Shows he's a great player, just needs to work on his concentration a little.

I think 'great' is pushing it a bit

He has been safe as houses all season.

Maybe 2 or 3 errors from kicks, Then it turns out he had a shocker agianst you,

The paper says you lot were giving him some stick ? I couldnt hear it. But i think if you were. Its hilarious he comes and steals victory off you, After been ragged off the field. Coaching genius to take him off.

Judging from his latest "tweet" it would seem some of our fans have been giving him stick on Twitter too...

RichardMathers:
"Thanks for all the kind messages from all fans, all the negative ones can smoke it... #classycas #wire #Rhinos"

Either that or he's completely blocked out from his memory the fact he played for us!!

He was dragged off by his coach before half time.

Awful player.

I would if I was him!

Dont like the way Wigan fans taunt him but he was simply pathetic in his time at Wigan.

awful? yeh awful, came to us for two years won two trophies big weakness in the side. we didn't see him as a weak link are inability to kick goals was the main reason hodgson was brought in not because we needed a better fullback that was just a bonus.

it seems that the only teams fans where he has been at, what call him awful are wigan fans whilst every other team he played for th fans say that he is a good player i wonder why that is? ( i know that he was apparently according to you lot awful at his time at your club but that could be for many reasons) not that he's an awful player.

So the weakest link in your team before Hodgson arrived was not Mathers at FB? If that was the case why didnt you go for someone else who good kick goals in another position?

Mathers is a good player and did well to come back on at the end and score the try to gain Cas a point (even though the way he celebrated you would of thought he won the game).

He has never been outstanding at any club he has been and there are a number of FB's in the league I would have ahead of him (Tomkins, Webb, Hodgson, Greenshields etc etc etc). So as I said good player to have around the squad and solid at times, with one outstanding game a season. Not something you want from your FB.

Mathers was the weakest link in a Wigan side but you lot seem don't seem to understand he wasn't at Leeds he wasn't at Wire and he isn't at Cas, sometimes it just doesn't work at a certain club.

So who was the weakest player in the Warrington side when Mathers was there then?

Not Mathers, not by a long way, he threw one looping pass in the playoffs but to be fair we were losing anyway, that just made sure of it.

Fair enough I was under the impression that if Warrington could replace someone in the 1st team, it would have been Mathers, and you did so with Hodgson.

There is a part of me was happy for Mathers when he scored.
Off the field he is a really cracking bloke - certainly many other players could learn from him with how he deals / reacts with supporters.

On the field it never happened for him at our club.
He's not on his own in that, especially round that time, but some players seem to be immune from critism, others praised even when they fail to produce.

Because we have higher standards than the other clubs he was at.

Look at his downhill career progression since 2009...Wigan...Wire...Cas...who's next, Widnes?



Nonsense. No team buys a player just for their goalkicking. In any case, you had Briers, Bridge & Westwood, all pretty decent kickers.

Do you Remember Frano Botica??

The reason why Wire fans won't admit he was the weak link is simply because of the circumstances of Mathers joining the club which means they'd have to admit that they got the cacky end of the stick at the time.

At the end of the day Warrington chose to demote him by signing Hodgson because he does not meet the standards that Warrington expect from a fullback.

Get over it.

Yes, a stand off or winger, much underrated by fans of other clubs, made a massive contribution to arguably the greatest team of the modern era. File under "Legend".

If that is a serious comment, I suggest you re-start your Rugby League education on page 1 (of the Beginners Manual, that is).

Richie was quality for Leeds then took the opportunity to play in Oz was looking good then had a serious injury that stopped him short, his confidence was shot and Wigan didn't help it.

He came to Wire because (rightly or wrongly) felt unloved at Wigan, he came to us and yes, had the occasional brainfart but I've seen the greatest players do that (remember Kiwis win v OZ, Billy Slater)
He was integral to our success (whether Wigan like to admit that or not) and had 2 great seasons with us and helped improve the confidence of all those around him.
Tony Smith's paid to win games and when he realised Hodgson was available couldn't pass up that opportunity, he wanted Richie to stay as he was well thought of at Warrington.
Richie wasn't forced out, he's an honest lad who just wants to play rugby.



Wrong, he was 'demoted' simply because Brett is a better player than him, if Wigan signed Billy Slater do you honestly think Tomkins would get the No.1 shirt? Of course he wouldn't, that's not a slight on Sam like it wasn't a slight on Richie but the sheer fact is unless you're the No.1 player in the world in your chosen position then there's always the risk of someone else coming in and taking your place.

I think what irks the Wigan fans is Mathers was, in the main, a very good player for us and Wigan fans need to 'get over it'

Leave the lad alone, he doesn't play for you any more.

Bloody Hell Wigan fans

Where would have Mathers have played had he stayed at Warrington this year?

A. We wouldn't look to replace Sam at fullback.
B. If we did, he would still be a key player in the starting 13.

You replaced Mathers at fullback because he wasn't deemed good enough.

Why is that so hard to accept

I do.

I also rember Andy Farrell, Danny Tickle, Joe Lydon, Eric Ashton, George Fairburn, Laurie Gilfedder, Punchy Griffiths, Colin Tyrer, and of course Pat Richards. I'm not quite old enough to remember Jim Sullivan.

None of them were signed for their goal kicking, so what's your point?

He'd probably get the No.6 shirt back instead. He'd be in our 13 somehow

Sam is a bad example, he's not a specialised anything yet, Mathers is just a fullback and yes he would have been an understudy had he stayed.

A. It's an example, don't take me so literally, plus in this hypothetical world you're telling me you wouldn't have Billy Slater over Tomkins if the situation arose?

B. Because he plays more than one position, if he was just a fullback (which Mather is) and nothing else would Sam be happy on the bench? No, and IF in this hypothetical world which i speak of Sam wasn't playing week in week out then he'd want to leave.

The reason for the hypotheticals is to counter your point of 'deemed not good ENOUGH' which like i said previous is unless you are No.1 in the world then everyone carries that label, you make it sound as though 'deemed not good enough' is a failure on his part and that Warrington deemed him rubbish and surplus to needs when it simply isn't true.

IF Mathers had another string under his bow (Stand off or Wing) he would still be here now.

Warrington treated Richie with the respect he deserved and he politely declined what was offered him and went to a club in which he was their No.1

Mathers was an International stand off for England Academy and played therea few times for Wigan U20's so yes he did have another string to his bow.

Let'e be honest, for all his back slapping, enthusiasm and high fives he is a very average player.