Can't understand this to be honest. Especially with Forsyth returning even if Rocky is going.

Personally I've never rated him I think players have been shipped out of Wigan for having flaws in their game that are far less than an issue than Escare has.

Willing to give the kid the benefit of the doubt and I know he is only cover but we now have the possibility of Tierney to cover Sam, and Fell backing him up, with Forsythe covering wing and Tierney and him covering wing when Sam is fit.

Good luck to the lad though he will certainly provide some added entertainment although not sure it will all be for positive play.

Escare has looked awful in defence, but maybe a better drilled defence will help him. He is a gamble but will be useful in the squad. Does this mean that they expect Tomkins to be out for an extended period next season

Escare has been signed on an initial 12 month deal, considering Manfredi is going to miss the bulk of next season, Tomkins will miss the start of it? Plus we've lost Sarge and Charnley, we are four starting back line players down with only Burgess coming in who will be automatic first choice, I think it's a signing that's worth the risk. I can't see him being on a big salary and as I say it's a 12 month deal.

Hello Warriors.Congratulations on Saturday's performance.You certainly deserved to win an excellent game.There are 3 points about Escare ,which you might like to consider; 1 In attack he scored 51 tries in his first 52 games and 13 tries in his last 39 games. 2 He is a very bad defender.He cannot tackle,is terrified under the high ball ,is a poor kicker and only a fair passer.There is also his extremely annoying habit of arriving at the scene of a conceded try a second late.3Because of the decline in his attacking form-his defence was always bad- he lost his place in the team before the start of this season.He still was contracted for 2017 and 2018 ,but-and I need to put this very carefully-has allegedly been involved in off field behaviour,which the club will not tolerate.Perhaps he will be a good signing for you,but watching the game right next to Tierney last Saturday I thought that he,while not big enough to break tackles as a winger would be an excellent full back.Finally I must admit that Catalans fans-as distinct from coaches and officials-disagree about Escare.The split is between those who think that the game is all about attacking "gloire" and those who know that if you cannot defend you will lose.So I wish him well,but am glad he is going .Navarette is quite another matter,but that's a different story related to huge salaries for Australians.

That's interesting, thanks for commenting, it's always good to have opinions from the fans of club a player is signed from, whether those opinions are good or bad. I think we all already knew about his defensive failings, but we've been able to improve/correct other players with similar faults before.

If it was just his technique or positioning that was poor, then you could potentially fix that. I think the problem with him is that he just doesnt look to have the desire or heart to put himself into tackles

A very thoughtful and insightful post. From what I've seen he is very brave to even get on the pitch at his size (a bit like Rob Burrow)

I suppose Wigan are taking a punt on him. On the whole at Wigan though, if you can't defend you don't get to play.

I'd be glad to be proved wrong, because he's exciting with the ball, but I really can't see a place for him unless there are even more injuries than this year.

I think we've all seen enough for his defensive frailties playing for Catalans. But surely if anyone can 'train that out of him' the Wigan coaching staff can? Look at Gildart: only a year or so ago people were saying, yes, he has pace and footwork, but he's too lightweight to be an effective defender. Well he didn't play like that on Saturday! And Tierney looks like he's on the same path too.

Sam T does that too.

This is a Willie Isa type of signing for me. A decent super league player who's been signed for cover. If he was signed to be our starting FB I would take issue, however for cover it's an excellent bit of business, as was the Isa signing.

I would have hoped we also looked at Ken Sio, another player who can cover wing/FB, but I feel Sio is stronger in defence.

Lenagan did describe us being 'towards the end' of our recruitment or words to that effect so you never know what could happen yet as that hints there may be one more.

I saw a rumour that Sio was going to Catalans the other day though.

Quote ="NickyKiss"Lenagan did describe us being 'towards the end' of our recruitment or words to that effect so you never know what could happen yet as that hints there may be one more. I saw a rumour that Sio was going to Catalans the other day though.'" Albert Kelly? seriousaboutrl.com/super-league/ ... eplacement

Quote ="NickyKiss"Lenagan did describe us being 'towards the end' of our recruitment or words to that effect so you never know what could happen yet as that hints there may be one more. I saw a rumour that Sio was going to Catalans the other day though.'" Albert Kelly? seriousaboutrl.com/super-league/ ... eplacement

Quote ="MattyB"Albert Kelly? seriousaboutrl.com/super-league/ ... eplacement'" It sticks in my mind that someone on here said of him, he couldn't tackle a hot dinner.

Quote ="MattyB"Albert Kelly? seriousaboutrl.com/super-league/ ... eplacement'" It sticks in my mind that someone on here said of him, he couldn't tackle a hot dinner.

An exciting signing!

I enjoyed watching Sarge play at full back because of his pace and step and I think Escare could offer something similar.

If Escare really proves himself at full back then it could be interesting to see what we do with Tomkins.

We are looking very strong for next season, especially when you consider that Frank PN will have been through a Wigan pre-season.

Just wished we had a goal kicker...

Escare has a brilliant trait (well 2 actually) that we have been lacking, cover player or not. He is a line breaker and a brilliant attacking support player. He will go well here.

A very good signing IMO.
That squad with the strength in depth, an attack coach, then 2017 could be a massive improvement playing style wise compared to this past season.
Definately another potential trophy winning squad.

It'll be interesting to see if we continue with our more attacking approach from the off next year. We've certainly played with a bit more risk these past few weeks which can be seen from the offload stats in the Wire games. In the two league games I saw we offloaded the ball 8 and 9 times iirc whereas in the super 8's game and then the final that rose to 20 and 18 times respectively.

A player like Escare will hope so.

Given Smith departing, I wonder if this also gives us the option of putting Sam into the halves? He's had a disrupted season on his return but he was certainly a long way from the player we knew when he left us.

At the game on Saturday a friend (I do have the odd one, odd being the objective word

) and we were talking about signing Escare. I wasn't keen because of his defensive frailities. However he made a very good point "You can coach someone to defend, but you can't coach the pace that he has"

You get played like Escare, to me their defensive issues look tactical/technical, then you get Richie Mathers, who's defensive issues were down to a complete lack of heart and bottle, he just wouldn't put himself in danger.

Certainly I can't say Frayssinous ever struck me as the shrewdest coach in the world.

I've seen a couple of people saying Escare's issues are down to bottle but you just never know until they sign for the club and you see them play.

My example would be Sarginson. I'd read he was a poor defender who lacked bottle yet IMO nothing could be further then the truth (by the time he left). His defence has improved no end but he's never lacked bottle. That lad has an unbelievable workrate and engine and he's tough.

I look forward to seeing how Escare goes.

Definitely not, more a case of throw as many established players together and hope they do well.

The one thing that Escare lacks, and you can't coach it is size. IMO he will always struggle because of this. Attackers will run over him, find it easy to rough him up. He struggles with any competition when taking a kick as it is easy to put him off. He has ability, I've no doubt of that but simply isn't big enough.

Have you seen Sam Powell up close? He is not big by any stretch, in fact I'd say he doesn't look like a rugby player, but he made the second most tackles in the league last year. They must be able to overcome size with technique.