French out for 8 weeks, so it's even more pleasing to see Eckersley look so comfortable at fullback. He'll be needed between now and Field coming back. It's frustrating to lose Field and French at the same time but it's going to pay off handsomely down the track with the experience Eckersley and Farrimond are getting.

Grade 2, it won’t matter the LLS is done and dusted.

I need to watch it back but it felt like we got very very little in the second half, with the push on Farrell being missed and some iffy looking knock on/forward pass decisions. Saints won the penalty count 5-2, so it certainly doesn't add any weight to the social media posts I'm seeing from Saints fans saying Moore gave Wigan a helping hand.

Overall I didn't think Moore had any real bearing on the result and the game itself should be celebrated. It just firms up my opinion that Saints are quite comfortably Wigan's biggest threat when it comes to winning the Grand Final in October.

Heh! I am obviously in the minority here who feel that Wire are a bigger threat than Saints. I just think Saints don't really have that much in attack, they don't have a Harry Smith, or a Bevan French, or, indeed, a George Williams. Time will tell.

For all the Saints fans moaning about the ref, there was a very late tackle by Percy on Wardle on the same play as the Faz incident. when Faz.

Cut out ball to Marshall and Wardle was hit without getting the ball.

Maybe in the minority but certainly not alone Moto. They don't have enough cutting edge. They still had their best (if not necessarily first choice) spine out there tonight. We were missing 3 of ours, our attacking interchange hooker, and had our stand off constantly in at dummy half yet still outscored them 3 tries to 2. Let's be honest here, that could easily have been 5 or six to 2 as well. I haven't seen Marshy mess up 1 of those cross field kicks in years, let alone 2 in 1 game! We were held up over the line and also had 2 players taken out off the ball without a pen when yards from their line (although we may have taken the 2 points there).

We are apparently a 2 man team playing without both those players and still beat them. Imagine Wire beating them without Dufty, Williams, Walker (plus all their reserve hookers) and I doubt the Warrington faithful would be saying they're still their biggest threat.

I know they had a lot of players missing too but most of theirs would help get them better field position rather than do anything with it and, ultimately, doing anything with it is the same problem they've had for a couple of years now.

Great game though!

Anyone think that the bench of Mago, Walters, Byrne and Hill were a little disappointing? Little impact.

Yeah, not much from the bench really, which considering Saints played with 14 and a bit players was a little disappointing. In fairness they all seemed to get quite limited minutes, with Havard and Ellis doing big stints.

I have been disappointed with Byrne and Walters for a while, neither of them seem to be having much/any impact

I think all of Thompson, Harvard and Ellis did the full 80 if I'm not mistaken. Both teams effectively played with 14 players for the most part.

Mago never plays any sort of minutes versus Saints.
Walters played a major role in the Keighran try and for me just needs more minutes on the park.
I’m a fan of Hill but I was very disappointed in him last night. He’s a big lad but seemed to be gasping for air after only a minute or so.
Byrne is a bit of a mystery. A huge lad but rarely makes it across the advantage line. Again I am a fan but he’s way behind Ellis, Thompson and Havard. He needs to really step if he is to retain his place in the starting 17.

To give Byrne a bit of leeway, I don’t think a bench spot suits him really. He’s a player suited to playing from the start, playing bigger minutes and doing his thing, which is to lead the defensive intent. I also think he’s wrestling a bit with the disciplinary issues and trying to figure out how he can impact games legally.

On a side note, I thought Havard had his best game defensively in terms of intent. He was smashing people and that’s not always been the case. He put some real aggr On to his defence and if he adds that to his game, he’ll be an even better player. He needs to be less honest on the first try mind! I’d have taken the 10 minutes and tackled Welsby off the ball, I can’t lie!

Reading Peet's comments on how they set up with Ellis And Luke playing major roles in filling in for the missing 9 then it makes sense that the others were used sparingly

Walters needs to get far more aggression into his game, his yardage for a big man is poor. I am not sure that he is a second row forward more like a prop/13.

https://www.superleague.co.uk/match-centre/report/4480 Stats from yesterday evening. Some good numbers by the middles of both teams.

https://www.superleague.co.uk/match-centre/report/4480 Stats from yesterday evening. Some good numbers by the middles of both teams.

