I'm not convinced he'd cut it at Centre, but if he can improve his passing then it could work.

I would too, but I still feel letting Gilmour go was a mistake on our part.

Agreed.

When Gilmour left didn't he moan that one of the reasons was because the Aussie & Kiwi Wigan players would never pass to him?

I'm sure with the right coaching Joel could make it as a centre. I'm also sure that a fully fit Joel at centre would have been a better bet to start the game than a less than 100% fit Gleeson. Not saying it would have changed the outcome, but would've helped.

I personally still think Sam to FB is a ridiculous idea.

Sam needs to be stand off and get more of the ball for me

Must say Joel Tomkins has proved me wrong. As a Cas fan I first saw him on loan at Widnes when we were in NL1 and I thought he was so far behind the much younger Joe Westerman that he had little to offer at SL level. Over the past couple of seasons he has improved beyond recognition and now makes a far bigger impact on games than Westerman although the quality of his coaches and team-mates will obviously have helped. If he could just sort out those shirt-collar tackles he will be something like the finished article...as a backrower (he may be 'found out' as a regular centre but he was pretty good on Sunday when he benefited from an element of surprise).

Lee Gilmour was very under rated. He was a great wide running second rower with bags of pace in his younger days. If i remember correctly one of the reasons he left was he wanted to play centre and Wigan saw him as a second rower. Joel Tomkins is a good player when hes on form but hes either very good or very poor. Too hot and cold for my liking.

Don't think he'll ever make it at centre and i'm still yet to be convinced Sam can cut it at full back...

I just wonder if he has quick enough hands to cut it as a centre at the top level. Also a couple of times last season he broke through, panicked and kicked. He'd have to work on his decision making, but with his size and speed he could be devastating at centre, presuming he could sort these issues.

He may be quick but his speed off the mark is too slow for a centre. He takes a couple more metres to get up to top speed and I think thats why he was beaten on the outside a couple of times. Should be in the back row for me

He wasnt beaten he slid turned and grabbed the centre twice, the third time Goulding was beaten (again) and Joel had to mop up.

Joel can't pass and he's not agile enough- someone like Carmont on the opposition would out-do him with footwork , he's not a centre but his ability to play the basics there can help if we have injuries in the back line like Sunday.

It’s a simple no go for me.

He’s a dam good 2nd row with almost unlimited potential. He’s never, imo, going to hit those heights at centre and whilst I think he’s destined to have a great career in which ever position he plays in I want to see him turn into a great 2nd row rather than a good centre.

I feel the exact same way about Sam and picking between HB or FB. For me Sam will always be a star as he’s a natural, elusive athlete with a good rugby brain but again I’d rather see him fulfil his potential at HB rather than FB.

I was suprised to read on here how well some people thought Joel went at Centre on Sunday because i personally thought he had a stinker. He grabbed at thin air time and again in defence and only his pace got him out of trouble on a couple of occasions when tracking back in defence. I also thought the timing of his passing from the centre position was very poor and he looks to be to be quite a way off in the position at the minute.

And all that is from somebody who's wanted to see him at centre for quite a while. He's a top class player and i'm sure in time he can do very well in the position but in the main I see him as a second rower. I don't think we see the best of his high energy rugby in the centre and I think with him being in possession less in that position makes him a little too eager to impress when he gets the ball and lends itself to a few brain farts.

He'll always be a good back up option in the position for sure but we'll get the best out of him in that second row.

Why? I am not. Most on here haven't a clue when it comes to rating players.

Looks like there's some credence to it, although Madge does say he's seen as a 2nd Rower - [urlhttp://www.wigantoday.net/sport/wigan-warriors/joel_would_be_great_centre_maguire_1_3136963[/url

To decide if Joel can be a good centre, he would need to train and play regular at centre. Its not really fair to judge him in that position when he only ends up there to cover injuries, even more so with the top quality centres he was up against on Sunday. Imo he will be (is) a top quality back row who can do a job at centre when needed

And compair this to Gleeson in the same game. I didn't see any chance of scoring with Gleeson there and the defense was, well, substandard. Gleeson injured was an absolute mistake on Sunday.

Joel in the same position, more chances of scoring but a very good sliding defence put stop to anything happeneing. Defensively much stronger. How would Joel have been in the same position against a lesser team?

Are you including yourself in "most"?

No .

I expect Joel might have to fill in at centre quite a bit this year! He has got the right sort of skills for the role and could become a very dangerous player in the position. It makes sense for the club to at least see what he is capable of. If, even if some think it's unlikely, he is a big success there then it gives more options. If he shows that he's a capable stand-in then that's good too. There's no harm in playing him centre against Salford. Perhaps there'd be no harm in him playing centre permanently either. It makes sense for the club to test him in a position that he could be successful in.

im with that.........can do everything a centre needs to do.....except pass.
he can offload, but its not the same as drawing in players and passing to the winger.

With coaching and experience Joel has the size, speed, power and presence to be a cracking centre.
Sam is unfortunately wasted at full back.