Booooo, he's rubbish, get rid.

i think given the number of breaks and touch line runs joel does get away with, i can forgive him some time to learn the centre role
given time i think joel as an acting centre will make far better use of his size and speed
and id rather see him as a continuous centre than put into rotation with the other forwards

i heard this so many times tonight off some old f*cking idiots

Same here, two idiots sat behind me, finch sends some lovely passes to create our first 2 trys, then nearly scores himself 'he's sh*t that finch, we should play mellor, he was world class for widnes'

I'll admit to giving him a right slagging off, I think it was after the Catalans match, when he was very poor. But I'm the first to say how good he has been in recent weeks, and I think he'll only continue to improve. He's linking up nicely with Sam now, and threw some quality passes his way today. It seems some folk decide they don't like a player after a game or two and nothing they can do will change that.

He still uses the short pass too frequently for my linking, which makes him very easy to read defensively, but when he was linking up with the attacking moves he was brilliant! There definitely looked to be more cohesion with Finch and Deacon in the halves and with Leuluai at hooker. Finch has been getting better with every game. I thought his defence against Bradford was shocking but today he was strong and put in a big tackle on one of the KR players that was clearly audible in the stands.
Some overseas players take a whole season before they start to show what they're worth, so Finch is clearly doing quite well to start excelling quite quickly despite suffering quite a serious injury and missing the early part of the season.

TBF some are still hoping Boston will make a come back

I think some don't realise he's retired yet, and when is McTigue back from injury?

Much better tonight from the lads and pleasing to think we have plenty of gears to go through yet. I thought Sam was a joy to watch at the back and we looked a much better side for having Tommy at 9 and Deacon and Finch in the halfbacks. The pack also looked superb tonight and Mossop and Prescott give you a real sense of calm in the knowledge that we've got 2 classy prop forwards to carry our pack forward for a sustained period of time.

I feel alot more comfortable tonight after watching that game and it's given me some belief that we can now kick on to bigger and better things.

No tries down the right side and generally no attacking threat down that side til the death and the game was over, if i was playing Wigan id make sure we stiffled their left side attack and just target Sam on the end of the move ala St George and Wire. Can still take or leave Lima still to be honest.

I think you hit the nail in the head with that and I expect when we do play Wire next they will do exactly as you say.

I think we get away with some compromises because more than half the teams in SL are not very good and not well coached enough to do what you say. I think because this is the case we can play Sam at FB and Joel in the centres and convince ourselves they really are good in those positions when really if we played sides as good as St. George and Wire every week I think we would soon realise this wasn't the case.

We won't play either of those sides every week, so I am not sure the comparison really counts. Second, Tomkins at fullback is our only option. Moreover, with Finch and Deacon in the halves it effectively allows Tomkins to acts in the Lockyer/Hayne role. Second, Joel Tomkins at centre is not, imo, a long term solution. Nor do I think many Wigan fans believe it is. However, he is solid in defence (Look at the St George match when he moved into the centre).

No we don't play them every week but if when we do play them we get beat because of the problems Bill_Barlow mentioned we are just deluding ourselves in the meantime. The Tomkins bros playing where they are may well be our only options at both centre and full back but I don't think either should be there long term. As to Deacon being in the side allowing Sam to play as he does, Deacon isn't supposed to be playing any more so this isn't a long term thing either. So I can see we will probably go this season with things as they are unless Roberts discovers some form but I'd be very disappointed if next season with Deacon surely retired we revert to TL/finch in the halves and Sam at FB. We do IMO need to recruit a FB for 2012 so TL can go to 9 and Sam to 6 when Deacon retires. And we also need a real experienced centre with Gleeson gone and Carmont going.

We will need two centres. Also I think last night showed that with Richards and Charnley coming back to support Tomkins on the kick return, a lot of that extra work can be mitigated even though he is at FB. Deacon is not a long term solution, but I think he is very much underrated by many.

Can't really understand why Joel is getting stick, I was not a fan of this move I have to say, but I do think it is working well. From time to time he makes a poor decision but he is still learning and he is quickly becoming a very destructive wide running centre.

