Joined: Mar 12 2005 Posts: 1551 Location: north yorks
mathers still is a good player i remember people on here saying he was a shoe-in international not so many years ago. like others say his confidence is shot, for most of his time there the wigan front up defence has been non existant. imo he was the mom in the 2004 grand final he was outstanding that night along with many others but (from my seat in the gods at ot) he was everywhere and took everything bradford threw at him, i'd hazard a guess that 2 knee reconstuctions haven't done him any favours either in terms of agility and speed (as he was never the quickest anyway).
Joined: Apr 03 2003 Posts: 28186 Location: A world of my own ...
Stick a fork in Richie Mathers - he's done.
Looked good in a dominant Leeds side, hasn't looked a shadow of that player anywhere else since.
His pace, balance and footwork (or lack of) led to him being a "grabby" tackler with a tendency to go high at the best of times. That hasn't improved from what I saw of him at Wigan last year, and indeed has deteriorated given the injuries he's had.
He'd be competing with Jones-Bishop for third choice full-back when everyone is fit. The only justification I could see for signing him would be if Leeds wanted to use him as cover in the half-backs.
"As you travel through life don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things" - George Carlin
King Monkey wrote:I'd bring him in on a contract that suited us. His confidence is shot at the moment and it wasnt helped by a softcock Wigan pack not doing their job.
The fekwitted Wigan fans didnt seem to notice that last year though.
Who says he has to play full back anyway. He could be used as a utility and is capable of filling in at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.
Andy Gilder wrote:I'd say he's more entitled to use the front door than Raynor, who only came to the club in his early 20s and never played in the first team IMO.
I'm pretty sure Raynor played first team. Not much, in fact probably only once, but still.
EmmaMur01 wrote:Disagree. Think he is very low on confidence, and think he could come in and do a job in the squad for us.
Agree that he seems low on confidence but I can't imagine a situation that would pile more pressure on him than a return to Leeds. Also, I don't see much in his game now that would justify us re-signing him.
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