That for me is now the problem.The longer noble leaves it, the higher the pressure for sam and the more likely the hype is gunna fall flat on its face. Sam is a fantastic talent and doesnt deserve this. Id leave if I were him

correct

Tim Smith was at fault for 4 out of the 5 tries Cas scored tonight. Theres no denying that.

One question though if you have a half back who cannot defend to save his life whats he doing inside the centre?

He should have been defending out on the wing any amateur coach could tell you that.

Im not going to go back on my word I think Tim Smith can be a massive player for us if he is utlised rightly in attack and they manage to fit him into the defensive line without any mistakes.

He was doing it last week at Hull as well. Drifting out wide (hiding in my view) on defense. No clue if thats a tactical switch or what because I'm not that positionally minded but it don't matter if it's out wide or in the middle - he's being caught out.

Aye.

Personally I am not bothered if he cannot defend - most half backs are sh*t defensively. Briers, Long, Lockyer the list is endless but its the coach's job to hide the half back or the weaker defensive player in the defensive line.

We the fans have learnt just how bad Smiths defence is tonight but surely Noble who spends more than a few hours every day should have worked this out months ago. Smith should have been defending out on the wing tonight. Yet more poor tactics from Noble.

Agreed. Smith can't defend to save his life. When defending out wide in both games at the JJB he has been directly responsible for opposition scores due to an inability to tackle. The opposition just run at him and he can't cope.

That one tonight was embarrassing for any player.

People have said Tomkins is too small but I bet he has a better tackling technique than Smith.

Dave

Totally agree. People are worreid about the pressure he faces, but the longer they leave it, the more the anticipation grows. I think he should have a run out next week in London... an away game, with not a huge crowd, see how he copes.

Ainscough wasn't.



I have to say I am tired of reading posts like this about Tomkins. He needs to play sooner rather than later.

No one is daft enough to think he is the new messiah but Smith was poor enough tonight to be dropped (as was Coley v Wakefield).

We have a squad, Tomkins is 20 and when a player is as poor as Smith was not to let the reserve have a go is stupid.

Dave

I wouldn't drop Smith all together, he might be a weak link in defence but he can come up with some very smart plays in attack. Personally I'd have Sam at 6 with Smith at 7, Piggy at 9 with Leuluai as our other hooker. I know that means McIlorum would be dropped but we've got to think whats best for our attacking options as McIlorum IMO doesn't offer much and has a tendency give away soft penalties in positions where we can't afford to let teams get piggy backed up the field.

It's at games like tonight when all the Phil Bailey knockers should hide. He was missed beyond belief tonight.

Yep. Needs to be brought straight back in at centre.

If Tomkins is half as good as I'm lead to believe he is surely it's time to show some faith in him. McGuire and Burrow were both playingfirst team when they were 18. That Ainscough also looks a real prospect, how the hell is Phelps before him in the pecking order?

We could have Hock missing next week so depends on his injury, could mean Bailey going back in the 2nd row but otherwise I'd agree.

Tommy did nothing tonight other than score the try. Smith was the only player trying to organse the wigan team. Next week has got to see Tommy dropped from half back to hooker.

I even thought mcillorium was better than riddell tonight.

Smith's defense is the weak link. It's shocking.

He took up the centre's position in defence with Goulding moving inside, they rinsed us down that side tonight.

Long's defence is very good for a scrum half.

Comparing Long's defence to Smith is like comparing Gidley to Phelps. Smith might just be the most overrated player I've ever seen.

I'm sick to death of reading posts off different fans saying about the pressure on Sam Tomkins being brought into the side. How the hell will we know how he will react until he gets a chance? He's played in a couple of friendlies and the odd cup game and fair enough these weren't against full strength super league sides but he stood up and proved worthy of a selection. I sometimes (more and more as the weeks go on!) dont understand Noble's selection. When I heard Riddell was 50/50 to play against Cas I was convinced that S Tomkins would make the 19 man squad at least even if he didn't make the final team selection. The poor lad must be so dis heartened to play out of his skin for the academy each week, a class above his team mates, to play so so well in the friendlies/cup games for the first team and still hasn't had a CHANCE to shine in Super League. I'm not stupid, I know one man doesn't make a team but we need some ideas, a decent kicking game and something different - Tomkins can provide all of that... let's face it... Tomkins could have the worst game of his life and he still wouldnt be as clueless as Tim Smith was last night (I actually think Smith had an okay game at Hull!!!)

You lot will destroy this kid before he even gets a chance to show his worth.

A real tragedy.

This "young player crushed by weight of fans' expectation" theory is just rubbish.

(1) I'm sure he can handle the pressure
(2) In case you haven't noticed, Wigan fans' expectations aren't that high at the moment and are falling every week.

The majority of us simply think he may be a better option and we want to see him get some game time.

Trent Barrett was such a hard tackler and did a great job in defence think it went unnoticed due to his great play making ability. We are sorely missing him this year, if he was playing last night we wouldn't have lost.

I don't agree, Long's defence is and always has been poor, but he more than makes up for it in other areas. Smith's is worse and so far he doesn't.

I don't know about the last bit but I totally agree about Trent's defence

He was arguably the best half back defender in super league

haha

Promising young players are crushed by such on a yearly basis. The two most recent cases being Tommy Lee & Scott Moore.

He's a scrum hlaf, lets judge him after he's had a run there shall we. Smith at 7 and Tomkins at 6 is the way forward.