Glad I'm not alone thinking that Finch kinda bottled it in our big games last year! He also knackered our attacks by constantly giving the flat pass to Hock on every wide play instead of giving it to Sam on the overlap, chipping it over the defence or just adding any kind of variety to an attack that needed it!

Ultimately we could well have lost with Pat at fullback too. If we had Wane would've been slaughtered for switching player positions for such a big game. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

I've no doubt that in the future Murphy will use that semi final experience to drive him on.

The loan has been sorted already with another player

I actually thought Murphy looked like one if our potential match winners in the semi final he caused the Leeds defence trouble on a couple of occasions. Shame it turned out the way it did for him and us, but that one incident was not the reason we lost.

As mentioned above a few of the senior players need to put their hand up in that one. Murphy has blistering pace the like we have seen in some time. I am really excited about his development over the next few years.

Wane picked an inexperienced player who made costly mistakes under pressure. If Pat had made the same mistakes he would have got the blame but he didn't and strangely enough neither did the players not in the side. Not the players fault he got his second game in a semi final but Wane's. He gave the lad one game earlier in the season and then expected him to play in a semi final. It's basic coaching not to do that sort of thing and was anyone surprised it backfired? I bet the only person who was was Wane as I am sure Wane had every faith in his selection of Murphy just in the same way he feels he knows better than Madge.

Correct on all counts.

I had a feeling Murphy would take the blame for Finchs ineptitude....

Saints seem to always have a policy of blooding their young backs on the wing and have done for a few years. I think it's a decent ploy because in a lot of games the lads can just relax and concentrate on taking a few runs from dummy half and so on. It worked well for them with guys like Eastmond, Lomax and Swift did well last year when called on.

I think we can do the same with a guy like Murphy. Fullback is a highly pressurised position especially in play off Semi's. If Murphy had a trot on the wing at some point I think he'd build some confidence and be far more ready for a shot at fullback when called on again.

Wrong on all counts.

Sport is all about those little moments that decide the outcome of matches. The missed kick or the great kick, the dropped catch or the outstanding take, fumble that means a knock on and no try (or the juggling act that results in a score). They can't be attributed to others players in the team.

So certain players have an off day. So what if they are not the ones to drop the catch or give the penalty away that results in the opposition overtaking your score?

Lauaki was at fault in the loss to Wire earlier in the season. Without his indiscipline we'd have won the game. It's no defence to say the rest of the team should have been better and scored more/conceded less beforehand. They didn't and its no defence to suggest they should have. There is another team on the pitch that stopped em doing it!

Mistakes that lead to scores are different. It was Lauaki who gave the penalties away not Wire for stopping us scoring more. And it was Murphy who made the crucial mistakes v Leeds. Not Finch or anyone else.

Murphy cost us points a more experience player would not have but its not his fault. It's Wanes for playing him in the first place. End of.

Who gave away more points in that game Murphy or Finch through ineptitude?

Cheers. Not sure why they've changed this like this but ok!

I expected a certain response but the arrogance of this one astounds even me.
I particularly like the "End of" statement.

Ill check in future before having an opinion

and to call a dropped bomb in those circumstances ineptitude!
I think that speaks volmes more about your opinion than murphys ability.

In answer to jonh - answer imo Finch.

Shaun Wane was at fault, no one else. He had plenty of opportunities to play Murphy at fb or on the wing by either resting Sam or just using him to cover when Pat was injured. He knew that Murphy was one injury away from a starting full back spot and he didn't prepare him for that. Likewise he ought to have given more game time to Powell so we had better options when Leuluai was injured, then when McIlorum was suspended. Wane's relentless focus on treating every game like a grand final was a big reason we won nothing this year.

Start of

Players make mistakes - fact
Coaches make mistakes - fact
fans blame their favourite scapegoats (playing or coaching) and will never budge- fact

end of



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On a serious note, I am sure Murphy will get his chance - maybe a loan during the early part of the season will be a benefit for him, other players have followed that pattern and have gained a lot from it. What I have seen of Murphy he certainly looks to have potential.

