If he is assured of the one shirt next year I will dispare at the strategy under Wane, Rads and Lenagan.

Quite simply his performances at 1 have not warranted any assurances for him to take the 1 shirt.

The policy seems to be round holes into square pegs. We have 3 young lads capable of playing halfback so rather than see who rises to the top in that position we shift players around at accommodate them. Rocky is the player most versatile and able to play 1 so he is earmarked as a 1 even though he clearly isn't. Is he a future Wigan 6? Who knows but he needs to be given a chance to stake a reasonable claim as to be honest neither Williams or Powell has managed to make the shirt their own despite having been given the chance.

I'm surprised Rocky is not being lined up to play on the wing to replace Burgess after all he is the fastest player at the club so why not give him a run there?!

The current policy of Acadeny "succession" is a load of vain bull in my opinion. The simple fact is Rocky should get a fair crack at 6 as the others have had. We need to be looking to recruit a fullback for next year. We have to accept that we will more than likely lose 1 or 2 of Williams, Powell and Hampshire. Of the 3 give them an equal opportunity, see who takes it. The player that does give him the shirt, the player/players that don't let them fight to earn a shot, if they get a chance through injury they have their opportunity, if they continue not to take it make a call on them when contracts are up and move them on.

Wigan should not be the Wigan Academy First team. Wigan should be a the best team they can put in the pitch regardless of where they were developed. It is also unfair to jeoidise careers by not giving players the opportunity to play their best position.

Would you still sign that contract if you saw yourself as a 6?

And therein lies the problem. I think most people, including himself, sees him as a 6. Everyone apart from Shaun Wane apparently! I genuinely think the club are handling this one badly and we'll end up losing Hampshire. In my opinion that could be the worst piece of business since we swapped Longy for a no mark prop!

Blinkers on I can see Hampshire going to Leeds and guess who will be coming this way ??????????????????????????????

If we had a Radlinski or Sam Tomkins to play fullback then I'd be right into the Hampshire at #6 camp with Smith at #7 and Williams providing cover for Smith and McIlorum from the bench. That way you could slowly introduce the Hamphsire / Wiliams partnership into games which should IMO be the medium term target.

Sadly we don't have that fullback option as Bowen won't be here next year.

Hampshire is a superb prospect in either position but we need him more at #1 for the next couple of years, unless of course Sam returns to Wigan.

Or we sign another fullback but options look very thin on the ground.

Another option would be to sign a centre and slot Sarginson in at fullback. That'd be a big gamble but I do believe its a position he'd thrive in.

I agree with sarge to FB and try and get a decent centre in, let Hampshire take the 6 shirt

As much as I'd love us to sign a good experienced centre I can't really see it happening plus we've still got Thornley to come back in the centres so that could allow Sarge to move to fullback next year

Bingo!!

we have a winner.

How long is Thornley out for? I don't see why Sarge at f-b can't be an option even now. We have JT, Bateman and Faz who could all slot into the centres, Josh too, when he returns.

Agree totally. And I don't buy into the " he's too young/inexperienced" argument, which is often put forward by some.

In my opinion, if you are good enough, you are old enough as a back. I posted on another thread that Sean Edwards was Wigan's number 6 and also Captain in 1988 when only 21. Half backs such as Andy Gregory was starring for Widnes as an 18/19 year old. Sinfield, McGuire, and Burrows were all playing regularly for Leeds aged 20. It is in the forwards, particularly props where age is an advantage - but that is more to do with physique and natural "filling out" rather than experience per se.

Some have posted Wigan do not want to make the same mistake that they made with Kevin Brown, Robinson etc when they were played at half back "too young" and were found wanting and eventually sold. I would argue that it wasn't because they were too young - but that they simply weren't good enough.

Hampshire should be given the opportunity at 6 - if he isn't good enough, ok. The bottom line is Wane has tried all other half back combinations apart from Williams at 7 and Hampshire at 6 this season. This partnership has enjoyed success at all levels they have played at so far - I repeat, if they are good enough, they are old enough. I think they would prove that if given the opportunity, particularly behind a full strength pack. And this would also make opposing teams worry more about the threat posed by 2 half backs who can both take the line on and are fast, particularly Hampshire.

One other point; I hesitate to use 'that other code' as an example, but it does strike me that it seems almost a tradition in RU to have a floppy-haired young 18-20 year old playing at 10, half the teams in the Premiership have them! So why should a half take longer to 'mature' in league than union? So basically, as Fames said, surely, if you're good enough, you're old enough.

