I wonder if Flower and Clark have seen their harris after being overlooked for selection last Saturday??

Yeah that'll be it

How many f'in back rowers does Lam want to select in his teams?

Isa
Farrell
O'Loughlin
Greenwood
Smithies
Partington (pretty much)
Shorrocks
McDonnell
Rushton

WTF

Hardaker
Manfredi
Halsall
Bibby
French
Smith
Hastings
O'Loughlin
Powell
Bullock
Farrell
Isa
Smithies

Singleton
Partington
Greenwood
Leuluai

The club had two initial positive results for Covid and four inconclusive results, with those guys being retested and the results coming back as one more positive and three negative. I’m wondering if the absence of guys like Clark and Flower tie in with that. If tests were inconclusive they may be sitting those guys out also just to be on the safe side.

I can’t for the life of me think we go in with three props. The absence of Ben Kilner is also a strange one unless he is also one of those guys affected by Covid. He is an out and out prop and did well against Saints.

Answers on postcard for the 3 missing players!

Ah my bad. I knew he could play at lock but thought he was predominantly a prop

The decision to go with 3 props again is bemusing but we have to consider whether the positive tests were props such as Flower/Clark which could be why he’s done that. Due to GDPR the likelihood is is that we’ll never know. That also is probably the reason we’ve named so many back rowers with the option of playing them at prop. Though I must admit I’d prefer Kilner in there than Shorrocks.

According to the club website Shorrocks is only 88 kg and Kilner is 113! Shorrocks has done well since coming into the team (and I'd like to see him in his natural position), but I think we all agree we need more beef up front.

I don't understand going with three props again in what is forecasted to be a rainy night. Of course I don't know the covid situation so maybe I am being harsh, but if Clarke and/or Flower are available I think they should be in the squad.

We'll get absolutely mullered up front. But then that's nothing new for Wigan.

I imagine Sam Halsall will play on the left wing with Jake Bibby at centre - I'm sure Gelling and Charnley will look forward to that.

Hopefully there will be some kind of response and it will be an enjoyable game but given the team sheet, opposition, forecast and disruption you cant see anything other than a convincing win for Warrington.

Thanks for the update NK
Unless there are injuries not yet disclosed I just don't understand the squad selection unless as you say the club is płaying safety first but the numbers quoted re Covid tests wouldn't explain the omission of Flower, Clark, Kilner and Byrne.
Interesting times

I’d forgot about Byrne, so you’re right that does seem one too many alongside Gildart, Burgess and Hankinson.

Who knows who is out for what reason but if any of those props has just been left out through Lams own choice, he is a mad man and he wants the sack.

If he has left out any of those props for other than injury or Covid related then he is deluded.

It wouldn't surprise me if there has been some fallout from last week which could explain maybe Flower and Clark. This is total speculation on my part other than being advised that Flower was not pleased about having to play versus Saints. I have no evidence for this at all but something just doesn't "smell right" at the moment. To go with just 3 props after Saturday's utter shambles is just jaw dropping at face value.

Maybe I'm just falling into the "conspiracy mire" that seems to be everywhere at the moment

Stranger things do happen Grimmy albeit, it is purely speculation on my part.
No squad is entirely happy even if it is a successful squad there are always cliques within a squad who will be unhappy.

Maybe it's PHE who are in charge of issuing the Covid linked numbers to the Wigan squad that is leading to confusion and speculation?
Or it could be Lam has looped the loop and thinks that we don't at least 4 props when we face Wire.

Interesting times

It surely must be Covid or injury that is the reason Lam's gone with three props after last week's debacle?
He can't believe that we only need three props against the likes of Hill, Cooper, Philbin etc, can he?
Mind you Tommy will start and be given the kicking job for 60 mins until Smith is brought on, so anything can happen, and probably will.

Will Lockers 20 minutes cost us the game again?

I think we can see from past squads that he thinks of Shorrocks as a prop even if we don't. Do you not think it's way more likely that they either aren't selected or have COVID than this theory (based on no evidence at all) that the players themselves have kicked off? I can remember one instance in the last two decades of one of our players refusing to train or play.

If Clark, Flower, Byrne and Kilner haven't got covid and Lam has chosen to leave them out it really is time to go

Of course i agree it it is eminently possible that the 4 props have got Covid on top of the 3 already acknowledged which I think would enable us to call the game off? If that is the case why don't the club acknowledge the actual extent of the levels of positive results within the camp?

I suppose that we will get more of an update tomorrow when I think there will be the usual weekly Wigan tv interview with Lam.

Whatever is the reason for at face value a baffling squad selection Lam and the team need to deliver this weekend or a playoff spot may become increasingly unlikely

By the way I can remember when the Wigan team went on on strike and refused to play

An interview with Lam is on Wigan TV now. He seems to indicate Flower is in the same boat as Clubb and George Burgess in that he’s injured (blow me down). There’s no other clues really as to why Clark, Byrne or Kilner haven’t made the squad. There is some footage of the players training from an evening training session they had after the tests and the re-tests of the four inconclusive results came back and Liam Byrne is training but I couldn’t see Clark or Kilner involved. In Byrnes case I wonder if they just think he needs some training miles in his legs after he clearly had Covid. He looked knackered in the games either side of his positive test, so I could understand that. One thing he did say is that the team could change prior to the game, so we may see one or two in and out.

Platt
Dermott
Skerret
Mcginty
Betts
Clarke
GB 1992 pack!

Well surely Lam could say, we're restricted to three fit props because of Covid and injury, if that were the case?

I funny old interview that. Very low key responses to the questions
Hopefully there maybe changes to the squad as Lam suggested but if I'm honest I'm unsure as to when we have to name the final 17 these days
He also suggested that Singleton might not play which concurs with a previous interview that he may not even get a game this season.
Pretty weird at the moment

No rain forecast in Leeds for Friday [uhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2644688 [/u