Just wondering what your views are on Richie Mathers leaving at the end of the season and been replaced with Brett Hodgson....I thought Mathers was brilliant today and must have run Briers close for the Lance Todd.

Smith seems to be getting the best out of Mathers , do you think you've made a mistake letting him go?


By the way congratulations today on a brilliant win.....1 to 17 were awesome

yes always said so

As far as we are aware. We offered a year contract extension too richie as a understudy and too learn off bret next year...

Richie turned it down, thus off too cas next season.

Gutted he is leaving..was very good today. But in TS we trust

He's been great all season. Keep.

He had a cracker today and had a great game last week as well. I will make a judgement on his departure after Hodgsons first year for us.

Mathers will be 27 next month, Hodgson 33 when the season starts next year..... Do you think they got Hodgson on the back of an exceptional season last year because this season hes done nothing to be worthy of replacing Mathers....You dont need him for his goal kicking as Westwood is proving to be well capable of doing this job.

Just seems strange but as you say .... Tony Smith must know what hes doing

To be honnest. i think this is tony smiths 1 mistake. Richie will get better and is still only 28 i think. brett is 32/33??? next season...

Lets not go down the road of saying Smith is wrong again

Chris Hicks is that age as well and is still one of the best athletes in SL, the age is less important than how fit they are. Mathers is good but Hodgson is a better player and he does offer goalkicking which Westwood is at best a back up, it's not ideal to have your workhorse forward burdened with kicking duties as well.

The downside with Mathers is the same as with Myler, he's a potential target for the opposition, today he didn't make any mistakes but he has in other games and it has cost us. In getting Hodgson in we eliminate a player opponents can target.

Not saying Mathers is a bad player, he's got a lot of good points, which is why he got offered a contract as a starting fullback in a decent SL team, but if you want to be in one of the top teams you can't have minus points, which is why Penny's not getting a new contract, why Mathers is being replaced by Hodgson and why Myler didn't play in the cup final...

you have wasted LOTS of money with signing Hodgson
he is past it ....overpaid.......nold and vitally takes up a QUOTA spot

After watching the game again it seems pretty wrong now to say Mathers is a target when you see the three try savers he put in today!

Mathers had a few poor games in his time at Leeds but I can never remembering him not performing in a big game or a final. He seems to have that big game mentality you need. I thought he was outstanding today and will be an asset wherever he moves to. Is he confirmed at Cas?

Played with heart today - great game



He will do well at Cas. Shame he is going but is indeed his choice.

Super performance by Mathers. Didnt put a foot wrong. You could see the disappointment all over his face when his "try" was disallowed. More importantly you could see the disappointment all over the face of the supporters that he wasnt given it, and I dont think by that stage it was because the team had a try disallowed.

Would Brett Hodgson have made those 3 try savers yesterday? Personally I don't think so as he is a different type of fullback - in that case Leeds score in first 2 minutes & the game is completely different.

Said all along I would have kept Mathers of Hodgson & nothing I have seen this season makes me think any differently.

At the moment I CANNOT disagree, but.........In Smith we trust.

If the club want to continue with being a force and winning trophies, then the club must remove the weak-links within that club. starting at management level, down to the players. Shankley did this to great effect at Liverpool and Ferguson at United.

Admitedly, Mathers had a good game yesterday, but so did the rest of the team. Overall,though, he's being disappointing in a Warrington shirt. If Smith thought any different, he'd have offered him a longer contract and would not be replacing him with a player who is approaching the end of his career.

Maybe so but averaged out over a whole season the pluses and minuses of Hodgson, not least the goalkicking, go in his favour.

Once again in a big game against big opposition we let ourselves down by missing kicks. How many of those close games which we have lost against Saints in recent seasons, would we have won if we'd kicked our goals. Mathers had a fine game and we applaud him for that but Hodgson is an improvement.

Remember a few years ago when Henry Fa'afili was leaving, there were a few question marks asked, all of those tries where he used to pluck Briers kicks out of the air to score and was always at the top of the SL try charts - would an ageing Chris Hicks from Manly be up to the job of replacing him? Sounded like poor short term thinking when we had one of the best finishers in the game.

Richie Mathers was absolutely superb yesterday - simply top drawer and one of the best players on the pitch.
Saved 3 certain tries, ran the ball back strongly and came in looking for work. It would have been great for his 'try' to stand but unfair on Leeds.

I was really suprised that Leeds didn't try to bomb him - that's been an area where he's been weak, but he didn't get tested.

Fantastic Richie - well done.

Shame you're off to Cas next year as I think there was definately a role for you at full back next year, but can't blame you.

This from someone calling himself Sir Steve Menzies? Oh, the irony!

To the OP, we're not "letting Mathers go", we offered him a contract and he turned it down. But I'm sure that he did so in the heat of the moment, at a time when his pride was hurt, and it's something he'll regret for the rest of his career.

Had a blinder yesterday. But I would say generally he plays out of his skin or is just not there. Yesterday he was magnificent. Compare with some football players who won't play because they want a move. Richie is moving on but gave his all for us yesterday.

But Smith is showing a ruthless streak. Signing Hodgson, dropping Mathers.

He is paid to win trophies and that is waht we are doing; 2 in 2 years compated with 2 in about 20.

From Tony Smith - agree totally with what he's said. (From Telegraph)

"What he did was not only try-saving defence, but game-saving defence, he was enormous," Smith added. "He did a fantastic job and that's the best game I have seen him play in the Warrington colours."

He said in the interview, before the BBC went off air, "I love this club and the players".

Great bloke, I wish him all the best.

I love seeing Matters celebrating a try. He plays the game with a smile, like a fan who has won a competition to play for his favourite club. I'll miss him when he's gone and wish him the best for the future.