And?

Leigh fans are upset about everything
They're treating Lam as some kind of Messiah, as they do with every high profile signing/recruitment
And in 12 to 24 months when they realise he isn't theyll crucify him just like everyone else rather than face the stark reality.

Strangely enough that may not be Lams fault, and, he may do OK at leigh and the environment may suit him better

Anyway

Thornley is an adequate 3/4 option, he currently imo isn't 1st choice and if he doesn't play week in week out that will be for 1 of 2 reasons

1/ the team are playing that well thatvhebisnt needed, I'll take that

2/ he isn't doing it in training/match day and is left out. Now if thats the case then either coaching is the issue or he is in fact a complete Dud.
We will see.

I suspect Jake Bibby was the Gildart replacement all along and likely would have replaced him in that position in 2021 if it wasn't for Covid (this likely put Gildarts move back a year) and Manfredi's retirement leaving no-one to cover the right wing. Now Miski comes in to replace Manfredi and we revert to the original plan with Bibby. Not convinced he has the skillset to be a top centre but we'll see what happens when he gets a run of games there.

I agree with this.

People forget how young Bibby is and I think he was always being brought in with the knowledge that Gildart would be moving on and having him as a replacement.

None I know are, his defence is embarassing for a centre

When did Lam play centre?

Bibby has a lot of credit in hand with me. He was easily our best player last season. If he wants a go at centre he gets plenty of time for me. It all depends on what his defence is like ultimately because in attack i have no complaints. Unsung hero.

? I didnt mention Lam

Well you underlined a comment from Jukesays about Adrian Lam and then mentioned defending as a centre

Ah I get you, I think you know the answer to that Conroy....

Conroy?

yeah

100% Bibby deserves the first shot.

I might be mistaken, but did he not play centre for Salford and play well too (well enough for us to go in for him)? Pretty sure he scored a try in the GF from that position too.

In regards to the rest of his game, he's massively underrated imo. Very rarely, if ever, does his opposite man get the better of him. In fact, he's had plenty of media darlings (Johnstone) in his back pocket a couple of times.

I assume he's signed a new contract btw. Not that the club have bothered to mention it.

The question is, will we be looking for two centres or one?

Would you / anyone else give Halsall a shot above Thornely?

If you use Gildart as an example, he played 28 games in his 2nd season & never really looked back. I've been quietly impressed with Halsall and like how solid he is & how he goes about his business. Very rarely does he make a mistake, or get rattled etc.

I would certainly give Halsall some game time this year. Whether that leads to him being first choice or not I don't know, but he impressed me last season.

Quote ="sergeant pepper"100% Bibby deserves the first shot. I might be mistaken, but did he not play centre for Salford and play well too (well enough for us to go in for him)? Pretty sure he scored a try in the GF from that position too. In regards to the rest of his game, he's massively underrated imo. Very rarely, if ever, does his opposite man get the better of him. In fact, he's had plenty of media darlings (Johnstone) in his back pocket a couple of times. I assume he's signed a new contract btw. Not that the club have bothered to mention it.'" https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk ... e-21895701 Centre is his preferred position according to this.

Quote ="sergeant pepper"100% Bibby deserves the first shot. I might be mistaken, but did he not play centre for Salford and play well too (well enough for us to go in for him)? Pretty sure he scored a try in the GF from that position too. In regards to the rest of his game, he's massively underrated imo. Very rarely, if ever, does his opposite man get the better of him. In fact, he's had plenty of media darlings (Johnstone) in his back pocket a couple of times. I assume he's signed a new contract btw. Not that the club have bothered to mention it.'" https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk ... e-21895701 Centre is his preferred position according to this.

He was great in the centre for Salford it’s only really at Wigan where he has had to play centre.

His link with Hastings at Salford as half and centre was outstanding.

Shame we never really saw it at Wigan.

That lines up with my thoughts on the lad. I think that, if given a consistent shot, he'll be a success.

Leigh supporters seeing Lam as a messiah might be no different to some Wigan supporters thinking the same about Peet !

Bet you said the same three seasons ago!

I know centre is his preferred position but I like him on the wing to be honest. OK he isn't as fast as some wingers but he's bloody difficult for opposition wingers to stop if we get him the ball near the line, and he's hard to put down making the hard yards as well which is a big part of wing play these days. I think if he had a different background we would be calling him the tank on the flank. We just aren't used to a big winger who isn't an islander.

He’s not. He’s the next Shane Webcke

Spot on that. It’s clear from his videos he still has some development in him. He’s not going to be anywhere near a starting berth in 2022 (unless there’s an injury crisis in the forwards) but I imagine he may well get some game time, albeit probably less than 5 across the whole season.

I’m excited to see him develop. He looks like he [icould[/i grow into a good prop forward. But as has been said, it’s a project low risk signing in an area we needed to recruit for and build solid foundations for the coming years too. 3 birds one stone, I don’t see how any Wigan fan can be ‘underwhelmed’ by it.

I'm more underwhelmed by the large article on the club website trying to spin these signings as massive coups, when in reality we have signed a centre from Leigh who we've let go twice already and a forward who is completely unproven at championship level and has thus far only played for London Broncos academy.

Happy to eat humble pie in 2022 if Thornley scores a hatful of tries/assists and features in >75% of our games, but his past record of 45 appearances in 4 years doesnt suggest he will be a regular starter.

What do you expect them to say?