..are the replacements for Brett Finch and Tommy Leuluai at Wigan.

Crikey are things really that bad for available talent?

Yes.

The thing is, look at the rest of SL, they will still be up there in the top 3 partnerships in the league. The days of marquee signings have gone for all clubs now. Green is a good player, he has a good kicking game, can take the line on and a good short and long passing game, I think he;ll suprise quite a few people, but we'll see.

It's clear for all to see the overseas talent is drying up but with bright prospects in Sam Powell, George Williams and Ryan Hampshire it suggests the future is in the clubs own hands not what is produced down under. Blake Green looks a good player and I believe he'll prove the likes of your self wrong.

Lets hope Briers doesn't have any retirement plans in the next 5 years.

I think it's just a sign of things to come. We're in a very good position to have Myler & O'Brien with Ratch out the back under the stewardship of Briers & Hodgo for 1 & 2 more years respectively yet.

Do you think Gareth O'Brien can fill the void once Lee does hang up his boots, or do Warrington have any other promising halves?

Banter aside if the games biggest club and current League Leaders shield holders can only attract a half back pairing of an ex Saints reject and the lesser half of a Salford pairing AND the lesser half of a none playoff HKR, then wow.

Surely Tomkins is a better prospect at 6 than either of those?

Saying that how long before he goes to Saracens?

As I have said, Green is a good 6, he is also highly rated amoungst fellow players. He may fill his full potential at Wigan with better players around him.

Briers and Myler?

I did seriously think you meant us until I got to the Hull KR bit - current LLS holders confused me a bit given that we were the holders a fortnight ago but not now. I'm waiting to see how they get on before I pass judgement, as it's the best way to avoid looking like a prat later on.

Yes i agree and we MAY sign Thurston or Marshall to replace Sir Lee.

This game does look to be dying a death of a thousand cuts, i think for the first time i'm really starting to worry about the future of our game. The fact Wigan fans possibly the most opinionated, self righteous and arrogant actually think these are good signing everything considered is, well, dumbfounding. Lets not lie to each other, this pairing of Smith and Green wouldn't look out of place at London, Widnes and Salford, in fact i'd go as far to say Widnes will have a better 6 and 7 next year.

Maybe we need to stop clubs having as big a say in the way things are run in this country as there are more clubs with little to no ambition seemingly holding the game back.

Amateur hour.

Rather than having a poxy partnership with lower league clubs i.e. Swinton, why don't we set up partnerships with NRL clubs, fill the seemingly useless clubs who can't afford to run academies with Oz and Kiwi kids, bring over coaches and training techniques, se are dying on our arris over here.

Blake Green is a good signing. Matty Smith isn't. They should have signed Sean Long to run the attack from the sidelines. It was him who built the structures that made Smith look good.

You don't think the best attacking side in the league will have some good offensive plays for Smith, and a better forward pack to work off?

He's an average player that'll fit into a system. You would hope that you would want more than that from your first choice scrum half.

I've always liked the look of Green.... i think he will go well for Wigan.

All good halves play behind a good pack. Problem solved.

In the current climate, and for the forseeable future, the calibre of overseas signings will lessen. I can see a whole lot more Toyota Cup players heading this way. Fair play to HKR for snaring Burns, but that willbe pretty much the end of it.

Could do with a Jonathon Thurston mad monday 'jape' going 'wrong' about this time next year!

Two good players who will go OK for Wigan next year so long as the Wigan pack give them the opportunity, but hardly likely to 'set the world alight' or become MoS contenders. If Briers had called it a day this season, and/or Myler picked up a career ending injury then I would be totally underwhelmed if Smith and/or Green were brought in as their replacements.

Some people have Ratchford down as a full-back, but I see him as our future number 6, alongside either Myler or O'Brien depending on their future progression.

So if you had to go into the market to replace either or both, who would you sign? In other words, who else should Wigan have signed? I'm not overwhelmed with these signings, particularly Smith, but pickings are slim at the moment and don't look likely to improve any time soon.

I honestly don't know who'd be available that I'd want us to sign, fortunately it's something (as a fan) that I can put off thinking about for another 12 months. I guess it's a sign of the times that the UK salary cap, the Aussie Salary Cap and the lack of quality halfbacks means that even the 'mighty' Wigan Warriors can only find good (rather than great) replacements for Finch and Leulai [i(sp)[/i.

Well out of the players that are moving clubs this season I would say Travis Burns, Rangi Chase, Holdsworth and Kevin Brown are all better options than Green.

Going back 12 months then Ratchford would have been available but at the time apparently he was "Wigan quality". Funny how standards can change in as little as 12 months. Poor squad management from Wigan to lose both first choice halves at the same time without replacements already in-situ.

I think Green will be a good signing but you could have signed Holdsworth ahead of Smith.

I understand what you say, gdmm, but, let's be a bit daring and not even go for the Toyota Cup players.
Let's nurture our own talent, and not be obsessed with HAVING to fill our overseas quotas.
If we want to compete with the Southern hemisphere, we're not going to do it with SL clubs chockfull of overseas players. Let talented young halfbacks progress their talents at their respective clubs, instead of being crestfallen, because their club has signed another 29 year old Antipodean, because they (the Aussie/Kiwi) weren't being offered another contract down under. I wont hold my breath, though.

I like that, I really do. What is this rated amoungst professionals business? Who are your sauces?

Tits or GTFO.