I have managed to bite my tongue (or keyboard) on this subject for quite a while....... .........until now.

What is the good of having talents like Sam Tomkins rotting away in the reserves?

I don't expect him to be some kind of messiah, far from it but Sam is 20 next month and if he was at any other SL club, he would probably be a first team regular by now. There must be some small part of Sam that is aware of this and thinks what am I doing here!

In the Reserves, where there are few competitive games, I don't believe he is being challenged and the club need to take some rapid action on this. He needs to be brought in to the first team and given a chance now, or shipped out on loan to gain some real experience in matches where he will be tested.

If Nobby is only intending to use around 20 of the squad all season barring injuries, then we need to get some players out on loan with the option to call them back if required.

This doesn't just go for Sam. In the Reserves last season, our back row dominated in almost every game with the likes of Mossop, Farrell, Flanagan and Tuson. These lads need testing.

I believe Wigan are really missing the boat here. Look at the likes of Smith, Moore and Tyrer. All playing regular SL and available for next season. I'm not saying they will all make it at Saints but I would expect good seasons for Moore and Smith will see them in Saints squad for Long and Cunningham in the future and they will be ready. Our guys won't.

Look at Myler, Shenton, Westerman, Owen, Tom Briscoe, Clubb and McCarthy-Scarsbrook just as examples. Not all of these guys will be Sl regulars in a couple of years but their ability, attitude and effort has seen them given a chance. At the moment, this is a chance that players at Wigan don't get.

Is it just me who thinks this?

Most of us agree but you could have used one of the Noble/Tomkins threads.

Couldn't agree more

I thought the point of having licenses was so that teams would bring through their youth players instead of relying on 2nd rate aussie imports

Awesome for us on Friday, put on a lot of size, his leg power is awesome and was taking 3 Wigan defenders with him each time!

Why?

This is about neither individual, it is about club policy and the waste of young talent.

send em on loan to us, i'm sure we could make use of em

How is it club policy when Noble picks the squads? He has a track record of not wanting to develop youngsters. We may aswell ship Tomkins out to a SL club for the sake of his career because it will be ruined here.

agree 100%

And if he's the Head Coach, then it is club policy.

we signed mark flanagan as the best schoolboy in the country. he was going to be amazing. i went to the warrington game at christmas and there he was. id forgotten all about him. when the bloke next to us siad he was now 20! it first of all depressed me then got me very annoyed!
didnt we sign him as a half back? he looks more like a second rower these days. what are we going to do with him and more like him? leave them to spend their wigan days playing academy rugby while we spend daft money on blokes who couldnt give a monkeys about the club and just seem to stroll through game after game?

To make it worse, he's actually 21!

We have 9 backrowers in our 1st team squad!

it just depresses you

Personally i think the club should use an "If your good enough, your old enough" policy. anybody else agree?

think that goes without saying. maybe noble doesn't think they're good enough.

Personally, I think that's what'll happen. If it does, I don't think I'd be the only one venting my anger on here/at the club.

Personally I won't be spending any further money on away trips or cup ties as long as we have 9 imports in the starting 13 (I am a season ticket holder). I will gladly follow the team regardless of results if the number comes down.

Fair enough. Your choice (Cat.3 fan

) but I don't think your being reasonable.

Just a word of caution.

None of the teams those players played for last season made the playoffs and Myler was in Div 1.

I'm hoping that Tomkins gets some games this season, I'm expecting he will. Mossop I think wull be loaned out.

The likes of Farrell, Thornley etc were only at U18 level last year so unless we absolutely have to through injuries or maybe a 2nd Division cup team I don't think they'll play.

As I said if there are too many injuries this Friday I would give Ainscough a game.

Thornley and Farrell IMO aren't yet ready for SL, a season or two further down the line I reckon they will be.

If Riddell is out next game I'd expect Sam Tomkins to come off the bench, if Phelps is injured I'd expect to see Ainscough start, anything else and Noble will be wasting our young talent big time.

Hull last Friday played Paul King, Thakray & Manu.
What state do you think Sam Tomkins would be in today if he'd been played with those three facing him?
Get real, its tough out there.
Forwards aren't 5'8" anymore they're 6'2" plus and aggresive with it.
They will pick the right games for Sam and Cas at home is one.
More likely though is he will get his chance due to injuries.

Stop talking sense.

So do Cas only have 5'8" forwards then?

and those three didnt play that well. Dowes, Cusack and Radford were hitting very hard on Friday!

Personally I think the lad should be on the bench whether its 6ft 2 forwards or whatever. Shaun Edwards for example was put in the first team at 17. Ok they game may have got tougher but so what.

5 tries on debut has never been done by a Wigan player and I doubt anyone has got an hatrick in 12 minutes either. Fair enough it was Whitehaven but now Barrett is gone he deserves a chance.

Rob Burrow was a Leeds regular at 20 (albeit off the bench with 19 of his 24 appearances in 2002). Danny McGuire did similar at 21 in 2003. So it's the right time to get him on the bench in my view.

Need to do something because this season so far our bench is doing nothing but giving us more of the same!