And people try to question Trent's performances or commitment during his time here!

Put it this way if Trent was in the side then we would have won tonight as never in a million years would he have decided to run the ball in his own half, with the game in the balance on the last tackle!

Say what you want about Dobbo tonight as he didn’t have a great game but three conversions, one penalty, a try and a 40/20 at crucial parts of the game won it for KR! If we want to win things and be at the top of the league it’s players like him we need not Smith.

But they weren't
McGuire won Leeds a semi final v Saints and was dropped for the final.
Andrew Dunnaman covered those positions.
Wellens was 21 + by the time he bacame an established player at Saints

look evey one wuz raving bout tim smith tother day mom with passing arraybut....a good 6 and a good 7 always take ball into line and look 4 options ...and either dummy and go ...or draw and give...this puts opposition in a quandry.....let me make this plain....tim smith is a bad buy who cant attack and cant defend ...hes had his one reasonable match for the season and thats yer lot......get rid of him asap

I agree.

Rob Burrow is a perfect example of biding his time.

In his first 4 years for Leeds, he played 95 games, but 58 of these were starting on the bench. At one stage it was rumoured that he would be leaving to get regular starting RL, but his time came and now he is their starting 7.

Smith is an out-and-out scrum half and anyone picking him, or having a pop, for a performance as a stand off really doesn't get what his game is about. Tommy is more of a stand off and he's certainly not a player I'd like to see wearing the 6. After all the time spent picking up his confidence we'll be back to square 1 pretty quickly with him if he is left in that role much longer.

Not far off the mark there!!!

That is what i have never understood given our halves TL is much more suited to be the 6 or second reciever yet usually Smith is given that responsibility. Odd to say the least!

just back and fuming

smith was appalling today. poor kicking game. clueless when under pressure. and the try - that was more lockers angle and KR defenders falling over than a crafted piece of work from smith.

the fact that sam wasnt on the bench, and therefore he was secure in the knowledge that he couldnt subbed - does any one think this has an impact on him ?

I said at the last season having seen a handful of games form Smith he was an out and out scrum half and that the pattern we played where each half back took one side of the pitch would not suit him.

I also said I'd like to see a Smith/S Tomkins 7 & 6 partnership.

It is too controversial for the club to do that. It would mean TL lumped in with the hookers and the consequences of that are many.

Dave

there is alot better scrum half's around the NWC. Even in division 6 players like Chris Scarborough of hindley would wipe the floor with any young wigan warriors half back. As for tim smith, bolocks to if he is a warm dry weather player, does it not rain in australia?

Anyone who has ever played the game recently knows that scrum half is exactly the same position and stand off, the only difference being who feeds the scrum. givde tim smith a respectable front row and some room to work with and he will create everythin, anyone who has ever seen him play in the NRL will know this as he had forwards like hindmarsh and moi moi at parramatta. i dont often post on this forum but christ sake i cannot stand people who think they know the ins and outs of the game (normally from the past 20 years or so) who think they could do a better job. Forwards lay the platform, as everyone knows, if they dont do that, how can any scrum half be expected to shine? Burrow, Dobson, Long, Bosc, etc only shine because of the work the forwards put in, if our forwards worked half as hard as these teams, we would be in a better position in the league than we are now

The forwards played well last night.

Took the ball up strongly, tackled well and really looked the part for most of that game.

Tim Smith still played like a pansy. Go figure.

You really hate people who think they know everything about the game of RL, yet you come on here and do exactly the same thing.

The charge down try wasn't entirely Smith's fault.

He was given the ball point blank without any Wigan players/forwards acting as ''blockers''. He was completely wide open and had to use his step to evade the first fast approaching defender before trying to get some kind of kick away under huge pressure.

I'd put it down to a lack of concentration/laziness from his team mates.

Alex, don't know you but I know you sit in the West stand from reading your posts on here.

When Smith put in the kick that got charged down he appeared to get up and shout something accross at the bench and throw his hands up at the same time and looked generally upset about something.

Sitting in the South it was hard to see what the outburst was about as I thought it was a bit strange at the time considering he had made the error.- just wondering if you could shed some light on it

Also the Wigan fullback was nowhere in sit to "clean it up" in the way HKR did when Wigan charged their kick down.

It was still a poor kick though.

It seemed as though he was complaining about exactly what I put in my post.

His reaction and body language seemed to say ''Well, what was I supposed to do?!''

If this is the case why has he not been drafted to the relevant ranks within the wigan youth set up or that of any other professional club

Did nobody tell TS that in rains alot in england and we dont get too many nice/dry days.

Harsh to blame Phelps, he was drifting towards the other side to chase the kick, he almost made it back which was a decent effort.

Come off it, he had hours to kick that ball. In fact enough time for me to realise in real time that he as going to step when he really didn't need too.

I realise the kick isn't the main point, and I'm under no illusion that other players weren't blameless. Although If you watch Smith and he sets up his deep line off him that he can execute his set moves and spray his passes he's laughing. If he is caught having to think on his feet he struggles.

Another classic example was when the ball flicked out for an eternity infront of the opposition's sticks in the first half. Smith clearly had no idea what to do with it.

As an out and out scrum half he's meant to have a lot of structural sense from first receiver and a good kicking game. When put under the kosh tonight he lost both of those. I know my Lee Briers statement was a bit harsh but it's a trait they both have in common.

Tbh now smith is not totally to blame but he's part we was camped on there line and nothing come of it there was nothing there

I really think we missed s tomkins last night attack wise i think riddell shouldn't have been near that pitch and it showed

he didnt win us the game, he scored in the last minute, but it wasnt the winnin try

I appreciate they need to be brought through slowly and correctly. We both want what is best for Sam and Ainy.

However to change a winning team that was also in some really good form I find utterly stupid. The combinations between the pivots is the most important on the pitch without doubt and to change them when they are playing well I find bemusing. If he was going to give Sam a rest why not wait till the Salford or Celtic league games in a few weeks when we wouldn't have needed Sam as much instead of sitting him out of a game which was huge for us last night.

Also you really can't make an argument for Riddell being more used to those conditions than Sam as he is quite simply not and he showed it on the field.

Spot on, he's never taken the line on once since he came. As a stand off he's pathetic, and he doesn't want to be here. Cant wait for him to go at the end of the year. Next season, Tommy 9, S. Tomkins 7, new stand off.