I suspect that the next year will be one of transition -there are a few young players who look to be about a year or so away from being fully ready for the 1st team - hopefully they will progress to the point that they will then make the step-up and become the core of the squad after that.

What part of a players “off day “do you think doesn’t make a contribution to his team eventually losing? His sloppy tackling, his bad defensive positioning , his slow thinking, wrong pass making, off timing all these things and more can contribute to a loss, without any single one necessarily resulting in a score against. In RL there is a lot of luck that must also be taken into account, and things like a refereeing decision, the playing conditions etc. The thing that troubles me most about Wane is his inability to admit his mistakes. He sees this as an admission of a possible fallibility on his part, instead of recognising it and learning from it which I think would make him a better coach.

I would not expect him to admit his mistakes publicly, its more how he deals with them personally that I am bothered about and we will not know if he learns from them until next year.

And that's the biggest flaw in Dave's logic of blaming Wane and criticising Murphy's mistakes. He says that mistakes that lead to points being conceded are the most important yet completely ignores the fact that the biggest mistake in the game was the one that saw Leeds score their only try - the try that really made the difference considering how Leeds struggled to break down a pretty determined defensive effort.
He also seems to think Murphy's knock on directly led to conceding points and yet it didn't. It contributed but it was Farrell being offside that led to the conceding of the crucial points. Murphy's error obviously played a part, just like Finch's dreadful kicking and organisation did. The mistake that led to the conceding of points was Farrell's.

Going to Salford on a season long loan. Sam Powell was rumoured to be too but don't know now

If he goes to Salford on a "season long loan" is there any recall clause?
Seems an odd decision as he appears to be our reserve half back.
If he can't come back when required who goes into half back, Hampshire or Williams?
Is it just the 28 days or one month then recall?
Can anyone clarify this please?

Sorry, meant if Powell were to go on loan not Murphy.
Still, does anyone know the loan details as I asked?

A season with that lot will certainly prove if he can catch a ball. Hope the lad doesn't come back shell shocked.

i think some are being a bit harsh on Murphy here, how many times last season did we see Sam do a similar thing or at times get nowhere near a spiraling bomb?? happened on a good few occasions iirc so had Sam played what's to say he would he have gotten under it....

I actually don't think many people are blaming Murphy per se. Of course young players make mistakes...it's part of the learning experience. Every single plyer who has ever played the game has made mistakes. It's just a matter of how you learn from them. If I have a criticism of Murphy in that game (and it's only a small one) it's that he actually dropped two high kicks yet, instead of learning from the first, he seemed to think he had 'something to prove' in taking the second even though he was probably in an even worse position. having said that, the counter argument is that at least he was undaunted by his mistake which could be seen as a strong mental attitude. Either way I think most are in agreement that he has bags of potential and hopefully he'll have put that game behind him and go on to be the player we all think he could be.

dont think murphy was helped after the game when kris rads came into the south stand bar and his opening line was 'everyone's going to be talking about a young full back who made a mistake'

his speech was defending him but tbh no one around me was even mentioning the mistake. dont get me wrong kris rads is a wigan legend and is my favourite ever wigan player but i thought that was poor form.

also agree with a previous poster - its not like sam never dropped a bomb or made a mistake when it mattered last year.

I thought Murphy was very brave in even going for that late bomb. He could easily have backed away and prayed for the best but he didn't, he took responsibility for the situation and gave it a crack. It didn't come off but at least he showed some guts in the first place.

The sad part is if he had wimped out and left it then I'm 99% sure he'd have got away with it but those are the breaks.

The team didn't play well enough to win that game. It wasn't Murphys fault not Finch's fault but rather the fact that as a team it took us 45-50 minutes to get going and play like it wasn't a run of the mill league fixture (also known as friendlies).

Far as I'm concerned Murphy has the hallmarks of a good, maybe a great, player. If I'd been picking a MOTM from your lot for the first half he'd have been my choice.