I fully appreciate Rocky is the the only player capable of competing with Bowen and succeeding him currently at the club, however he has struggled at 1. The reason behind this is he isn't a 1.

This in my opinion ridiculous succession plan we have is an absolute nonsense. There is no way you can keep all your young players, there is no way all your young players will make it. If we don't have a capable 1 currently in the club, which I don't feel we do we need to recruit. You don't put a square peg in a round hole just because he is a "best fit option".

Rocky needs a shot at 6 Powell and Williams have had a crack and not made the shirt theirs Rocky now needs to be given an opportunity.


Sarginson to 1 really doesn't work for me, he is becoming a fine centre who in the current climate are as rare as hen's teeth just like British halves. There are plenty of fullbacks in the NRL of a very good quality.

Wane needs to give himself a shake get ahead of the game and sort his recruitment out rather than diluting experienced players with lads that were born in the shadow of Central Park and know how to scrap.

Why is Tierney still at the club if Wane sees Hampshire as #1 long term?

There is no point in Tierney much in the same way in my opinion there is no point in Powell. Williams is a work in progress but definitely a 7 or 9. Wigan keep banging on about a big squad, which cannot be denied. Shame it is a big squad lacking quality.

Still we have a good Academy and produce loads of top players so that's all that matters.

In tonight's MEN there is a rather interesting article about Williams, Manfredi and Hampshire , and I cant really make up my mind who penned it, it wants putting up on here for you fans to make your own minds up.
It starts off by saying Williams will be back at standoff tomorrow after playing as backup hooker against Hull, it goes on to say that Wane knows he needs games alongside Smith. This statement is just a statement with no inverted commas "if you know what I mean".
Then a statement by Wane about Manfredi says "Dom is a tough kid because I have wrestled against him -and I had to fight dirty".
Then the article says that Wane will delay his final selection for the Headingly clash and hinted that Rocky Hampshire could come into his plans, the 20 year old came up through junior ranks with Williams and the home grown pair are both tipped for big things.

Like I have tried to day it is a bit confusing which is Wane talk and which is paper talk.

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... ut-8859206

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... ut-8859206

Should a coach be "wrestling" with his players? Do they have to prove how "tough" they are to Wane in this respect? And could Rocky's problem be he is not a good enough wrestler?

Seems flippant, but a serious point: does Wane attach too much importance to defensive stability rather than pure attacking ability, which for me is the number one priority of a 6?

I personally think Wigan are in danger of following the Bradford coaching fall from grace.

Bring in a great coach then dilute his message until we are left with poor copies in an game that has moved on.

Looking at the team Wane is totally out of his depth.

I don't think it is flippant I think it is a sad truth about Wane's attitude.

Agree. We have Hampshire, Williams, Powell, Tomkins and Tierney who are either in and out of the team every other week, playing a random position or running around on a dodgy Workington pitch with seemingly no real plan for them to develop or any knowledge of what their best positions are (with the exception of Logan who just gets dropped randomly).

We have to cut that bunch down to 2 or 3 max in my opinion and then look towards bringing Shorrocks in to the first team.

2010 GF replay is on Sky now. What a great team that was. So much experience with only a little bit of youth. Apart from their halves and bench, the Saints squad on paper was immense but we dicked them for almost 80 minutes.

Last time I said something similar about wane I was lynched, let's see if you are pal

The MEN article is mostly just what was reported on Wigan TV in the "press conference" with Wane. Nothing new from Wane as such that wasn't said in the press conference, maybe a bit of journalistic supposition to fill out the article

The next few weeks are going to be crucial for Wane. If we lose against Leeds, Wakefield and Saints (or only just scrape a win against Wakefield and lose the other 2 convincingly), the wheels may have been deemed to come off the wagon and the knives will be out!
O/T, but Vea looked very good for Saints again tonight. According to a poster on here last week, Wigan apparently offered him a deal but he chose Saints because they offered him more! I don't know how much more, but IL should perhaps be asking himself a few questions about recruitment. Vea is 28 and has size and physical maturity. He was also a former Broncos player - with whom Wigan are supposed to have good links with still. ( Clubb and Sarginson signings). Don't know how much more Saints offered ( £10K/20K?), but he is a player Wigan should have signed. Maybe Larne Patrick will improve once the pitches get firmer, but Wigan's next player in line in the second row seems to be Conor Farrell. A good-hearted player, who undoubtedly "plays above his weight", but he is simply not big enough or physically mature enough at the moment - and probably never will be a big enough unit to be a top class/Wigan class second row - if, that is, Wigan are going to be winning GFs and CCs.