Quote Zig="Zig"Super League players out of contract at the end of 2023. https://www.totalrl.com/every-super-lea ... s-to-make/'" Keep Ellis and Cust. Release Isa, Miski, Mago and Singleton. Renouf Antoni & Lolohea in with Cust to 9. The rest is replaced in-house i.e Eckersley for Miski, Hill for that 5th choice prop option.

Quote Zig="Zig"Super League players out of contract at the end of 2023. https://www.totalrl.com/every-super-lea ... s-to-make/'" Keep Ellis and Cust. Release Isa, Miski, Mago and Singleton. Renouf Antoni & Lolohea in with Cust to 9. The rest is replaced in-house i.e Eckersley for Miski, Hill for that 5th choice prop option.

Atoni made our props look like Shane Webke in his first outing against Catalans.



Can’t write him off but he didn’t look interested which suggests it may be attitudinal. Get another look at him tonight I guess. He’s been quite in the preseason games too apart from the Boxing Day game v Leeds where he was very good.



I’d like for us to look to more experienced players in the pack and I don’t think there is anyone playing in SL at the moment that we could look to fill the Prop and secondrow positions we need for 24.

I’d like to see more from both Ellis and Cust before extending. I think both could potentially earn deals but Ellis needs to earn the right to get more minutes and show what he can do and Cust has things to work on as well. I like Cust but he can go missing in games and defensively he is not the best. He was exceptional against Salford in the friendly, which made his performance last week both surprising and disappointing but I do expect he’ll bounce back.



I agree with the others. We cannot under any circumstances give contracts out this time to guys like Isa and even Singleton, on the basis that they’re good lads. Make no bones about it, we’re behind St Helens and have work to do to catch them up. To do that we need better players and we need to ask ourselves the question as to whether first 17 guys we’re signing and giving contracts to would make their team. If you can get somebody like Singleton signed on back up player money, then maybe but we need to be more ruthless.

I agree about being more ruthless, but letting the likes of Isa and Singleton go is also dependant on who is available and who is affordable. Letting two lesser paid players go to sign one higher paid player isn't always the best case of squad management.



I highly doubt we turn down the chance to sign top quality players just to keep Willie Isa for example.

I think if anything Kris Radlinski deserves more criticism than he's received over the recruitment in the last few years.



Fail / mixed bag / jury out



Signings: Silva, Miski, Mago, Ellis, Thornley, G.Burgess, Clark, Bibby, Bullock, Sammut, Singleton,



Re-signings: Isa, Powell,



Field, French, KPP and Cust are probably the main success stories but outside of them its been poor for me. This combined with the lack of star quality in the academy are probably the two main reasons for the gap between us and Saints.

I can get onboard with that.



With Ellis and Cust I've given some weight to the potential of both & squad stability too. Cust, like you also said, has had some very good performances for us - the CC semi Vs Saints stands out.



I do however think that we'll miss Tommy this year. Whilst he was injured for a large part of the season he played a big part in getting us off to a good start last year. That builds confidence, which can't be underestimated.



Maybe Cust at 9 and an experienced 6 like Lolohea, improves us across the board? I'd rather that than gamble on someone like Clark at 31.

JWH is definitely coming to SL for next season.



Between you and Catalans

We missed a trick not resigning Williams, he is in a different league to Cust. The loss of Nicholson was also difficult to take and not replacing Bateman was criminal. Ellis, Mago and Miski on current form do not warrant the Club extending their contracts and Isa and Singleton have had their time. Our pack is simply not good enough and needs an overall. The problem is where do we find those players. Looking at SL players off contract, at the end of the season, there’s not a lot of talent available. The only prop I would consider is English at Huddersfield, so we will need to turn to the NRL. There are plenty of average players who will come over but they will not move us forward as a team. The only option is to get less with the money we may have available. Two top forwards are a priority for me together with a halfback.

You said that Bateman wasn’t going!

No way we will sign a hooker.

Nicholson really hurts tbh. I see him in a Wire shirt and just shake my head. He plays with controlled aggression and will be a top player. You have to be careful giving in to young players demands and giving them too much, too soon but it’s a shocker for us that. I can live with the Williams decision tbh. It’s silly money really for a guy that blows so hot and cold. He’s hot currently and will have a good season but I wouldn’t bank on it lasting over the coming years.



As for our recruitment, we will have to go to the NRL and we need to do better with our next forward recruits than we’ve done with the last couple. We’ll need 2 second rowers to replace Bateman, KPP and Isa and at least one prop. I do t think we’ll touch the hooking position for years tbh but I’m not saying that’s right.

Early days but some of the team lineups at the start of the year perhaps highlight some strange decisions outgoing Wigan players have made (Jake Bibby and Sam Halsall not getting a game, James McDonnell being sent out on loan).

I expect Halsall to go on loan this year once injuries kick in, in SL squads.

Almost inevitable given Huddersfield's depth - maybe his options were limited but a strange decision to go there.

And Wardle wasn't signing...

They have a few backs coming to the back of their careers probably this year so I think they made a few signings with 24 in mind, Halsall being one.

Huddersfield seem obsessed with the depth of their squad but realistically they were probably short of a couple of game breakers last season and may well be again this year. Connor will add creativity but he brings risk as well and certainly doesn’t make them any quicker.

Shorrocks to Leigh on loan. Lam is a big fan and picked him every week in 2021

I did and I was wrong but the JWH is from Reddit from the nrl sub and there are countless posters from Aus saying the exact same thing. Reddit isn’t like English forums. Rumours only get posted where there is some substance so I would 100% believe he is going to either you or Catalans.

I’m sure he’ll have a run out at centre

How have Leigh got room under their salary cap for Shorrocks?

We must be paying a part of his salary.

Also, will he be able to play for Leigh against us? Never, ever understood that!

Think Wigan will be paying all if not most of Shorrocks salary. Wigan will be keen for him to get game time.



Playing against your parent club is up to the parent club. Wane always allowed the on loan player to play against Wigan

Did they ever replace Ferguson?

Don’t think they did and hasn’t one of their young lads gone off to love island?

Tom Briscoe



And yes Keenan Brand