Next man up mentality. Opportunity for Shorrocks/Hill. Also Isa and Havard if we can get them back.

Remember 2016

Byrne will be missed.
I’d play Hill on Friday. No disrespect to Shorrocks but we need some size to replace Byrne.

I can see Ethan on the bench for this game too.

Whenever we have injury problems I always think back to that squad that won the GF and that season in general,, S. Tomkins, J. Tomkins, McIlorum, Manfredi, Clubb, Mossop, players out of position, injuries throughout the season, losing 62-0 at Wakefield, how we won that year is still a mystery to me.

rather play nsemba than isa too

I’d go with Hill personally, don’t want to lose too much size in the pack

To get one of Isa or Havard back would be great. If it were Isa, you could move KPP central, were he’s looked excellent or Havard is a straight swap. I think Peet may bring both back at some point but I’d resist that. I think Nsemba has earned a spot in the 17.

Not a good year for props around Billinge way. Looks like Saints will be missing four of ours this weekend vs Wire.

Byrne and in particular Havard have impressed me this year. The Wigan pack is so, so much better without dross like Clubb, Singleton etc around the place any more. I would include Isa in that too and am surprised people are excited about the prospect of him returning.

I think you're half right. The pack is definitely better than it has been in years, but most of that is a result of being patient with Byrne/Smithies/Havard turning into good players, instead of very promising ones. Easy to call the likes of Singleton & Clubb not good enough, but they were vital in keeping us competitive in a spell where we had some very young forwards (inc. Partington) who had all the enthusiasm but lacked the power they needed at the time.

Having said that, it was the right time to let Singleton go, as it was with Clubb. On Isa, he's obviously never been a world beater but he can play with a level of aggression and intensity which makes him an asset in the big games. It can go the other way too, but with so many of our forwards now possibly out for the year, having the option to bring in Isa and move KPP inside could be vital for us.

There has never been much respect for Isa over St Helens way but he's been pretty important for us over the years. He's limited in terms of skill but brings plenty to the table and we've missed him when he's been absent this year. At his best Clubb was much the same and was a good player for us for a time but we held on to him too long and showed too much loyalty. As for Singleton, well you tried to warn us when we signed him and I personally didn't listen. In fairness he did have his moments pre Matty Peet coming in but since the start of last season, he looks to have aged about 10 years and we did the right thing on that one and cut our losses.