I know its still before Playoff time, and a lot can still happen, but based on the assumption that Sam is going, and Pats departure etc, who do people think will be in the Full Back, Left Wing and Left Centre shirts?

I cant see them throwing a young bloke at full back, so I think it will be a signing for the 1 shirt like the Bowen rumour.

The centre you would guess from this year would be between Gelling and Thornley and on that Thornley has made that his own.

The wing Im not so sure, throw in a young lad or sign someone maybe?

Fullback- Bowen or another new signing.

Left centre- Thornley to kick on after Saturday and claim the 4 shirt.

Left wing- New signing. I doubt its Briscoe and there's certainly been no body language from him to suggest he may be coming here when we've played Hull. I'm guessing we may get somebody as part of the Tomkins to NZ deal. Other then that go for Carney from Cas.

Il be honest i would rather have one of our young uns than Carney. His discipline is a big issue and i cant see him fitting in well with our defensive patterns.

Would love to be proved wrong tho, he is devastating at times.

Joe Burgess for left wing next year!

Would just at the opportunity to sign Briscoe. A back 3 of Charnley Bowen and Briscoe would be outstanding.

I think we will significantly improve on Richards, regardless of if we sign someone or not, the lad is shot, we do need to replace his kicking though.

Bowen is still quality, regardless if those that do not watch him play think.

Centre is still a big concern for me.

I have no concerns with Thornley at centre. He's gonna be a cracker I reckon. Bowen is a great stop gap for one season & hope Briscoe does come to Wigan.

I think we will bring in a goal kicker and somebody who we have not been linked with yet.

A club like Wigan can't afford to go through a season without a proven goal kicker as they can often be the difference in big games.

We will have to see how he goes in the NRL to judge that as this year he hasn't exactly had George C on his inside and we haven't really used his height with kicks to his wing as much as in the past. If he doesn't look as effective it's not necessarily because he is shot.

Saying we need to replace his goal kicking is an understatement. Ever since the days of Frano a top goal kicker has won us many a game and I think we will really suffer next year if we don't sort this out.



I don't think anyone has posted he isn't a quality player have they? People are concerned about his knees which is a totally different thing. This is fair enough for a player of his age with two knee reconstructions.

I have been watching you tube video's of him since the rumour surfaces and he is a great player but if his knees are deemed OK by his current clubs medical staff I expect him to stay put. That is what all those down under want to see anyway reading the newspaper reports. If he is up to it they don't want him to leave.



I don't think you will see any change there though haven't we supposed to have signed Sarginson who can play centre? Then again he might also be our new full back if Sam goes and Bowen isn't.

One wonders how many times you have watched Bowen this season? He was a top player, but he is now a yard off the pace. Will he still do well in Super League? Probably.

Disagree with this. I've seen Bowen most weeks, still looks very quick, even went pretty much the length of the field the other week leaving players for dead.

Left wing for next season? Joe Burgess.

He will have 27 games to gain experience before the big games come around. Liam Farrell played in a grand final in his 23rd first team game. Charnley played in the CC final after 26 starts and 2 sub appearances for wigan (and about 5 more for KR). Ian Thornley just played in the CC final in his 30th game.

If Wane feels he is ready, and by the look of him i believe he is, then why not give him the shirt? why do we need to bring someone in to guide him. he already has Charnley who is one of the top 2 wingers in the league.

I understand why people want someone to come in, but I am all for giving the lad a go.

I think the main difference between giving someone like Farrell a regular place in the squad in 2010 and Charnley in 2011 compared to Burgess/Hampshire in 2014 is the difference in the experienced players around them. In 2010 we had the likes of Fielden, Coley, Riddell, Carmont, Gleeson, Joel, Deacon who were all very experienced players who could help the young lads come on. The following year players like Charnley, Marsh and Tuson were given opportunities but we'd brought in Finch, Hoffman and Lima.

Next year we are looking at a significantly more inexperienced squad and it could be too much of a risk to expect players like Hampshire and Burgess to step in to the shoes of players like Sam and Richards, regardless of how talented they may be.

