Halsall as yet hasn’t earned the right to be considered a starting centre at Wigan.

He clearly has potential but as yet that is all it is.

Wardle and King are centres that have played at a level fitting of a call up to international rugby league.

We cannot keep chasing rainbows.

We needed 2 first team centres for 23. We now have them.

What happens beyond 23 with King who knows, however if Powell is still at Wire he won’t be going back there.

Our backline is probably the best in the league on paper and more excitingly it has potential to improve.

King is a player who has lost his way a little however he has proven to be able to perform at a higher level than Halsall.

It’s frustrating to lose young lads who do clearly have talent but like I said above we cannot remain in a period of transition constantly waiting for these lads to achieve that potential.

I’m very pleased with the backline for 23 and it has good backup options even without Halsall.

Halsall is going to Giants no doubt on more money but again as a backup player. He may well become a first team player however at the moment he isn’t.

It feels like there may have been a bit of a strategy change here or at least just a re-balancing of the salary spread, to put a bit more cap space in to the first 17 and in turn to maybe not have quite as deep a squad. It’s all well and good carrying 7 or 8 first team ready back up players but you then need an injury crisis to use them all. We’ll still have depth next season and there will be a natural progression now for guys like O’Keefe and Harvie Hill but the balance seems to have been changed a little.

This is the part that surprises me.
Huddersfield have Marsters, Naiquama, Cudjoe and Bibby available for the centre positions, how many games will Halsall get there or will he be pushed out on loan.

I remember when Iain Thornley was a huge loss to international RL.

Wigan will undoubtedly be better served in the short term by the players they have signed than the players they have let go.

Sam Halsall is 21, Wardle only a couple of years older at 23. Its not as if we've replaced him with someone in his early to mid 30s.

Although he's been part of the deal to get Wardle, I think the general feeling is on recent form King hasn't been great so maybe Halsall would have been a better option, and on far less money.

I've been told by 2 people, oen close to Wigan and one very close to Warrington that King was on £150k/£180k and Warrington are paying £30k of that (Whichever of the 150/180 he's on). That's a considerable amount more than what Halsall would have been on.

Obviously the staff see Halsall every day and they obviously didn't fancy him. The writing is on the wall when Isa, Farrell, Bateman, KPP are all being picked at centre ahead of you. When he has played he's not been spectacular and he's also not let anyone down. At 21 years old I would hope he'd have started to nail down that spot though. I do remember the uproar of Hankinson not being played and eventually leaving the club. People were saying then that it's a disgrace and it would come back to haunt us. He's in the Championship with Toulouse.

What's Morgan Escare up to these days?

I think the key issue here is wardle. He clearly wasn’t happy at missing out on the CC and felt he should have played (I don’t agree - he lost the shirt and the player he lost it to did nothing wrong to relinquish it- that to me is how it should be) wardle was given the chance to play on the wing, that would have given him the opportunity to play himself back into the side but he didn’t want to take it and wanted to play at centre. Wardle has a poor injury record, he missed two years of academy rugby as a result of serious knee problems, which caused knock on issues elsewhere and these seem to be a weak spot and he regularly seems to have had shorter lay offs since and that’s why he’s lost his place. It must be terribly frustrating for him as he is an excellent player when he stays fit, but he just couldn’t manage to cement that place. All he needs is an injury free season which seems to have alluded him.
Watson is quite clear to the players he signs what is expected of them in the regard of places and playing for them, and keeping them. Sam will know where he stands and must have accepted that.

That's the crux of the argument and i think it's a solid enough point to be making. It isn't about Wardle, it's about King. We've moved for King, even tho Hudds wanted him and moved on a prospect to Hudds too. Seems a little bizarre.

For me, the backline next year is fairly experienced and we could have either carried Halsall somewhat (something that happens with most young players), or phased him in over the season instead of Thornley. Next year you flip that and Thornley is in his last year and turns into the cover option.

I liked Halsall, but I'd definitely take Wardle/King over him.