This lad has gone from being our first choice centre, having the number 3 shirt, being shipped out to Salford and now has number 24 and is back up to the team.

However..

He has been thrown in this season more than we expected, and probably more than Madge and Goulding expected himself, but how well has he done. Hes got 8 tries so far, and he has scored in each of his last 6 apperances.

He got unfairly dropped away at Castleford IMO, and I think Maguire recognised that in the WEP the other week, but he has scored some crucial tries in the last few weeks against Leeds and Saints.

Whats everyones thoughts?

I've been one of Gouldings biggest critics, but fair play to him. He was excellent on Friday and was in my top three Wigan performers. I'm still not quite sure if he will ever be a top class strike centre and think he will probably miss out of a starting position this season when Wigan have a full contingent, but he's certainly worth a squad / sub position on current form.

My thoughts are that he wasn't dropped unfairly, or even necessarily dropped.

Mike Maguire has built his selection policy around a large and flexible squad. It seems to me that lads who are in one week and out the next aren't always being punished. Maguire clearly assesses the opposition before each fixture and picks the players that he thinks can do a specific job for him.

Some guys may of course get dropped if they're not cutting the mustard, but Maguire has already proved that he will reinstate players who he feels are working hard.

As for Goulding, I think he's taken his chance very well. As a player, he doesn't excite me as much as Roberts, Richards, Gleeson or Carmont, but he knows where the line is, he's taken care of his former defensive frailties and is proving to be a very handy utility man, which could be the key to him having a long career at Wigan. Everybody loves a supersub.

My understanding is that the coaches regard him as a safe pair of hands, so, barring injury, I suspect that he'll always be there or thereabouts in the first team.

The John O'Shea of RL?

18/24 months ago a certain poster on here said "He'll never be a Top Notch centre, He'd be a better Winger than centre".

He gave me a couple of thoughts behind this and after watching his performances over that period I am in agreement.
That's not to say he can't "Do a Job" in the centres, and who knows, with our more dominant position in the League and within games plus different coaching techniques he may Surpirise those that think he won't be the No1 centre at the club in the future?
One thing is for sure

He's a Bl00dy good Squad member! Keep up the Good work Darryl!

What we need to be thinking about is beyond this season.

Is goulding worthy of a new contract.

Yes i say, he is only 21. That is the point we all forget. 2 YEAR Deal for him i would say.

Get him signed ian he gives us valuable depth and is worth 10 of Karl Pryce. He is a Wigan lad, has a great attitude and wants to play for Wigan.

When's the current one up?

PS

Your Brother in law knows more about Rugby than You do!

Bloody hell! Has Karl Pryce not been told to do one yet???

This season has proved what an asset he is as a squad player, get him signed up now.....

well MM has seen something in him.It would have been easy to call ainscough back and pop him on the wing when phelps was injured. He is certainly impresssing the fans and the coach alike.

Perhaps he can clearly see Gouldings defence is better

yes possably . or the fact he can play also. hence being more versatile.

deffinately more veristile, a very useful utility player

What's Karl Pryce playing like in the reserves?

Rogues?

Well i can t claim to be your mysterious poster, but ive been saying the same thing for a while.
As a centre hes too selfish, but he has a certain flair, pace and a knack for scoring tries.
I personally would keep him as a squad player.
the reason Ive wanted him to have another stint at wing (didtn he play wing when he first came into the 1st team???), was to understand what its like relying on a centre to get hold of the ball.
perhaps he'll have learnt about how and when to release the ball, and will be become a better centre as a result of this stint.
He done well, and has shown a real maturity and will to develop and suceed that deserves to be rewarded.

Now i know you have definately lost your marbles.

He will laugh when i tell him, he did say he had been talking to you.

Goulding's looking like a bit of a revalation on the wing, maybe he isn't a centre after all.....

His best game this season was probably against Hull, when he played at centre. I think a few more games at centre this season will show which position he's best in.
I always thought his biggest attacking threat came when he ran angles, usually onto passes from Trent Barrett in his first season off the bench. If he gets those sort of passes and runs the right angles he could be better at centre.

I wasn't impressed one bit last year but this year Goulding has been a revelation. Maguire seems to have the ability to get everyone to play to their full potential.
Well, almost everyone.

Goulding has like many others kicked on this season. It seems like every week I'm talking about this and that player really kicking on since the start of the season. Its a huge credit to the people IL and Madge have brought in this close season which has allowed what many agreed at the end of last season was a talented bunch to reach a higher standard of play.

All that being said I still hope we bring Shenton in next season. I'd love to see him improve like the others had under Madge. Plus it's another British talent who will make up the core of our team for the next decade.

Agreed, IL doesnt need to buy "world star" names to keep me happy, but I still think we need to look outside the club when there is an opportunity to improve. Shenton would be one such player.

I am Darrell Gouldings biggest fan!

I got really annoyed when i read about someone saying we should sign Shenton. Why would we sign yet another centre when we already have a fantastic home grown one. He has scored 11 tries this season and hasn't played in every game so that says something about how good he is. He doesn't deserved to be dropped when everyone else is fully fit because he is the one that is playing for his place.

His contract is up at the end of this season and i believe that he has played his heart out to deserve another contract. He plays his heart out week in week out and i feel that he doesn't get rewarded for his efforts.

He's got nice legs too.