cadoo wrote:Without a decent set of forwards our halfbacks will do nothing. We got away with it a bit more with such a world class player like Trent Barrett but at the moment we don't have that. We have potential with Sam Tomkins but he is not up to Trent's standard and wont be able to demonstrate (and in some ways develop) behind a beaten pack. Thomas Leuluai equally is only very young and behind a beaten pack will not offer us much.
I agree with your assessment of the type of second rower we need. I don't think we ever replaced Bryan Fletcher. He brought us experience and a lot of go forward. Phil Bailey is not a patch on Bryan Fletcher. Although Phil's form has improved of late I still don't think it compensates offering him a contract after three years of being more of a squad/average player and from your overseas players you expect better. I would agree with calls to offer him another contract for a year had there not been better standard players available but there are. David Kidwell and Frank Puletua are both out of contract at the end of the year and are exactly the type of players we need to replace Gareth Hock and Phil Bailey. After all if we're going to compete with Saints and Leeds over the course of the full season we need to improve throughout our squad - just re-signing Phil Bailey and Andy Coley is not going to do so. The salary cap is no excuse because with the loss of Tim Smith, Coley, Bailey and Gareth Hock we should have a lot more space.
Right now we have an average pack. In order to improve we need to either develop from within players of a higher standard - or higher potential or bring in players who are better currently that what we have.
Andy Coley should not be offered another contract. His form has improved but has only improved from average. Compare him to the likes of Graham, Puletua, Peacock, Burgess, Ferriol (Sp) Morley, Carvell, LMS, Lynch, Vella etc and he comes up very average. We don't have a pack leader. The best two sides in the league do - Leeds with Jamie Peacock and Saints with James Graham. I don't think we have players who have that potential at the club so we will have to look abroad. Whether there are players of that standard available in the NRL I don't know but we seem to have an act of making players available - Amos Roberts and Mark Riddell. Talks of releasing Carl Webb early - would he be the answer? Would he be an improvement from Coley? I don't see enough of the NRL to know but I would guess that he is better than Andy Coley quite easily. So the signing would be an improvement and should be made if possible.
We have been inconsistent and average for a good number of the years and when players contracts are up we should be looking to promote players from within who have a greater potential or more ideally who are already better - hence loan spells at other clubs are useful - Scott Moore for Saints or if there is no-one from within who would be an improvement then we have to spend and look for players who will improve the squad because at the moment ours is average. I think we have had plenty of time to look for a prop forward and still don't have one. Time is running out for the club to be so meticulous in its approach to signing a forward because we are trailing behind.
You are correct we do need forwards for our half-backs to play behind. Alot of people have said that we will never win anything with Leuluai at 7 but I am now thinking we could with a good pack as his form has improved this season. I would love for us to sign a new hafl-back but only when the pack is sorted.
Fletcher is the most underated player to play for Wigan in the super league era, he always made the hard yards. Your right we have never replaced him. Bailey is average and Fletcher was a top player.
You are again spot on with the sort of player we need, those two would be ideal and I think unlike most of the suggestions on here, they are realistic IMO, but will IL look down that route, I don't think so.
We should have enough cap space to improve and you have actually made me agree with you we should release both Coley and Bailey to bring new players in as even with the improvement they are still not good enough for Wigan.
We should promote from within which is why we should fill one of the spaces left by bailey and Hock with Mossop and Farrell maybe rotating or something, maybe Mossop deserves a first team spot, he is better than Hanson IMO.
We should of had this wrapped up by not, Tronc would of been great along with Puletua but Cayless would also be fantastic.
