The Mighty Fax:

Full Back- Royston and Greenwood both very good players in our league 8/10 Both great going forward, ok defensively

Wings- Worrincy and Paterson, Haley and White can cover 8/10 Pace galore maybe worth a 9

Centres- Goddard and Haley with Paterson and Nash covering 7/10 Lacking a bit of pace

Stand Off- Branighan controls the game very well and Beswick + Bowman a good prospect covering 8/10 not linking that well with Black so far but the potential is there

Scrum Half- Black on form the best 7 in the division, Penkywicz + Gene can cover although better suited to other positions 8/10

Props- Maloney, Aizue, Watene, Wrench, Tamghart all good players in our division a lot of impact 9/10

Back Row- Gene, Larder, Nash, Bannister, Beswick, Roberts all solid players, lacking some size and pace but do a very good job 8/10

Hookers- Gleeson and Penkywicz with Beswick covering 10/10 Don't think you can get better than Gleeson and Penky in our league

Nobody could disagree with the Worrincy comment after last night.


Loyal Saint, try and come up with a SH who is actually better than Orford.

Headhunter: Bosc is good, but imo he still isn't as good as Matt Orford.

I may have been over-generous, but not as much as st pete giving Wellens 7/10

I have to admit that I don't rate Orford and I believe he's majorly overhyped. His rep career shows no SOO or Aussie caps and one daily M medal doesn't or shouldn't make a career.

If I had the choice for Wigan I'd take Burrow, Dobson and Brough over Orford but that's just my opinion.

So you believe your current side could make the top 4/5 of super league? Or are you rating them as Championship players? Not a dig by the way just interested in your marking scheme, I enjoy watching the Championship games and theres some very expansive rugby played

=#8000FFRob Worrincy is quite possibly the worst player I have ever seen play Rugby League, truly a terrible, terrible player.

Fair enough, everyone's entitled to their opinion. I don't rate Burrow at all tbh and Dobsons alright, but I still don't think he's anywhere near. Brough is the closest for me, but i'd rather keep Orford.

ATEOTD its all opinion really on here, i'm sure every coach has an idea who he'd rather have.

This is my grading of Wakefield

Full back - 5.5 Blaymire is solid enough without being spectacular, good cover with Murphy who started the season solidly and was unlucky to be pushed out to the wing

Wingers - 7. Blanch is very strong and pacey, George (when fit) certainly knows his way to the try line and, Murphy (see above) and Moreton has developed well and looks a good prospect

Centres - 6.5 Millard looks to be an excellent addition, Gleeson has great feet but has woeful defensive positioning. Murphy (see above - again!!)

Stand off - 7 Jeffries can be one of the best in the league on his day, has struggled with consistency in the past but has had a great start to the season so far before getting injured against Hudds. Obst isn't the most creative player in the league but he wears his heart on his sleeve and tackles and runs well above his weight.

Scrum half - 9 Brough has one of the best kicking games in the league and is excellent defensively which is somewhat of a rarity in scrum halves. How long we'll be keeping him God only knows with very strong rumours of player(s) + cash deal with Hudds. Southernwood waiting in the wings but not too sure if hes ready to step up to Super League on a regular basis just yet, definitely got the talent but unsure as to whether he could deal with the physical demands.

Prop - 9 Tronc is a monster of a man who has a massive engine, probably one of the best props in the league. Korkidas seems to be a one man club and performs very strongly for us. Moore has ovefcome his illness and past discipline problems and is a powerhouse. Strong debut from Gledhill on friday but too early to give a fair assessment just yet. King is a proven Super League prop but we've yet to see anything from him due to injuries and illness so once again a bit unfair to judge him just yet.

Hooker 7.5 Latu has cut out the erraticness from his game and also the niggly stuff, he is a devastating runner of the ball and offers good distribution of the ball. Davey has looked very accomplished every time I've seen him play and looks to have a good future in the game. Obst also covers this position.
Second row - 8 Morrison is pure class and a true professional, Ferguson is developing into a fine player and just lacks a passing/offload side to his game at the moment to be rated as a class player. Johnson has yet to be seen, as he is still struggling from the bang on the head he received against Les Cats

Loose Forward - 5 Unfortunately it looks like a season too far for our inspiriational leader and captain Demetriou. Hope he proves me wrong. Still has the occasional powerful run but time is catching up with our popular talisman. Could Paul Cooke be our saviour in this position? Only time will tell.

