: Thu May 28, 2009 5:15 pm  

Mark1987 wrote:

Ok the list i mentioned are W/C, Great and Good Fullbacks, better then our attempt at playing players who aren't made for that position.

All I'm saying is the top 5 have, players who are made to play that position, teams like us, Hull FC, Wakefield, Bradford are all playing players who they thing are good at it, but are actually quite poor. TBH

Why sort them first, our defence is good/superb on the night, we'll poor in attack. It's speaks for it's self, how often are Wellens,Greenshields,Webb involved in nearly every single try? Ok Briscoe and Melling aren't as good in attack, but the two of them sure know what they are doing in defence.

Them five players it's very rare the ball goes to ground on the kick down field, with us it's very rare it's taken on the full, it's an extra 10-15metres each kick, makes a hell of a difference over a game.

Sign a young, talented FB now, whilst the team bonds. new right wing partnership, new young half-back, new young left winger, right time to bond the whole back line, rather then introducing someone again further down the line. Create a back-line which won't be boken up for a few seasons, only Carmont to be replaced if we did.

Imo outisde of Webb and Hodgson the rest of the fullbacks in superleague are much or a muchness and we have bigger priorities before we move onto signing one.

Phelps has shown this season he's more then capable of playing in the position and can continue to improve as he gains more experience in the role.

There was an australian newspaper article posted on here yesterday though saying Lenagan was after a fullback whilst in Australia and if he fancies bringing Matt Bowen back with him i won't argue too much

: Thu May 28, 2009 5:29 pm  

NickyKiss wrote:

Imo outisde of Webb and Hodgson the rest of the fullbacks in superleague are much or a muchness and we have bigger priorities before we move onto signing one.

Phelps has shown this season he's more then capable of playing in the position and can continue to improve as he gains more experience in the role.

There was an australian newspaper article posted on here yesterday though saying Lenagan was after a fullback whilst in Australia and if he fancies bringing Matt Bowen back with him i won't argue too much

Bowen is an amazing fullback. He would rip superleague to shreds!

: Thu May 28, 2009 5:38 pm  

NickyKiss wrote:

Imo outisde of Webb and Hodgson the rest of the fullbacks in superleague are much or a muchness and we have bigger priorities before we move onto signing one.

Phelps has shown this season he's more then capable of playing in the position and can continue to improve as he gains more experience in the role.

There was an australian newspaper article posted on here yesterday though saying Lenagan was after a fullback whilst in Australia and if he fancies bringing Matt Bowen back [b]with him i won't argue too much[/b]

Ditto.... He'd be amazing... IL please

: Thu May 28, 2009 6:00 pm  

could be a chance in signing Bowen. is he not secon choice now to billy slater for the aussies??

mind you i do not be think we need a full back, games are won in the forwards, backs just decide by how many points.

we need 1 new prop. simple as.

after that a halfback.

: Thu May 28, 2009 6:46 pm  

I disagree with people who say FB is such an important position, as long as he is solid like Briscoe, someone who can catch a high ball and tackle one and one with a good kick return. Especially when we lack so much punch in the forwards and creativity in the halves, getting a FB would be pointless, also we have so many outside backs who can do the job there. Richards IMO is the safest FB in super league, he just needs to sort out his kick return, how often do you see a 6ft 5inch FB, he should be breaking tackles and making 20-30m on a kick return a few times a game.

We need a prop, pretty much any of the ones mentioned will do a good job.

A half-back / leader is a must, Orford or Lockyer would be brilliant. I would love to sign Myler or Dobson in an ideal world but then we would have to sign another leader IMO, someone to give the players some stick behind the goals like Faz used to do. I also think we need someone who is a little big headed and arrogant, to be abit of a pest.

: Thu May 28, 2009 9:31 pm  

First of all we need a top class prop forward to lead our pack. (An Asotasi/Luke Bailey type player)

Second we need a quality organising half back. Unfortunately it looks like it will have to be a stop gap signing so I think IL should raid his piggy bankand go for a certain Mr Lockyer, he's stated he wants to play super league before hasn't he? Next choice would have to be Matty Orford, class act

Once we have made these 2 signings the squad should be a lot better and a good balance to the side with the likes of Mossop, Ainscough and Sam establishing themselves but there would still be improvements we would need to make such as,

Another prop forward who is a workhorse, solid in defence, lots of carries and therefore metres. (An Adam Blair/ James Graham type player) but obviously we would have to look down market. LMS is the name that stands out.

Possibly a full back. Personally I think Roberts will have the number 1 jersey next season and has all the attributes to make a quality full back. I know he had a couple of poor games there earlier this season but he was still settling in. Phelps still has the chance to prove himself too.

: Thu May 28, 2009 9:41 pm  

I honestly can't see either Orford or Lockyer coming to Wigan.

IL said when he took over, he wasn't going to sign 'over the hill aussies'

Orford
Lockyer
Long

They are all aged slightly

We need to be looking at players like Anasta, Myler...... Hmmmmmm Thurston I wish.

I know th eoldies will offer alot to the like of Tomkins, but if we take the risk on an oldie like Orford and Lockyer, and it does't pay off, imagine the fans, nevermind this forum

: Thu May 28, 2009 9:45 pm  

Mark1987 wrote:

I honestly can't see either Orford or Lockyer coming to Wigan.

IL said when he took over, he wasn't going to sign 'over the hill aussies'

Orford
Lockyer
Long

They are all aged slightly

We need to be looking at players like Anasta, Myler...... Hmmmmmm Thurston I wish.

I know th eoldies will offer alot to the like of Tomkins, but if we take the risk on an oldie like Orford and Lockyer, and it does't pay off, imagine the fans, nevermind this forum

There are no other options than to go for an 'over the hill aussie' though. (Can't see too many people complaining if we got Lockyer either )

The only link Anasta has had with Wigan is on this forum
Myler would be brilliant, in 2 years time
Thurston, dream on
Dobson, staying at KR

The best thing the club could do IMO is sign Orford/Lockyer to play with Sam for 2 seasons and sign Myler and send him on a 2 year loan back to Salford (because he would have been snapped up by someone else in 2 years time)

: Fri May 29, 2009 8:27 am  

Despite North Queensland playing it down, they seem to looking for a replacement for Webb should he leave them. http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/ar ... wboys.html

Despite North Queensland playing it down, they seem to looking for a replacement for Webb should he leave them. http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/ar ... wboys.html

: Fri May 29, 2009 10:56 am  

odemwingie wrote:

I disagree with people who say FB is such an important position, as long as he is solid like Briscoe, someone who can catch a high ball and tackle one and one with a good kick return. Especially when we lack so much punch in the forwards and creativity in the halves, getting a FB would be pointless, also we have so many outside backs who can do the job there. Richards IMO is the safest FB in super league, he just needs to sort out his kick return, how often do you see a 6ft 5inch FB, he should be breaking tackles and making 20-30m on a kick return a few times a game.

We need a prop, pretty much any of the ones mentioned will do a good job.

A half-back / leader is a must, Orford or Lockyer would be brilliant. I would love to sign Myler or Dobson in an ideal world but then we would have to sign another leader IMO, someone to give the players some stick behind the goals like Faz used to do. I also think we need someone who is a little big headed and arrogant, to be abit of a pest.

Think you need to watch Melbourne Storm or Manly or perhaps the Broncos before stating the FB isn't an important position.

Not only are they the last line of defense, not only can their positioning and ball return set up a good set of six with decent field position, they can be the key in attack as a deep lying second receiver or someone to create an overlap out wide.

I agree sorting out the halves and the props is the priority, but you can't ignore the importance of one of the key positions in a RL team.