at least acording to t&a. Thats a boost for sure although probably not enough to affect result. got to wonder about our medical staff though as thats 2nd player thats come back from injury 4 or 5 weeks earlier than originally diagnosed.

I just hope he isn't been risked unnecessarily

By which I mean, being realistic, we probably are going to lose on Sunday. I wonder if it would be better to give him the extra week and have him 100% for the must win game against Salford the following week

We're all going to be pretty gutted if he comes in against Wigan, has a relapse of the injury and is out for another two months

You mean like langers did

It seems to me that this season the club is overestimating how long a player is going to be missing for.

Aye I thought that too. It's a trick that Saints have been using for years. Coincidence that Potter happened to come from there?

Great News that is

Yeah, but it's just gamesmanship. If you're gearing up to face a team that's gonna have players x,y,z in it then you're going to set up to play against them. Then at the last minute you're told it's not x,y,z but a,b,c then that means you've got to do a reworking of your plans to compensate. Throw a little distraction and disorientation into the opponents game plan.

Fergie at Man Utd does it and it works pretty well for him

Tres bien.
Allez.

Oh aye, I'm not saying it's a bad thing that we're doing it. I've said a few times before that it works well when Saints have done it in the past. Whenever they came out and said Cunningham, Wellens or another quite key player were out for x amount of time, I'd always recommend you half that for the correct amount.

When the player was back then they'd sometimes leave it until the last minute to include them. Purposely including an injured player in the 19 man squad, who would then pull out later due to his injury, and be replaced with the returning star. Giving the minimum preparation time for the opposition.

Perhaps not in the spirit of it all, but perfectly within the rules so if it works, I see no problem with it.

Well check this out www.injuryupdate.com.au/nrl.php I suspect the reason the NRL are upfront is because they have bigger squads and historically the RL Club owners in the past were not going to let the opposition know there were "Trouble in't Mill"

Well check this out www.injuryupdate.com.au/nrl.php I suspect the reason the NRL are upfront is because they have bigger squads and historically the RL Club owners in the past were not going to let the opposition know there were "Trouble in't Mill"

lacerated eye ball - thats got to smart a little!

It does sort of come across that way, doesn't it? Although, in fairness, on at least one occasion I know for a certainty that the club medics made the correct diagnosis and it was the A&E medic who did not.

Must admit though that I would much rather be pleasantly surprised rather than seriously disappointed regarding timing of player returns. After all, there has been precious little else to cheer us up that much of late?

I think that might be in the clubs mind. I mean, to estimate Elima would have been out for 4 weeks, us to pencil in this weekend as his comeback only for him to not be ready would have seen uproar on places like this, with people lambasting medical staff as useless and incompetent etc. Feels like much more positive news this way.

Hopefully they've done it with Kearney too!

Aye. Certainly if it was up to me, I'd be tempted to add a couple of weeks on every time an estimation is given. Then if it does take longer than expected, it's not really noticed by the fans. If it's about right or they're back quicker, everyone sees it as a bonus.

I think it's always worth remembering though that how long a player is out for is always an estimation and will rarely be absolutely spot on. Far from the exact science that some people seem to think it is.

So an estimation is not exact? How does that work then?

Thought the idea of bringing back a player unexpected was to surprise and upset the opposition. Can't see any of the current squad causing Wigan any reason to change the way they are preparing for Sunday.

Well, exactly.

It was a bit different when they used to pull that trick at Saints. You'd suddenly find out that Keiron Cunningham was playing and it tended to make quite an impact....

Pleased Elima is fit for tomorrow, think we have missed him to be honest in some areas. Hopefully he will bring a spark back to the team however I think Langley's return has more chance of that.

It has to be of benefit, though he's been out for a month so he'll not be fully match fit and probably won't play the whole game. Should stiffen up the defence though and give a good attacking option.

I've actually been a little disappointed with Elima in attack so far, I think he is capable of more than he has shown so far. He's certainly an aggressive defender though and he'll probably have plenty of work to get through today.

Langley was struggling in training yesterday according to a good source..Bateman in as 18th man should Langley miss out again..

not having quite the same benifit at Bradford though!!!!!

Whitehead pulled up in training yesterday..but should be ok to risk him.