Drinkwater again tonight inspires cats to another win. Opinions on having him at Wigan?

How the mighty have fallen, if this is the level we’re setting our sights

Stick with Woods.

Really annoys me when people assume we are too big a club to sign certain players!

When Sneyd left Salford and became available or when Gale left Bradford no doubt the same was said of both these and both now perform extremely well at their respective clubs.

On the face of it, there is no risk involved with taking a chance on a player that has excelled since having his chance and shown (backed up with his statistics) he is up there amongst the best in Super League this season in a stuttering Catalans side.

For goodness sake, in the last few years we (Wigan) have taken chances on Matty Smith from Salford who had done the rounds with Crusaders & Widnes previously, Blake Green from Hull KR and Michael Dobson also from Catalans - those all worked out fairly well.

Josh Woods is very capable, but as our starting 7 next year I would have reservations.

Catalans upturn in form has coincided with him joining and the games I have seen he’s been instrumental.
He certainly wouldn’t be a wow signing but the form hes in and his probable low wage I would be fairly happy signing him, plus he can kick goals.

I'd go with Woods at 7 if Tommy doesn't do 2019 assuming Powell will be 9.
Woods has a very good skill set which is only going to get better the more games he plays.
As has been said, I'd rather have Bousquet than Drinkwater. FPN has gone and Sutton going with no sign of a replacement for either. Signing a quality prop or two for 2019 has to come before any other position.

Sam Powell is our current No 7

Pretty much. Now that SL in general can't attract NRL quality like we used to be able to we are left with homegrown and leftover NRL players. SL is slipping every year, you get what you pay for and SL clubs can't pay much anymore, not compared to union and the NRL.

Correct, it's simple mathematics but some here seem to live in lala land...

Not sure if we should go after him but the way he has instigated the turnaround for Catalans has been remarkable.

Good to see them doing well and Sam will improve them further next year.

I don’t think Drinkwater is a bad player at all and I do think he’s a better scrum half than Powell or Woods (at his current stage of development). I disagree that prop is our priority position to strengthen. Scrum half is by far our weakest position as has been said many times, I don’t think Powell has created a single opportunity this season.
With the poor standard from Sarginson since his return coupled with Bateman’s likely departure I’d even say centre should be prioritised above prop. We still have Flower, Club, Tautai, Navarette, O’Loughlin, Field, Wells, Bretherton etc. who can play prop but very limited cover for centre. I’m in the camp that thinks Burgess could be converted to a top quality centre but that’s a different debate. I’d prioritise as follows.
1 - scrum half
2 - centre
3 - prop

I feel with drinkwater he could be the sort of under the radar signing that could work for us. He's the right age that with some quality players and coaches around him he could really kick on and plus can't really be a backward step from what we are producing now as Well as his wages wouldn't be sky high

He has only recently turned 21 years of age. Unless we have irons in the fire to sign a proven scrum half from somewhere I would hope we will be making a bid to get him here. He has been a revelation at Catalan and if, at other clubs previously he has not set the world alight, remember for most of that time he has been a mere teenager. We need a scrum half and we will soon need a goalkicker. Drinkwater could be the answer on both counts.

Drinkwater would be a brilliant signing IMHO. He’s been a revelation at Catalans in what is, on paper anyway, a strong side. I certainly wouldn’t turn my nose up at him, especially given who we currently have at #7.

On a side note, I noticed some comment bemoaning the lack of Aussie talent with them being replaced by English talent. 10-15yrs ago we (not necessarily just Wigan fans) were crying out for less Aussies and more Brits. Can’t have it all ways! The improvement in our national side has been stark.


On the flip side the money needs to improve definitely but that shouldn’t mean we set our sights to the NRL every time we want a decent player or coach for that matter.

Drinkwater has just turned 26

Do we feel our lack of performance from our scrum half is down to coaching.

2013-2016 Matty Smith

2017 - Tommy L

2018 - Powell

Can’t remember a time in all them years where’ve they’ve thrown a really money pass for a try. So little try assists come from our number 7. Just seems to be a bit of a passenger role, just pass it to lockers or stand off if we’re going left. Or pass it to the Full back if we’re going right.

Interesting to see if it changes with a new coach.

Yes I am sorry. I wrote that when I looked him up on the internet and thought I saw that he was born in May 1997. Turns out it was 1992. Must go to Specsavers. Oh wait a minute I do go to Specsavers. Must change my opticians.

I think I’m in the minority that actually didn’t mind Matty Smith at #7. He certainly wasn’t special but he was a solid kicker and organiser and him and GW complimented each other well IMO

to some around here that is akin to blasphemy

you might like to put on a tin hat and hide in a trench somewhere (ps I don't totally disagree)

It’s all about opinions and I’m firmly in the opposite camp! Apart from his effort, Smith was truly awful but this debate has been done to death!

Smith did a job, and was excellent with Blake by his side in his earlier years with us.

Drinkwater is lighting it up at Catalans, how anyone can suggest he isn't the calibre of player wigan should go for is beyond me. it just shows you up as arrogant and proves the stereotype that many wiganers always expect the best. I think he would be a decent signing and wouldn't break the bank. he ticks all the boxes we need too.

is he is available for 2019 he should be on our list at the very least.

In a salary capped sport, I don't see how a club screaming out for a 7 can ignore someone who has dragged an underperforming side out of the mire. Proven in SL already I really think he would kick on with a move to a bigger club

Exactly my thinking. I think coached 8n the right was could become a top class player

Isn't it a bit of a myth to suggest that SL clubs signed the very best from the NRL? The difference now is that previously SL clubs could compete for players who could no longer earn top dollars, or were just below the best in the NRL. Now we're basically down to players who can't even get a game in the NRL.

I can't see anyone suggest SL clubs signed the best NRL talent. However we used to be able to attract the above average. Now we can't, not unless they've got baggage and need a change of scenery. Every team had 4 or 5 decent NRL players going back 10. Now they can't be brought over, the actual talent coming through isn't as good as the player NRL players we can no longer sign. End result is yes, we've got more home grown players, but the overall quality has dropped.

I'm sure Leeds fans would love to see Brent Webb, Lauatiti, Toni Carroll running around, Wigan fans seeing Adrian Lam, Brett Dallas and Trent Barrett running around, we could go through each team and highlight overseas players with quality that had loads to give and brought entertainment, we can't attract thay class of player anymore. And you know that if any home grown player with that level of talent that comes through, will surely be off to the NRL at some point as we just can't pay them enough.