Fielden has been 3 weeks away for the last 8 weeks !

Dudson didn't impress me in pre season especially at Leigh when I expected him to take the lead and get stuck in alongside the youngsters. He looked to lack aggression and seemed work shy.

I say all that but I'd still like to see him given a chance. He may up his game when the heat is on and as a 4th prop alongside Lima, Mossop and Prescott he'd not need to play long minutes.

Dudson looks to have shed a few pounds so it could be a case of him struggling to get to grips with playing at a different weight. I've seen players change things about their game well into their 20's. Prescott for example changed his running style last year to great effect.

Too early to write off a young player so a bit of patience is needed. He was playing at Championship One level last year until Crusaders needed to recall him and he's playing at that level again this year. I think he was signed mainly to get a first hand look at his potential ability.

Then why did we sign him?

First year of contract will not count on the cap whilst the second year only counts at 50%.

Because we'd lost Coley, O'Carroll and Davies so a bit of competition was needed at prop. I'm not entirely sure why Wigan were happy to let Davies leave because I think he had more potential than Dudson.
It's reasonable to assume we got Dudson cheap though, so perhaps he's just been signed as cover because O'Carroll left.