I would like to know what Wigan fans think of the choice.

Escare was performing very well until he got injured. Tomkins has not been too impressive since his return form injury.

Escare

Escare and Tomkins to 7 if we have not signed another half. TL is wasted in that position

Samuel Tomkins

Escare.

Preseason form fitness and ability to recover from his injury in Escare’s case will dictate wh plays.

Hopefully with a full preseason Sam will also improve his consistency.

I do get the feeling that Sam may well end up in the halves if Escare regains fill fitness and form.

1-Escare
6-Tomkins (Williams at 7)
9-Leuluai

Couldn't agree more.

It all depends on how both come through the pre season with fitness.
The warm up games will show us which way the club are going.

Tomkins was on the decline in his last year at Wigan before going to the NRL. He had lost half a yard of pace then. Watch the 2013 GF, he was a shadow of the attacking player who played in the 2010 GF. I actually think Escare may make a decent 7. Hes crafty and willing to try something different. Leave Tomikns at FB. He will develop his game to compensate for the loss of speed and hes actually become a very good cover tackler

Escare at #1 for me (and we regain a kicker)

Sam in the halves (probably at #6, to allow George to go back to being a #7)

Thats what should happen, but I doubt it will.

Does anyone have a sense as to what Shaun Wane and Ian Lenagan think about the choice? Have they offered any clues?

Wane has a history of saying “it’s x’s job to win the shirt back”, so I’d guess Tomkins will start the season at FB and Escare will have to show he’s better than him somehow.

Like others, I'd like to see Sam return to the halves, but if it's a straight choice between the two, then it's still Tomkins by a distance for me.

Escare was playing very well before his injury, but still nowhere near as effective as ST for me, even if he's a different player to what he was.

My unpopular opinion of the day.

How good Escare was for us has been largely overrated. He looked good because he is fast, but he doesn't have the creative capabilities of Tomkins from the fullback position when he joins the line.

Escare was better than i thought he would be but no where as creative as Tomkins can be from the back. Like a previous poster maybe look at Escare at 7 he has a good boot on him and could do a Burrows type role for Wigan. Lualuai was good for the Kiwis at 9 but Mcllurom had a very good game for Ireland. Plenty of options around hooker and half its just getting the right balance

Thats exactly why Escare's time at Wigan thus far has been overrated. In reality we got him because Catalans no longer wanted him, and people weren't expecting much. He was good (I'm not saying otherwise), but Tomkins offered much more. The reason some people don't see it like this is because we expected a lot more from Tomkins, and he gave us less than our initial expectations. Whereas Escare exceeded (his much lower) expectations and took us by surprise.

Escare isn't creative enough...... so stick him in the key creative position in the team?

This is exactly how I see it. There's a definite loss of pace there, but I can see Sam developing into a much better version of Luke Dorn in his time at Cas. Not the quickest over a sprint, but has the brain & guile to be very dangerous, and can play a bigger role in organising the team than he did in his early 20s.

That said, Escare definitely contributed more at full back last year than Tommy did at 7, so moving Sam into the halves is probably still my preferred option.

It isn't about Escare being better then Tomkins at fullback that makes me want him in that shirt, it's the fact that Escare is a better fullback then Tommy is a scrum half IMO and Sam will bring as much, if not more, at halfback then what he now does at fullback with him lacking his old pace. In turn Leuluai is a better hooker then he is scrum half so it seems our best option.

Ideally we'd sign a proper scrum half but I've resigned myself to the fact that ain't happening.

If you use a quote try reading it, I stated he was not as creative at fullback as Tomkins, very few players are. That doesn't mean he couldn't play in the halfs.

If you use a quote try reading it, I stated he was not as creative at fullback as Tomkins, very few players are. That doesn't mean he couldn't play in the halfs.

I think you are underestimating the importance of the position, particularly when partnered by Williams. Whoever plays scrum half for us next year needs to be our key organiser, directing our attack. No way would I give it to someone who has never played that position, and speaks limited English. S.Tomkins, Powell and Shorrocks are all better options there IMO. Escare at FB was one of few things that worked really well last season, there are plenty of other areas more deserving of change.

I’d like to see us go ...

1. Tomkins
6. williams
7. Powell
9.McLlorum
14. Leuluai

Escare did pretty well at the beginning of last year but to me he still looks like he’s a couple of errors away from a Liam Marshall esque breakdown. He a great backup to have imo but I would t be happy with him as first choice one going into a full season.