Agree in principle with what you say, however I have no problems with throwing in a rookie on the wing. Burgess I have no doubt will do fine. I'd prefer him to have a more experienced centre inside him, but Wing I don't think is much of a problem, he showed great potential in the game against Hull KR and I think he's definitely a starting winger for us in the future

I'd have no problems with:

1. Bowen in '14 and '15, then Tierney
2. Charnley
3. Goulding
4. Thornley/Gelling
5. Burgess/Manfredi
6. Green in '14 then Hampshire
7. Smith

14. Hampshire in '14 then Williams/Powell/Logan

The changes for next year will be minimal.
Bowen in at full back, Burgess, or Briscoe at 5. I do think Thornley will get the 4 shirt, it is his to lose after his Cup Final performance.
In the forwards we've Mossop and Tuson leaving with Powell here and Hopkins plus Pettybourne signed.
Shaun Wane will go for size in the forwards, continuity in the halves, and minimal changes to the backs.

Tbh I don't think we'd be doing either of them any favours to have Burgess on the wing with Thornley as his centre. Thornley has had a few shaky moments in defence and I think such an inexperienced partnership could have a torrid time, a la Joel and Charnley fairly often during 2011.

I just think a backline of:

Hampshire
Charnley
Goulding
Thornley
Burgess

is far too inexperienced for 2014 and can see why we have been looking at players like Minichello, Brisco and Bowen to help the development of the likes of Hampshire and Burgess over a season or two, rather than throwing them in the deep end with only a handful of first team appearances between them. I don't know whether Briscoe is still a target or not, but if he still has NRL aspirations he could also be a stop-gap type signing with Burgess taking over when he goes to Australia?

Like the earlier poster stated, we have 27 regular season games for the players to gain experience next season. They are competitive friendlies and the final result in th does not decide major trophies.

Thankfully that will change in 2015 with a top 4 playoff system.

I agree in relation to centre I do not think we will be bringing in any real quality to the position, but I still think this is our weakest area.

Richards was never really a goal kicker before he joined us and he was coached to so maybe it is something we could look at again. I do not want us to bring in an average player who kicks, at risk of missing out on quality that don't. Charnley would be a candidate I guess, I cannot see where we will be looking to fit a kicker in if we are looking outside the club other than as a replacement for Sam or Pat at 1 or wing.

In relation to Pat as a player he has lost yards of pace, and I would be disappointed if we were not able to recruit or promote with a superior player.

The concern with Bowen seems to be coming from the conditioning team who say his results in the off season are gradually reducing year on year, which is to be expected at his age. His performances though are still quality and we will be in a position to blood Hampshire or Tierney and also use Bowen throughout the year as and when the fixture list dictated.

There are plenty of older and some not so old players who rarely train to anywhere near full capacity in the week but still do it on match day.

I wouldn't have a problem bringing in Bowen. He is a very experienced player and will be a useful addition to the team.

However, what I would have a problem with if he is the only player we get, and is called a "replacement" for Sam.

The reality is that next year with Sam, Pat, Mossop all leaving, it should mean we have a lot of CC space to play around with.

As a Wigan supporter I would like that to be used.

Good points. I have said the same thing myself. Several of our young players have potential but it could backfire if we chuck 'em all in at once. It did when Kevin Brown (and others at that time) broke into the side.

We will still have Lockers and other experienced players but if they are injured we could see a very inexperienced side take the field. It wouldn't take many injuries to leave us with a very young side.

Bold considering we yet have no idea if Tierney, Hampshire or Williams will make it. rewind several years and people were regularly 'not having problems with 'Ainscough, Stanton, Sam Gee, Marsh, Mellor etc in their team. Not of which made the step up at Wigan.

Manfredi was a FB at LMR

I can't remember anyone saying anyone wanting to give any of them a first 13 squad number apart from Ainscough. Obviously I'm guessing about what will happen in '15 and '16 but I'd hope the club are at least planning three seasons ahead, even if these plans do get tweaked further down the line.

I STILL THINK TOP 5 WAS BEST SCENARIO. TOP TEAM HAD TO LOSE TWICE ON THE BOUNCE BOTH AT HOME TO MISS OUT ON FINAL...