I will admit now i had a full on teenage strop when we were rumoured to be signing him..But since hes been here hes only impressed me..No more so than tonight with young Sam Powell with him

Guess thats why im not a SL coach

why the strop?

He came here with people saying he can kick and pass to a decent level but that his defence and running game needed work. So far he's shown that he can indeed kick and pass but he's also been dynamic in his running game and has defended with real steel.

He seems a perfect fit so far.

An unwanted saints player now playing for salford didn't fill me with excitement.

If hes not good enough for them,then hes not good enough for us..and all that e

I was really impressed with Smith tonight he's slotted into the team perfectly and looks well gelled with our attacking patterns. His style of play reminds me a lot of Finches, he distributes excellently and takes on the line with great effect as shown tonight with his line break. Keep it up Smith you can do big things with Wigan.

I thought he had a fine game tonight, excellent break for Farrell's try....I think his only obvious error was the kick out on the full?

Smith always had a good all round game but was knocked out of contention by Kyle Ea$tmond. His attacking game and decision making seem to have come on a long way, even since last season. I'm sure a lot of that can be attributed to the tutelage of Sean Long. He will no doubt come on further under Harris and Deacon, I thought he would be one who would go well behind a dominant pack with an attacking 6. I've been surprised by how good he has been so far.

Made me chuckle

The OP talking about having a strop is very typical on the board, big of him to admit to it, many don't once they realise they are wrong. He always looked good wherever he was, but i suppose he needed someone to put an arm on his shoulder and say "You are wanted here". Looks to be slotting in nicely, and a little more fluidity in attack was there for all to see last night. It's true that Finch and Wee Tam will be difficult to replace, but thats life. It changes and good players are thin on the ground.

BTW, who is this Eastmond guy?

He was the lead actor in The Good, The Bad and the ugly



Matty Smith was great again last night, seems to have settled in very well and looks like being a great signing. I could never understand why Saints let him go but as one of their fans pointed out to me they also had Eastmond, Pryce & Wheeler at the time so maybe his playing opportunities were limited, doesn't matter though really does it as their loss is our definite gain.

BTW, who is this Eastmond guy?

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I was impressed with both Smith and Powell last night. Powell's only little but really put himself about in ffence, was made up he bagged a try.

Because he is a St. Helens reject.

excellent game from smith. worked well with powell as both ensured that the ball was kept moving quickly around the park.
appears to have a very good rugby brain with the ability to cover 6,7 and 9 at a high standard.
for me, he's already shown enough to suggest that he could a future wigan skipper.

HEY!!! Thanks for stating the bleeding obvious, where would we be without you.

We'd still be top of the league.

Good point..... Sad Mr Smith should be called a "reject", but i guess the Dire fan speaks from a position of great knowledge and experience. Mr Smith looked solid last night, the managment team seem to know how to get the most from people. Cue coments about "you know you" not jelling well....

So was Lee Briers

A very good all round game again from Smith. He also showed once again that he has a great kicking game which is far superior than we have had from any of our half backs for quite some time.

I was totally underwhelmed when we were rumoured to be signing him but he has more than impressed me so far, he really stands out which is obviously a good thing especially in this team. I actually think he is a better 7 than Tommy (not a better player, but a better 7 before people jump down my neck) imagine having Smith, Finch, Sam, McIlorum and Tommy all in the same team towards the end of the season

Also credit to Sam Powell thought he had a great debut, no mistakes scored a cracking try and slot into the team with ease.

start with tommy and finch in halves, tell macca to run himself into the ground at 9 then switch tommy to 9 and bring on smith .....nice

or

start with smith and finch in the halves, tell macca to run himself into the ground at 9 then bring tommy off the bench....nice, tommy on the bench due to returning from injury and leaving at end of season

Also Tommy is a better 9 than 7.

We are really going to miss that, he can play a solid 7 during the game then when he switches to 9 his entusiasm levels go up another gear, I can't think of that many players who can do that.
If Smith can do the same swap from 7-9 during a match it might be enough to win the "big" matches, however if he can change gear as well, the sky is the limit.
I think he has it in him, Waney needs to have the team structured on him being able to make the switch and encourage the lad. Smith loves his rugby and it shows
We also need Logan to come good next year