The Wire forum would explode if that happened

Richards at 10/11 with Hills is surely buying money? The other 2 aren't even close as far as I'm concerned.

That's a very good point.

I must admit, until the announcement the other day, it never really entered my head that Sam might be in contention for Man of Steel.

It's certainly a good point that players who have just been run ragged by him could give him their vote. But if that was the case, I think it would be a mistake.

Sam, though devastating at times, is still learning and has been far from perfect this season. Take last Sunday, for example. He scored two blinders, but could have won the game for us if he'd let the ball go more. The one time he passed out wide, we strolled in.

Pat Richards isn't perfect either, but from a Wigan perspective, you'd have to put his average performance at something like 9/10 minimum. I reckon Sam would be more like 7/10.

That said, Morley is a serious challenger - not least because, as someone else said, I do think the sentimental vote will count for something.

I think Richards falls more into the traditional 'Man of Steel' image a lot more than Sam. He manages to score impossible tries through pure upper body strength. The Salford away game was a tough close match and Pat scored two tries that most other players wouldn't have because they would have been untangling themselves from the advertising hoardings.

Richards deserves it by some disntance, Morley 2nd and Sam 3rd. I've got a feeling Moz might win it though. It's a players vote and a lot of players won't like voting for a winger as their MOS.

It has to be Richards. Tomkins hasn't done enough to justify the tag and Morley is way past his best - not even the best prop in SL.

I think the players vote is the most fair, as they tend to see a bigger range of contenders (obviously), playing a different team each week.
They also know which players are genuinely tough to play against and which just butcher .
For Saints, who I've obviously seen the most of, Roby has been outstanding - literally being all things to all men. He's not only regulary switched between hooker and back row, being one of our most dangerous players from either, whether scooting/passing from dummy half or running angles and taking in drives. He's also been arguably our top defender and has filled in at the centre position and even wing (and not just done a job, looked good).

You have to be in it to win it.

Adrian Morley.

Did nowt tonight.

I agree and for me Pat Richards should get MOS.(God that hurt).

Worst i have seen him play for a while, could probably say that about all the Wire team though

Morley shouldn't even be second.

Agreed, he has been no better than Graham or Peacock IMO.

He was p155 poor last week against us.

I think you have to credit the Huddersfield defence because Morley was probably the only Warrington player who looked awake in that first 40 minutes.

On the whole i just thought Warrington looked very jaded and they just didnt look up for it.

Also noticed that Chris Riley hardly ever touches the ball - he does almost no work to help out the forwards - thats the reason imo that Richards should be MOS - its not just the points he scores - his runs to relieve some of the pressure on our forwards is immense.

does nobody feel that sams very successful switch to FB will carry any weight with the vote ?

i acknowledge all the PR has done all season , but how long are the players memories ?
lets face it , sam has torn teams apart over recent times , pat missed a few vital shots at goal against leeds , its these that will be fresher in the memories

The fairest way is the Albert Goldthorpe method similar to the Dally M method whereby points are given each game and they all add up throughout the year and the overall points winner gets the award, getting the players to pick it is flawed.

Sam has torn teams apart whenever he's been on the field - it doesn't matter where he's lined up.

When is the MoS announced?

Think it's the week leading up to the GF

Sam Tompkins for M.O.S, Richards has been great no doubt but Tompkins for me has been the difference between you lot and the rest of us this year. hes becoming a Shaun Edwards kind of character, in the sense that you lot love him but most other fans want to see him flattened every week, i guess thats a mark of how good the kid is.

monday night before the GF

I can't see how Pat Richards can lose this. Top of the try scoring charts, top of the goal scoring charts by a country mile, and the top points scorer. Has in one season made himself somewhat of a Wigan legend, and he was well on his way before this year. Surely the MoS.

Its been a truly outstanding season from Pat. He is the epitome of the modern RL winger - he has real pace, especially for a guy his size, real power and strength, good hands, he reads the game very well, he is great under the high ball and perhaps most importantly he works very hard. If he is second only in metres gained to "Jammer" (God, that nickname cracks me up!

) then that tells you what a valuable all round player Pat is. This is no luxury player, this is no winger who contributes nothing to the game other than simply finishing off moves (though he is a great finisher!), this is a man who has made a massive all round contribution to what has been a really memorable season for Wigan, whatever happens over the next couple of weeks.

Pat has been playing at a consistently highly level, but some of his performances this season have been out of this world - at Hull he was sensational and frankly you were left almost feeling sorry for the Hull fans, it was embarassing how much better he looked than their players.

Even at a club with such legendary wingmen as Boston, Offiah and Robinson (to name but three - its great being a Wigan fan!

) after this season Richards can rightly take his place in the hall of fame alongside some of the greatest wingers who have ever played rugby.

That alone should mean there is no choice but to award him the MoS.