I’m going to do a Brian McDermott after Cas put 60 on them.

We will win the Grand Final











I’ll look a genius if it comes off

Playing completely without smarts yet again. Williams and Powell completely anonymous. I actually assumed Powell was injured/rested until I saw him in a replay some time into the game. Lockers was off, plenty of passed to the floor or wayward.

I'm not going to blame the referee, didn't get much wrong but the Tommy sin binning was baffling. He made a legal tackle, off the ball but because it was a big hit and hurt the guy it's a yellow card? That's total crap and indeed when Fifita tackled Bateman (?) off the ball it was just a penalty.

As always, falling attendances and hitting Lenegan in the pocket will force an early change to management. We have regressed in all areas as a club with a handful of top performances back to back in recent times. There is simply too big a difference between our best and worst performances and I’ll be delighted when this chapter is closed on the Wane era.

I have always supported Wane, reluctantly at times, after what I'd call "sacking defeats". But this is the final straw now. It's not the losses, it's the manner of them. The club has fallen apart in 3 weeks.

Definitely time to go Shaun.

This!

Woeful, just woeful.

Not a bloody clue out there. Apart from Bateman, who always seems to try.

It reminded me of a match in the 1970's when we got beat by IIRC some Leeds club, like Bramley. Tony Karalius was playing for us in that team. Just like then, the only thing good was the weather.

The wheels have well and truly fallen off.

Well that's the Challenge Cup and the hubcap gone then!

With the seven regular games coming up in this form I can't see us winning any (bar maybe Huddersfield, at a push).

I still think, and have (along with quite a few others) that out biggest issue is size, or rather lack off. That’s where we lost the game tonight, they were simply bigger and stronger and their backs played off it.

Our forwards didn’t make metres, were very efficiently slowed down so unable to play the ball quickly leaving the backs without space. Wakefield’s forward dominance made defence relatively easy for them.

But this was identified and spoken about four years ago post WCC lost against Sydney Roosters. Nothing's been done about it, in fact it seems the policy is to recruit (and extend contracts of) smaller more mobile forwards since then.

It seems that way which has baffled me for quite some time. Hopefully once a new coach is appointed that will be addressed.

Classic mate

I have to admit I’m am a bit bemused by that one. I think he got a yellow as a result of the uproar from the tackle the Hull player made a few weeks back. If the powers that be determine that a legal challenge (and by that I mean not high/not a shoulder charge etc) but on a player who never got the ball is a sin bin offence then i don’t have a problem with that however Fifita should have got the same. In fact Fifita was far worse as the ball was nowhere near Bateman, Tommy just took the little dummy.

And if it doesn't?


Sometimes a good sense of humour is all that's left. Seriously, we are still in a strong second place with plenty to play for. We have obvious problems but the club has to find a way to take pressure off the players. There's no slump like a Wigan slump.

I’ll just say I was joking



Seriously though, I’m pretty confident we can give it a crack. We haven’t become a bad side in three weeks and the players are clearly reeling from the Wane news. I’ve read a few comments about them not wanting to play for him anymore and I sense that couldn’t be further from the truth. I think the players want to play for him too much and are sulking at him leaving.

Things could get worse before they get better but they will get better and I’m backing the squad to give Wane the end to his Wigan career I think he deserves.

Haha. Hedging your bets again, NK?

Well spotted but I think I get his meaning!

On a positive note (and to try and put some balance in) I thought Mullen showed up well - certainly didn't let anyone down.

A 17 games winless run

Very well I thought and it’s sadly been lost a little due to the result. He looks very very confident and I’d love to see him in a more involved position to see what he’s made of.

I'll say this to those who say, play Escaré at 7: how many tackles does Sam Powell make each game, and do you think 'Grab-an-arm Escaré' would make them successfully?

Don;t mind giving him 20 mins in the halves, but play him there permanently and opposing side will target him mercilessly.

I must admit I don’t understand the high regard Escare is held in,he’s at best a competent fullback and wouldn’t add much to the halves if he was put in there full time.

Whilst I see your point, it's also a damming assessment to pin point how many tackles a scrum half makes as his best point. If Powell was organising and creating, there wouldn't be a need to suggest playing Escare or anyone else there (for the record, Escare isn't the answer) .

Well I'm not convinced that Escaré is any better at "organising and creating" than Powell. He's a greater running threat, yes, but that's only one facet of the game.

I wasn't particularly 'making an assessment' of Powell, either, just saying that half-backs always tend to be targetted in the defensive line, for good reasons, and Escaré, even allowing for his size, seems a worse defender than average to me.

We are probably making different points to be honest. I was more referring to the fact that if Powell was a quality half back performing well, there wouldn't even be a discussion about Escare playing half back. The fact he is limited opens up all kinds of discussion. I said on anither thread, it's not his fault that's he's been given the 7 shirt, it's the coaches. I said at the start of the season that despite his willingness to work, his attitude and defensive attributes, he's just not a quality scrum half.

I don't personally think either Escare or Powell are the answer to who should play 7 for us. Escare, good cover when needed, can slot in to 1, 6/7 and wing. Powell can cover 7 and 9. Neither should be first choice starter in any position in our first 13.