For me a fully fit confident Burgess is the best winger in SL. When he takes on his opposite winger for pace he is one of the best I've ever seen at the club.

I hope he has a great season because that will mean the club as a whole will also probably have a great season

Incorrect, Tommy Makinson is head and shoulders above the rest.

A fully fit and firing Manfredi and Burgess. Plus a bigger pack this year, Burgess, Bullock, Clark, Bryne etc. We are certainly a lot more physically imposing that previous years.

manfredi and johnstone are better than makinson for me, they have both been very unlucky with injuries

Burgess, Johnstone, Makinson and Manfredi are all good wingers, but all four have had their share of injuries and/or sometimes a loss of form.

So they should be backed, encouraged and not criticised

Don’t compare those 3 average wingers with Makinson. He is a golden boot winner. The rest are run of the mill super league wingers. Ten a penny

Yep and good to see that he’s a wiganer to boot

How about comparing Makinson with Robinson, Offiah or Sullivan? I don't think any of them were a " golden boot winner"
You'd better ask your mam about them over your hot milk and biscuit routine.

How about comparing Makinson with Robinson, Offiah or Sullivan? I don't think any of them were a " golden boot winner"
You'd better ask your mam about them over your hot milk and biscuit routine.

Exactly, no comparison today, even at at St Helens!

I’m a massive fan of Burgess, at his best he is the best in SL imo.

The problem is we’ve not seen his best for quite a while, I think a big part of that is down to injuries. He said himself he was playing with injuries for most of last season, in turn that affected his confidence.

I told you near the start of the thread what the problem is with Burgess. He has lost his speed. That was what made him a good winger. He wont get that speed back now.

To be fair to the guy I don't think that had a single chance to show his pace.
He didn't have a great game but when Manfredi is fit he will have to step up his game or he will end up in the reserves.
I'm still hopeful that he can recapture his mojo.

Wigan: Joe Burgess is the fastest player in the squad

The_Enforcer: Joe Burgess has lost his speed

Everyone:

I was the fastest player over 100m in every team I played in, including some backs who ended up playing SL/Champ, but it counted for precisely sod all most of the time because in rugby you seldom get a long distance to just run unhindered. Good for interceptions, kick returns, chasing down opposition breaks and supporting your own breaks but that's only a small part of wing play, especially in tight games. Far more interested in his speed over 10 metres, the speed he can get up and play the ball, the force he can generate from scoots.

Because he is the fastest in the squad (if you believe what the club are saying) does not mean he has not lost his speed.

Lost his speed = Not as fast as he used to be.

Mackinson wouldn't be jack poop if the corner flags had never been taken out of play, Nothing more than a showboater

I like Makinson, he’s a very good player but it’ll be interesting to see if him and a number of other Saints players can maintain that level they reached under Holbrook. He dragged every bit of talent out of them and whilst Saints fans would have you believe they have superstars from 1-17, the facts are that for the majority of their careers a number of those lads have been average and plodded along. The new coach has made a good impression with Tonga and has got them playing for each other, so they may well continue to play at those levels.

plus Gilly is injured, Manfredi not 100 percent and French must have still been in Aus

Johnstone better than Makinson? Wow.

I think Holbrook did well coaching Makinson to a match-winning hat-trick against NZ, with a supreme try saving tackle thrown in.

England didn't miss him at all in the autumn.

At the moment you’d have to say Makinson is the best British winger. I can’t see anyone else good enough to take that mantle presently. Burgess and Manfredi were up there, probably ahead of Makinson once upon a time but form and injuries respectively put Makinson ahead.

Go on, for the sake of discussion, I'll bite. Given he did those things under Holbrook's tenure I would argue that he did coach him to those levels and feats. Unless,of course, you're arguing that Holbrook had no impact on Makinson and it was all down to the coaching he got from Bennett and he wouldn't have been at the standard necessary without said coaching?

Makinson is a golden boot winner.

Burgess cant defend for toffee

Whilst factually correct, thats a very flimsy argument

That award means nothing anymore