM wins. But even victorious fans can spot one or two stand out players who were a thorn in their own sides's side (sic).

Bongser is a bog standard fan that pretends no knowledge, has no access to all the analytics (schmanalytics) but still he can I.D. a decent player in a less than decent team even when the latter are well beaten.

Leigh romped the Championship last season but there were oppo players that he'd have in the 2023 team!

Coaches have their own game plans and some very good players may not fit into them or into the system. Marshall and later Rowley (spit) saw something in Ackers and Paul R certainly saw him fitting into his game plan! Only then did Wane start rubbing his "thunkin' " jaw.

Wish it was February!

Ackers did a year with Wigan Academy before he came to us.

He signed a two year deal until the end of the 2024 season…

He gets to play regularly each week at a higher level than playing Reserves every other week plus he is still training full time at Warrington…WIN WIN for all parties!

Walter ,did Andy Ackers ever turn out for the Wizards ?

I think you will find that Andy Ackers was released from the Wigan Academy and joined us for his last year as an U19 back in 2013. He spent most of 2014 out on loan to Swinton. His local club was Hindley but I think started out with Golborne Parkside.

No mate!!! WO is correct with his information!!!

The game has changed beyond all recognition from the one we all (most of us) fell in love with.

We lost all creativity, shoulder charges, the biff, nasty forwards that smoked 20 a day, big shoulder pads, quality imports, kicking sand and Christmas rugby.

and what have we gained?

remote control cars that bring on the kicking tee's and sunny Friday evenings nights outside the rodney.

There's a risk of overdoing the nostalgia as back in the days of winter rugby the crowds were generally low apart from the big derbies and a lot of games were rubbish, littered with handling errors and the puddles of mickey in the Fletcher Street End would turn to yellow ice because it was that cold.

But we were 'appy and that's what matters!

The part that's sad for me is that the game was making progress for a while. The game in the mid to late 2000s was faster, better attended and a better spectacle than it had been before, even if we didn't have the same characters as the legends of the 80s and early 90s.

Since then things have regressed.

Everybody these days wants to see a maverick creative halfback who bucks the trend of the robotic athletic 'system players' that we see these days, so they quickly mythologise lads in the Academy.

But if you ask who was the greatest Wire player of the modern era, a lot of fans on here will give the wrong answer.

Without wishing to derail this thread or seem like I'm 'having a go' as I generally enjoy your posts BUT that last sentence is a bit of a 'big' statement...."wrong answer"?

We all know that SC and Briars are the Sergeant Major and Parky of Ain’t Half Hot Mum!
Lovely boy, lovely boy