Ethan Havard : Fri Jan 17, 2020 11:56 pm  

He is already better than Clubb & Flower and is one of the best front row prospects I have seen in many years, in my opinion he shouldn't be held back for too much longer especially with NRL clubs already sniffing.
Ben Kilner also looked to be coming on nicely.

Re: Ethan Havard : Sat Jan 18, 2020 12:33 am  

He’s certainly one of the best forwards Wigan have produced in a few year but he’s gonna struggle for game time in the first few weeks, from what I gather Burgess Bullock Flower Clark and Clubb are the first choice 5, Flower and Clubb do need to step it up massively to keep it that way though

Re: Ethan Havard : Sat Jan 18, 2020 10:50 am  

Better than Flower. Give your head a wobble

Re: Ethan Havard : Sat Jan 18, 2020 11:19 am  

The Eclipse wrote:

He is already better than Clubb & Flower and is one of the best front row prospects I have seen in many years, in my opinion he shouldn't be held back for too much longer especially with NRL clubs already sniffing.
Ben Kilner also looked to be coming on nicely.

He is one of the best young props I've seen coming through for many years. he has a good running and passing game, maybe a bit of work to do on his defense but he should get some game time this season.
Wigan seem to have unearthed some big athletic forwards, Havard, Macdonald, Rushton, Stone, Kilner etc in the last two or three years, let's hope we can keep them away from Aus for a while at least.

Re: Ethan Havard : Sat Jan 18, 2020 1:23 pm  

Both have to get past Liam Byrne yet

Re: Ethan Havard : Sat Jan 18, 2020 4:55 pm  

Havard reminds me of a young Morley.

Re: Ethan Havard : Sat Jan 18, 2020 5:10 pm  

He is a very exciting prospect and I know it’s difficult as fans to stay grounded when presented with a player with as much promise as him but I would suggest caution here. The last thing we all want to see is him built up and up into this ready made ready to go superstar and then not play at that level straight away leading to him being chopped down by the very same fans who were lauding him.

2020 should be his breakthrough year, if not 2021. He has time on his hands, as do we given how stacked we are at prop at present and we should remember both.

Re: Ethan Havard : Sun Jan 19, 2020 11:42 am  

Hope we can keep him away from the NRL, looks like a beast.

Re: Ethan Havard : Sun Jan 19, 2020 12:03 pm  

My benchmark for success now in terms of our young players is being able to keep them in our first team for 5 years. It's sad but in the current climate I think that's a decent result. Plus it's also good for the player as going over to the NRL without a few years experience in SL first grade is asking for trouble.

You would also like to think there would be at least some level of moral obligation from the players to the club if you've come through the club's academy system for 5+ years. The Chris Ashton's of the world who turn their back on a club after less than a year of first grade don't warrant much respect for me. With the likes of George Williams, Sam Tomkins etc you have to say fair enough and good luck.

Re: Ethan Havard : Sun Jan 19, 2020 5:21 pm  

MadDogg wrote:

My benchmark for success now in terms of our young players is being able to keep them in our first team for 5 years. It's sad but in the current climate I think that's a decent result. Plus it's also good for the player as going over to the NRL without a few years experience in SL first grade is asking for trouble.

You would also like to think there would be at least some level of moral obligation from the players to the club if you've come through the club's academy system for 5+ years. The Chris Ashton's of the world who turn their back on a club after less than a year of first grade don't warrant much respect for me. With the likes of George Williams, Sam Tomkins etc you have to say fair enough and good luck.

I do think players are also becoming increasingly aware that some NRL clubs are to be avoided, especially for young players who want to develop in a professional and supportive environment.

Lee Mossop probably one player who learned the hard way having left the professional environment of Wigan for Paramatta, I’m not convinced Sam Tomkins joined the right club either.