What I would like is our wingers to react a little more to his lines. Its not a criticism on Charnely as both wingmen seem totally intent on holding the touch line. It is a ploy that works but when there is clearly no space to use they need to be cutting an angle on a drop off a bit quicker.

Sometimes the option is for Joel to either head towards touch or pass to a player who is going to get smashed into touch. When he goes on those wide arcing runs our wing men need to give the centres more options. Joel on numerous occasions looks for the drop off when heading wide to only find his wingman glued to the touch line.

I accept many of your points but when Joel was bundled into touch yesterday, Charnley had clearly made an inside run, which would have allowed Joel to make the pass. It is his decision making that is the problem. This, however, is an area which could develop over time.

May be wrong but I felt that Charnley came too late he looked to be holding his wing for as long as he could and only when Joel was under massive pressure did he make the move inside.

Its not a criticism of him by the way as I feel it is part of our game plan as both wingers seem totally intent on holding the touch line at all costs.

Joel and Josh have only just started playing together as a partnership.
Last season Gleeson was 3 and Goulding at 2.
IL said at the forum that centres are hard to find. It may be that the coaching staff see Joel and Charnley as a long term parnership. They have power, pace skill and both can read the game very well. It will just need more time for them to become an established and threatening right wing. They are both doing fine as far as I'm concerned and their improvement is showing every week.
Replacing George Carmont will be more difficult than covering for Gleeson's loss.

As for last night, it was a far thougher game than the scoreline suggests. From 10 mins when we went 12 up to 36 mins when HKR score it was as tough as it can get. The first 20 mins of the 2nd half were tough too.
Wigan though toughed it out whereas HKR were two players light due to injuries and were not as fit as Wigan.
Wigan deserved their win with a scoreline that was tough on HKR.

I used to use this form on a regular basis but for some reason experienced a couple of years of simply browsing it and viewing that was said, now I feel like I want to involve myself oncemore, so hello!

I think the most impressive thing about Wigan at the moment is their ability to get good, healthy results without needing to play anywhere near their potential. There was patches in the game last night where the lads looked flat and 'going through the motions', yet they still managed to clock up a cricket score against a very competitive team consisting of some very good players, and reduce them to just a single try. I honestly feel Maguire and the coaching staff are pacing the team; we are level on points at the top with a game in hand and still havent reached our peak, whereas I feel the other teams around us, not to mention any names, may have peaked too early in the season. However time will tell! Plenty of room for improvements but still a gritty, convincing performance.

Spot on. We're definitely not firing on all cylinders but still playing well in most games. It's almost like we're building up a head of steam. I think it's looking good for the second half (and most important part) of the season.

Yep, agreed. Hints of a 'calm before the storm' feel being conveyed from the team at the moment; getting the results they need now without necessarily hitting top gear, building towards a huge final quarter of the season. Hopefully anyway

Have to agree. An outstanding centre/wing partnership takes time to develop and need them both to work equally to be a success. With time both players need to know what the other one is going to do and with them in order to make the play a success.
Joel CURRENTLY doesn't look like a centre, however in time he might, he and Charnley and both solid in defense and both are very strong runners of the ball, in time when they both learn the ins and outs of their positions they will thrive.
Also they have the advantage that Charnley has played centre before, meaning he can switch with Joel and set plays to trick/offset the opposition be well educated in centre play. A perfect example of this was the most recent Origin game when Morris stepped inside allowing Jennings to run round the back of him to trick the defense. Morris then was in the centre spot drew in his man and offloading perfectly to realise the now winger Jennings.

Another factor is age. Both are young and can develop together as a centre/wing partnership.

Charnley reminds me very much of a young McDougal, who will be able to be used effectively in both centre and wing spots.

I think this is under instruction.

Yes I agree, i would say it certainly is and clearly it is a tactic that is paying off when you see the returns but I think it also makes them a little hesitant to come in when it is the only realistic option which has seen Joel get put into touch when he has been looking for a winger to drop off.