Nsemba was lifting people off the ground with the ferocity of his defence at times.

It was a bad miss by him for one of the Saints tries however generally he was an absolute menace in defence last night.

Walters needs time. He’s not had a great start to his Wigan career but there is still time. I do worry that the new rules go somewhat against him and his size. Nsemba is a big boy too but looks more athletic I think Walters is a bit less agile and is struggling to adapt to the lower tackle height and the knock on implications of it, ie quicker ptb’s.

I think that is a fair point Steve. One thing I thought Peet got wrong was the use of Farrimond and Farrell at hooker, I would have preferred Faz in at dummy half when attacking Saints and vice versa when we were coming out of our own half. Tying Farrimond up cut down our attacking options.

Yes that really didn’t work did it.

Smith was an easy target when JF was at the play the ball compounded by the lack of French or Field as he was often our only play making option.

Smith did very well a couple of times on the left edge when he could have got smashed particularly on the last tackle but used great feet and eyes up play to create space and put his strike edge players into open ground.

Last night felt a bit like the end for Hampshire at Wigan. If you’re not getting a game with 2 FB/HB options out, along with 3 hookers, you’re probably not going to see much more action.

Good.

I still think the French injury is the big story from last night. If it is 8 weeks Wigan will be hoping to get him back a couple of games before the playoffs. Not ideal as I think a big reason for our success last year was the continuity in the spine in the last 8 weeks or so.

Just a reminder that no matter how well you go throughout the year - if you get a big injury to a key player at the wrong time then you're at risk in the couple of games that really matter.

IF everything goes to plan re. French's recovery it's still going to be touch and go to get him fit for the play-offs, he'll have max two games before the play-offs, not ideal and a massive couple of months for Farrimond coming up

We are in a good place so far, four points clear with a game in hand. We 'should' be too strong for Hull FC away next week.

No doubt we will have challenges in the coming weeks: Wire at home. Two matches in one week (of which one is Leigh).

Hopefully Field is back soon (what is the timescale for him)?

The push on Farrell, you've got to be having a laugh. He comes across into Welsby's path and tries to block him from getting near the ball and it's a collision. He's lucky he didn't get pinged for obstruction though I thought the ref came to the best decision which was, nob all in it. Play on. Can't believe people are acting like Welsby has done anything wrong there. What is he supposed to do? Give up on the ball cos someones got in his way?

I thought Moore was pretty crap and missed a lot, the one where he said the high shot on Lees was accidental head clash (which it wasn't) and play on (since when btw?) was a shocker that led to the charge down and led to your try. However, I don't want to focus on him in general, as I thought it was largely a great game and rather than him costing us the game, it was some really dumb rugby from us at key times. As well as Eckersley taking the game by the scruff of the neck and coming up with some brilliant stuff. I'd also much rather he let more go like he did last night than not. The problem is that it's pretty ridiculous when you only decide to start letting stuff go half way through the game, after dishing out a sinbin in the 1st minute! Can't fathom Wigan fans thinking we got the rub of the green though. I know we're all a bit biased, but that's ridiculous to me

We might have had the first choice spine available but it's a bit dim to be acting like that tells the story. The best halfbacks in the world (which they're obviously not) can't do anything behind a beaten pack and the vast majority of our first choice pack was out. I said when we were lining up at the start that your team looked miles bigger than we did, and it showed with how much possession and territory you had. I thought we did well to stay in the game considering that. Fact is you probably SHOULD have scored 5 or 6 with the amount of field position you have but you didn't which shows the effect that missing your two main attackers had on you, as well as some fantastic defence by us. I think our defence in the face of that shows that we will be able to stay in the fight in any big, intense game which gives us a shot, terrible attack or not. Obviously won't be on the end of such a hiding in the forwards if we can get some bodies back either