The problem for the "Eddie and Stevo" generation is that they judge a performance on the one off instances of good play, eg. Micky Higham scoots 20 yards and is praised thus the Eddie and Steveo brigade follow, he knocks on, gives penalties away and generally fails to deliver quality ball to the half back which isn't mentioned in commentary and is thus deemed never to have taken place.

Riddell will probably never scoot the way that Higham does thus failing to catch the eye as much, but what he will do is do the basics well and generally have much more of a positive impact on the way that the team plays much of which will go unnoticed to the "Sky generation".

Sorry but if you read my posts you would realise I am not somebody who could be accused of being pro Higham. What seems to be happening is that if you criticise Riddel the reply of the intellectually challenged is to accuse you of being a Higham devotee. Sad.

I was stunned by this on friday. Mick gave away 2 penalties which caused wire to go 12 points down, not a word, he did 1 scoot and they cream themselves, i sometimes wonder if people take there word as gospel.

Higham had a shocker vs Trinity yet still they praised him to the heavens.

The fact is Riddell has been poor but improved every game, for those comparing him with Higham the only thing they have in commonn is the number on there back, 2 different style players. Higham was average at best generally for Wigan, in 3 seasons, Riddell has been average at best in 4 games but improved every game, those who have seen him play pre Wigan know how good he is, those who have not do not and perhaps that is why they are worried.

I am not interested in Higham. Currently, McIlorum and Leuluai offer a better combination at 9 than Riddel and another hooker.

To be honest i think you may be right at this moment in time, but the only way Riddell is going to get better is by playing games at SL level and when he does find his feet he will be by far the best hooker at the club. If he is injured then i think he should be rested but if it is a match fitness issue he needs to play. If he is injured and Noble is playing him regardless and not McIllorum then another black mark against him.

Its always the same with them two on sky they will always have there sweethearts.

The pass Ainscough did for carmonts try was mentioned once maybe twice by Stevo..If it was one of his cherished like Gidley he would have been creaming himself a good 10 minutes after.

and if it was micky higham well i dread to think what the commentary box would look like

Why do i have images of a picture of a certain Mods bedroom that was posted on here in the past?

edited for accuracy

Exactly. I've pointed this out time and again to the guys I go to home games with (and no doubt will have to again on Saturday). You don't see Cunningham running 20 yards with the ball very often but you see him distribute fast accurate ball and help build a platform for and jug ears.

As Rogues said earlier, Piggy was limping after 5 minutes at Hull and went off. I was surprised to see him come back. Give the lad time and his class will show through.

We won't go there...

Be fair, what's the likelihood of Mick Higham actually pulling off that type of pass?!

Haven't seen that for a while.... Dave, Lee, over to you gents

Mark Riddell hasn't lived upto expectations so far but a few things need to be taken into consideration-

1-he's settling into a new country

2-he's settling into a new team

3- The teams struggling for confidence

4-He's rumoured to be playing with an injury picked up on pre season

with all those things taken into consideration I can't believe that some people are so quick to stick the knife in. I learned my lesson on writing players off too soon with Pat Richards and will never fall into that trap again.

He'll come good because he has too many skills not to IMO.

The problem with that is two fold. Firstly Eddie knows nothing about RL and second he is so biased to his "favourites" Higham, McGuire, Cullen etc is spoils his commentary.

I think Craig Smith would a better example of a player taking time to settle, came with a deserved big rep but didn't live up to it at first ,think he picked an ankle injury early on is wigan career as well . But unlike Richards he didn't have to play in a new position and both turned out great players for wigan , which is my hope for Riddell he can be class i remember him playing for st george and was impressed by him then .

Cracking example.

Smith was very quiet for his first full season bar the odd big game because he was carrying an injury.

Once he shuck that off he was awesome.

Thanks someone with some brains. Most people struggle at first when they go abroad into any job, it must be even harder in sport with new people and teamates around you. Seriously how many players walk into a team from overseas and make a difference straight away?

5) His kench is bigger than mine.

Riddell is almost anorexic in comparison to how big he's been in the past at the minute



He does make us fans look good though.

It is worth repeating that only number 4 should be taken into account.

It is quite simple, injury is the only excuse Riddell should be permitted for his poor start.

We have brought over in Riddell as an experienced NRL player so given his experience and position at hooker then [uif he is fit [/uhe should be right up to speed by now and be part of the solution to a team struggling for confidence, not part of the problem.

All this he is in a new country stuff is not good enough. People travel to work all the time and no one forced him to come here. He isn't some wet behind the ears kid but someone in his late twenties.

The way some people go on you would think leaving the boundaries of Wigan borough was a traumatic experience!

Dave

Its not. But entering them is

It is if you get stuck in the one way system

Didn't Ridell also have an op at the end of the NRL season and so miss a lot of pre-season work? I am sure that will have some impact as well.