Overall 7 probably a fair assesment, finished 5th last season and apart from Hudds have had another solid start to the season

Hull FC:

Full Back - 8/10 - Tansey has to be one of the candidates for the England number 1 shirt imo and after him we've got the likes of Horne and Whiting who can do a decent job. Young Jack Briscoe is one for the future too.

Wing - 5/10 - Calderwood is a very dependable winger, but other than Reece Lyne and Dennis Tuffour he is the only genuine winger in the squad. As good as Briscoe and Hall are they are not wingers.

Centre - 7/10 - If you class Briscoe as a centre then we have good depth in the centres. Yeaman, Hall, Briscoe, Turner, Whiting, all good Superleague centres.

Stand Off - 7/10 - If Richard Horne is at his best he is a very good player, but I hope his recent form continues because we havn't seen him at his best very often since his injury. We've also got Turner, Whiting and Washbrook who will do a decent job there.

Scrum Half - 7/10 - Sean Long is still the master, but we are left pretty thin should he get injured.

Prop - 8/10 - Good blend of power and grafters. O'Meley has been as good as anyone so far this year and Dowes, Cusack, Moa and Radford aren't too shabby.

Hooker - 8/10 - Berrigan can be devastating when at his best, but his consistency can be a problem, Danny Houghton offers alot off the bench.

Second Row - 9/10 - Manu and Lauaki can be and often are devastating, Tickle is also a top player when on form.

Loose Forward - 10/10 - Based on what we've seen so far Fitzgibbon is a machine, getting on but still a world class player. Washbrook isn't too shabby at 13 either.

Should walk it then eh?

I think you being you are being extremely generous in a few areas of your own team.

Like where? Maybe giving Fitz 10 is a bit ott but he has been truly outstanding so far.

Full back 7
2nd row 8
Loose 8
Possibly stand off 6

So by "extremely generous," you actually mean an extra point here and there?

Don't worry about it, if you have a higher opinion about a certain player or two, you get slated!

Was gonna have a go earlier, but can't say I could have done much better than that mate to be honest! Possibly a bit harsh on Blaymire who hasn't had the best of starts but looked somewhere back to his best the other night, on good form you could easily raise up a couple of points, especially with Murphy looking very good cover.

Shame we haven't got four Tronc's, the guy is absolute class and would be 10 for me with 3 others like him!

Think 7.5 is generous for the hooking role too, possibly a 6.5 for me at the moment, but with Davey looking to have a lot of potential...

I can only assume those ratings are at Championship level. He does state that you wont find better at our level that Gleeson and Penky.

If that squad plyed in super league they'd be down the bottom, no doubt at all.

Last season I thought exactly the same. So frustrating to watch, a lot of knock ons, a lot of dropped catches. And so much pace for sideways runs accross the field. Bizarre.

He is looking more solid this year though, seems to have got the hang of catching, looks more solid with the ball in hand. And is making some decent runs for us.Seems the penny has dropped that sometimes he can just take a tackle rather than making no ground avoiding it.

Fullback would be a 7 tops for me, Tansey is nothing special although a lot of our supporters think he is great. I think Whiting did as good a job as Tansey when played there.

Wings i would agree

Centres 6/7 Although good at times defensively Hall/Briscoe are very suspect but excel in attack.

Stand off - Last two games a 7 but season average so far would be 6

Scrum Half - again i agree Long is very hit and miss and always has been.

Props 7 - Good workhorses but apart from Meley no really impact from them, Moa is unproven for now.

Second rowers we have a cracking second row so i agree with that

Loose man - Although Fitz is doing a cracking job he is not a Loose man in my view so would score 8 on that one.

Wire

FB 5
Problem area - mathers, Riley and hicks can all do a job there but none are particularly good (in that positon).
W - 8
Hicks, king, Riley, atkins all plenty good enough there.
C - 8
Bridge and Atkins/King with Grix, Anderson as back up give good options. King sensatonal this yr so far. Bridge underrated.
HB - 9
Myler/briers and then any of Grix, Anderson, Monaghan, bridge, Solomona as cover
PR - 10
Morley and Carvell and then Wood, cooper, solomona, Harrison, Westwood as cover. None better in SL IMO.
HKR - 9
Mick Monaghan - one of top 3 hookers in SL and back up in Higham and Clarke offer good if unspectacular reserve
SR - 8
L Anderson and Westwood offer a mix of beef and stupidity but have been very impressive this year. Westwood, his brain farts aside, is brilliant. Solomona been a revelation too since signing.
LF - 7
Harrison has spent the offseason bringing his other body parts in proportion with his head Size and is huge. Super prospect but not a 13. Grix and V Anderson as safe back up.