Dropkick Murphy..we actually saw and heard a mass of bouncing and scarf and flag waving to Dale Cavese that drowned out anything we could muster.. It stopped us singing our own celebratory songs, it died out seconds later when we accepted we couldn't be heard over the Wigan lot Celebrations muted from us, job done from them. Most fans who slag them off are jealous their own club's support is nowhere near that good - sally cinnamon..Why not discuss Wigan? It's a rugby league message board. Wigan are the most famous brand in rugby league - Tre Cool..Saints fans are hopeless unless it's a cup final or grand final. Wigan fans are so much more loyal and passionate - the flying biscuit..Wires havent been massively succesful over the years, but I've spoke to Brian Bevan And he spoke to me and i wouldnt swap that for Wigans History, ever - Ande..on the TV i could only hear the Wigan fans with about 10 to go - Saint94..Every team is in your feckin shadow, we all know - FIOS
Rogues Gallery wrote:Huddersfield have signed a 31 year old. Saints have signed one player and released two. Hull have signed an injured O'Mealley and a 33year old.
Would you have been happy with those signings?
I would have taken faalongo or gilmour as a 2 year replacemnt for hock.
Joined: Jan 27 2005 Posts: 2687 Location: Westhoughton
Rogues Gallery wrote:Huddersfield have signed a 31 year old. Saints have signed one player and released two. Hull have signed an injured O'Mealley and a 33year old.
Would you have been happy with those signings?
No i would not.
I for one would sooner us build a good young team from the talent coming through. Might take a little longer but its the best way in the long term.
Quick fixes do not work in the long term and they eventually get you to where we were before Noble took over good solid foundations is what we need and over the last 2 and a half years we have started to build some.
Best Wigan No7 ever [b]Terry Newton Wigan legend RIP[/b]
Rogues Gallery wrote:Huddersfield have signed a 31 year old. Saints have signed one player and released two. Hull have signed an injured O'Mealley and a 33year old.
Would you have been happy with those signings?
i've said that for a while whilst everyone has been moaning.
No-one has signed a sl player that i feel disappointed we've missed out on [except if wakefield + tronc is true].
Soliola will be a great signing for saints, but not a position we were looking for for a number of years yet.
I just don't think there's a massive amount of talent available this season, 2011 yes, which is why i suspect Lenegan may give extensions to phelps, Bailey and possibly Coley. But hopefully only 1 year deals, which would then allow the [hopefully] new coach to come in and allow him to assess what big name players to bring in.
Joined: May 27 2003 Posts: 20494 Location: educating League Freak on all things rugby league
Rogues Gallery wrote:Huddersfield have signed a 31 year old. Saints have signed one player and released two. Hull have signed an injured O'Mealley and a 33year old.
Would you have been happy with those signings?
Would not be complaining with Hulls signings to be honest, or Soliola. We will not be able to judge them against ours until they are or are not announced come the kick off of the 2010 season.
Unofficially the most boring poster on Cherry and White.
Tricky Dicky wrote:I think you will find i said some time ago that hall was joining the bulls, many months before it was announced.
Go on then, show us the post because all I can remember from you is bull$hit rumours that NEVER come true. So you are saying Hall signed for Bradford MONTHS before it was announced? Methinks not.
Joined: Jun 05 2009 Posts: 5463 Location: Trapped in time. Surrounded by evil. Low on gas.
Saints are linked with Watmough after already capturing Soliola, yet we get linked with Griffin, Thorman and Johnson. I mean come on I don't know about you guys but I feel throughly depressed about the future of are signings, for me there vital in helping are youngsters progress as well as helping the club progress towards honors.
For me if it's a choice between signing dross that were stuck with or waiting till 2011 I'll wait, however when this time comes around next year and we look to be doing the same and the club say they will be waiting till 2012 my love for the club will be stretched to it's limits. When were so close to getting this club back on it's feet are future signings will make or break are club, and that's what frustrates me the most that were so close yet at present still so far away.
Wigan vs Leeds finals aggregate score.
Wigan 178 - 64 Leeds
Wigan wins - 6 Leeds wins - 0
I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass, and I am all out of bubblegum.
Don't you struggle. Don't you fight. Don't you worry, cause it's your turn tonight!
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