Well here's a start. When we signed Meli we had no viable internal options. Gidley is under contract till the end of the year when we all expect 1 of a selection of our young players to step up .. Foster may be the one. Wigan have an opportunity to blood a youngster as a second choice and what do they do ? Bring in Mr Average Cameron Phelps .. well done

With your in depth knowledge of Wigan reserve and academy Rugby, which player do you think Wigan should have "blooded" instead of signing Phelps?

And how would you describe Flannery?

Journeyman is probably over generous....................

Well according to what I've read and the fact that he has a first team squad number I would have suggested maybe giving Ainscough some game time and see how he went. As soon as you had Goulding back the backline would have been

Mathers
Calderwood
Goulding
Carmont
Richards

or would you prefer to play Phelps at 3 and drop Goulding .. oh sorry you did do that didnt you...

Ainscough was still playing at U18 academy level the same as Foster. Gouding was injured and unable to train and consequently put on lot of weight.

However he played more games than Phelps last season although Phelps stats are better.

[urlhttp://www.superleague.co.uk/statistics_player.php?hs1=2008&hp1=1806&hs2=2008&hp2=2549&stat=tries&season=2008[/url

Goulding is still only 20 years of age, and remembering what has happened in the past with players playing too much, too soon, it was probably in his best interests.

As I said earlier have a look at Tyrer, Smith , Moore and McGilvray.

Saints don't have a in place for this season, why have one of the youngsters not been blooded ready to take Talaus place.
What they have done is replaced one old man with another.

Ive got a suggestion Rogues!
Why don't the Saints Fans Pick our team as they obviosuly know more about our players than We do!

That way they could have Goulding at Centre like they did on GF & MM and saints can use him like a Turnstile again!
Would that suit them better???

Plus it seems as though the rules to us signing Overseas players & receiving criticism doesnt apply to them when they do the same thing.

Wigan 1st 17 average age 25 = 7 foreigners
Saints 1st 17 average age 27+ = 6 foreginers.

You are not really comparing like for like though Rogues.

Goulding played at the start of the season, Phelps at the end. For the last few seasons as a team we have been dire early to mid season and good towards the end. Goulding played centre. Phelps played wing mainly.

I would be interested to see Phelps stats for the game v Leeds in the play offs.

We should have never signed Phelps. He is a reserve grader. We could have played Stanton or Ainscough on the wing. We could have played Goulding or AThornley at centre.

[urlhttp://www.superleague.co.uk/statistics_player.php?hs1=2007&hp1=1806&hs2=2008&hp2=2549&stat=tries&season=2008[/url

Goulding 2007 compares better statistically with Phelps 2008

I reckon if even I came back and played we would still whup their asses

no chance at all pies

How many foreigners have Wigan got in their squad? How many have Saints got in their squad?

What quality are our overseas players? What quality are yours?

Cant see them beating us this season to be brutally honest,i can see us winning all the games between the sides this season,i can also see us sticking 40 past them on at least one occasion as well

Actually I was replying to the question



You need to read what was written, rather than what you think was written.

Dean was sent out to Widnes to see how he shaped up playing against men rather than boys in the U21s. He's played both friendlies so far in the centre position, so he has been blooded in some respects. Tyrer was picked before him when both were in the squad earlier in the year, neither were going to shift Talau when he was fit.

I would hope that he would be picked there instead of Gilmour this year, though I don't expect him to play every match.

And I can't believe you're defending the selection of Phelps over Goulding tbh.

Oh, and both Meli and Flannery are very average IMO. In some respects I'd like to see someone like Foster given a go on the wing to get him game time in SL before moving him inside.

Wigans first half opening to the new season says all anybody needs to know about them as a side.

If they finish anywhere near or beat us consistently this year, then everybody at Saints need to take a hard look at themselves.

Wigan 0 Wakey 10 HT

That's a very naive perspective based on the opening 40 minutes of their first game of the season.

As we saw in the game on friday, the opening games of [uany[/u season will see teams struggle against lack of competitive match practice, christ knows we've struggled ourselves in past seasons from the same thing.

Much as i don't like them, i wouldn't be so quick to right them of based on one half of rugby.

Wakey also had 2 tries disallowed for double movements

12-6 another one disallowed harshly according to Radio commentator

Wakey win 12-6 -superb!!

By the way the scum played today we won't just beat them, we'll maul them.

Oh you didn't just say that

?????

This was the year, accroding to their fans, that they would return to former glories. With world class players like Timmy and Tommy (LOL) they couldnt fail this year.

They have just lost, at HOME to a wakefield team decimated by injuries

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