Wigan in my view.

Full Back 7/10
Phelps is a massive improvement on Mathers in attack but questionable in defence. Both Roberts and Richards can revert to Full Back if needed. I would prefer both to Phelps at Full Back to be honest but not at the expense of their current wing strike rate.

Wingers 10/10
Richards has proved to be an immense signing. Not the quickest but he makes up for that with sheer power and ability to cause problems in the air. Roberts, like Richards, had an average first season here but looks reborn this campaign. His try at Warrington, which put Matt King on his a*se, was awesome and he almost repeated it at Bradford. Darrell Goulding has done a good job as back up recently and the fact we have a 25 tries in 17 career appearances back up in Shaun Ainscough at Castleford as well, shows great squad depth. The top four strike rating (i.e tries per game) players in Super League at the moment are those four. Karl Pryce also offers back up

Centres 7/10
Carmont has been a quiet but effective signing whilst Martin Gleeson offers experience. Not much pace their though. Goulding provides back up and Phil Bailey or Joel Tomkins can switch from second row if required.

Half Backs 7/10
Sam Tomkins' kicking game is improving this season to add to his nippy footwork skill. Bit disappointed with Leuluai so far this season. Deacon provides back up and experience but is perhaps showing his age.

Props 9/10
I give it a 9 more for strength in depth. Purely because not many sides in this league could afford to drop Feka Paleaaesina, which Maguire has done (he played in our Under 20s on Saturday). Fielden looks like his pre Wigan self this season and Andy Coley is also looking strong. Prescott & O'Carroll will do a good shift. We have two young props, Ben Davies and Neil Holland, out playing at Widnes and Blackpool respectively as well.

Hooker 6/10
Our weak link for me. Riddell doesn't offer enough. Some say he does good things but I expect more from an import player. Switching Leuluai between 7 and 9 as games progress is a reason he has been disappointing in my view this year. Not seen McIlorum this season yet.

Second Row/Loose Forward 8/10
Joel Tomkins is joint top with Amos Roberts in our message board's player of the season race so far, which says a lot. Love Lee Mossop, great impact off the bench. Hansen and O'Loughlin are immense in defence but not so much in attack. Good back up in Phil Bailey and I've no doubt Liam Farrell will do a good turn if recalled from Widnes. He would have played late last year but for injury.

Squad Depth will play a big part this season and Wigan have plenty in key areas, probably the best in the league. Highlighted by Shaun Ainscough and Feka Paleaaesina being unable to get in the current side. If Warrington lost Adrian Morley long term, or James Graham at Saints, in my opinion they'll struggle to find someone anywhere near Feka's stature and experience in reserve. Massive luxury for us that, which allows Maguire to squad rotate the props and second rowers as the season progresses (he's doing it already). That could be key to being fresh at the play off end of the season. We also have some good kids who have been part of a dominating reserve side in the last two years.

Nope you would still turn over Quins and be above them

Just a thought but if these are ratings relative to the competition shouldn't they be out of 14? 1 being better than all the competition, 14 being worse than all the competition. The lowest overall score would then be (arguably) the strongest squad.

Every team has been given about the same score - no wonder it is the best super league EVA

Only 10 clubs in each division in the Championship though! We'll stick with 10 for now.

Thanks for everyone who has contributed so far, still to go:
Everyone bar Halifax in Championship 1 and 2
From Super League:
Castleford
Catalans Dragons
Crusaders RL
Huddersfield
Hull KR
Salford

It's just that even for Championship clubs, these are just marks out of ten for each position. If it's rating positions relative to the opposition it ought to be...We've got he best FullBack = 1 the 5th best Right Wing = 5 The worst Loose Forward = 10 etc.

Interesting anyway.

TBH I don't think he is. The problem we have is if you included the coaches score (Agars would be around the -9 mark) it would create a much clearer picture.