I think the first big hit he gets sees him run for the hills as he did yesterday, he'll never gain the mental strength needed for international honours, which is a shame as he's got the physical attributes to cause the Aussies problems.

I am. He was the slightest man on the pitch and he had plenty of Wigan players pounding towards him but he lept and took that ball like a seasoned professional. That lad had balls of steel and he knew how important that catch was to the end result. I have no doubt he would have been equally committed had Karl Pryce been on the pitch. No doubt at all.

talk about taking and bombing chances.wigans decision to take 2 points after 1o minutes of pressure against saints was the biggest bombed chance of the afternoon.i am convinced if they had tapped it they would have scored a try.i was very glad when they went for 2.even without the penalty i think they would have scored in that set.

That to me showed a complete lack of confidence in themselves. Saints will have taken a lot from that, and will have lifted defensively. I couldn't believe that decision TBH.

Hmmm, not sure I agree. Whilst they could have gone on to score a try, they chose to take the two imo to settle themselves; as we have seen very often, getting the first points on the board in a derby can be very important, especially given the fact they then get the ball back and re-continue the pressure on our defence. It also has an effect on the two sets of supporters, quietening us down momentarily and picking their fans up even more.

the funny thing is that lass (gemma is her name) used to be a saints fan she still lives in one of the streets near knowsley road

I disagree completely. They looked pretty settled and looked like scoring on our line, we was defending pretty well but both times they put kicks in behind and the first time Meli nearly ballsed up and Roberts come close, the second time Richards managed to knock the ball back, so both Wigan players got there first and weren't a million miles away from scoring. They had us under pressure, and them taking the two points relieved the pressure. They do get the ball back, but they get it back deep in there own half and have to re-build to put the pressure back on our line. Also, i think that a lot of there fans also thought it was the wrong decision, so it didn't really pick them up and a quite a few Saints fans were relieved to see the kick at goal, rather than a try, thus picking us up. It works both ways i suppose. It was too early in the game to kick at goal, IMO. They should have continued to pressure out line.

Right now hes closer to the second analysis than the first, although he is getting better week on week

He is a good ball and all tackler and has an excellent passing game, therefore if he is willing to do some more graft i think his ideal position is centre to replace Bailey when he retires next season. This will allow our numbers 1-3 to play in their respective positions aswell as giving Pryce a start on the team sheet

The first thing he needs to learn to use his hands to fend better, a big lad like him should be able to palm smaller wingers like foster straight into touch

but there wasnt another 5 minutes was there, you was outclassed saints always handle the pressure and you was beaten by the better team,
why didnt wigan play like they did in the last 10 minutes the whole 80 .. please explain?

You should know about Saints handling pressure anyways