I'm still pinching myself that we've managed to hang on to both Field and French! As said above, King is a pretty low-risk for Wigan, we'll just have to see how he goes.

just to say(and not get inbetween them two)

Prior to last season, king was an excellent defender, then last year he turned up to pre-season with his head up his booty, reacted very poorly to a few disciplinary situations and then was booted out.

Get his head on straight and and get him fit, and he'll be fine.

This.

Some people have short memories.

He was part of the England set up when he was playing on that right side and playing very well.

He moved sides signed a big contract and probably got a bit ahead of himself.

He is 26/7 will be coming into a system where he will have to have the right attitude and moving back to the right side of the field with Wardle playing on the left.

Some people are too busy hoping he fails than actually looking at it from a measured point perspective.

With a backline of- Field,French,King,Cust,Smith,Wardle,Marshy ,that my friends will be the strongest and certainly the fastest back line in Superleague.

All of our great sides had pace, skill and strength in the backs. We certainly have plenty of pace and skill but lack the strength of the likes of Inga, Connolly, Robinson and Radlinski but...... i am being INCREDIBLY picky there

Bateman has signed for wests according to the Aussie press

its one of those rumours that wont go away re Bateman

he's being totally professional about it (ie getting on with playing for England) and i havent seen loads of social media posts from him about it, unlike one of our players in the recent past

if he does move on, then good luck to the lad as its a short career and he needs to look after himself / family. If he does stay, then happy with that also as he is still a fantastic player, maybe not the same one that left Wigan to the NRL previously, but still one of the top 2nd row in the country

Real mixed feelings on it. I always think the form line is overplayed. I saw somebody say he was almost unplayable before he went to the NRL and is now bog average and I don’t agree with either view. He was a lad who played above his weight before he went, had a great time against players who underestimated him and has come back on more money then he probably should be getting. His form in 2021 was ok but granted, he was below his own best but his form in 2022 has been pretty good. He’s had some really good games and in the bigger games.

On one hand I’m disappointed to lose him and it’s yet another exit we’d rather not see IMO and we have this every year, all at a time we’re trying to close a gap to a club that somehow doesn’t lose players they want to keep (They say it’s for the love of the club and winning things but that doesn’t pay the bills). On the other hand, we have space to bring a replacement in. I will need to wait to see what the plans are for a replacement before giving a balanced view. To lose Matty Nicholson and James McDonnell with this on the horizon is pretty disappointing.

What mystifies me with JB is the 'I came back because I was missing family' line. In his case it seemed to be genuine. We all saw the Zoom videos where his daughter was made up to hear he was coming home. And then the next big offer, he's going back to Aus.

That said, kids grow up and lose interest in mum and dad, so maybe there's something of that there.

I don't really blame him. He's not found his pre-Canberra form since his return and has certainly been nowhere near his actual Canberra form. Maybe he can rediscover it at Wests.

Hoping we get someone good to replace him. But if this is true, and he's gone for 2023, we'll need someone in now, not in 2024.

It will be interesting to see what we do re. his replacement. I doubt many fans will be happy if Isa slots in there. KPP would be an easier pill to swallow, but you in the back of your mind you know it's only for 12 months. After that our quota management (or lack of it) means we can't go to Aus for a replacement. I wouldn't have minded Frizell.