Still not sure what all the fuss is about with Hardakre. Solid player but no creativity. Centre all day for me. Never a 3rd half.

we need an old fashioned out and out goal kicking full back....a Brett Hodgson type, but not BH , hes too old

What about Murphy?

Are you a Latics Fan or summit?

Greg Eden ( our very own Billy Slater according to Clarkey)

The fact he's not getting a crack this Friday tells you all you need to know about Murphy. Shame as he's a great attacker but he seems a real liability in defence on 5th tackle

far from it against Bradford last year I thought he was my MoM and against Leeds bar from the knock on didn't do much wrong.

In the pre season friendlies this year he was very poor, and at fault for loads of things that went wrong when we played Salford in game 1 of the season, not sure how long it was after that before they dropped him.

Josh Charnley.

With some game time at 1 he could be amazing. Speed to round any player when linking in the line, has the X factor in attack and can catch and tackle better than Sam.
Yes it'll take him time to learn the position, but he'd be a Roberts type FB.

Other than that, Lomax

No great enthusiasm for any of the other suggestions, the Josh option may have some mileage.

Hanbury at Widnes looks useful but with Salford sniffing he has signed a contract till 2016.

Greg Eden. A year or two in our coaching systems would develop him into a top class full back which we'd enjoy for a season or two before selling him to an Aussie club.

I think Josh has genuine strike, would like to see him on the ball more in different positions on the field, linking in the line would really show off his abilities. He's already proven his defensive capabilities.

That just leaves us with a replacement for the wing, we already have that in our current set up.

The attack seemed to stop dead when he played FB against Huddersfield, before he was moved partway through the game. Leave Josh on the wing where he's doing well. If Sam goes at the end of this year sign a good full back, if he goes at the end of next year, who knows? Maybe Tierney will prove himself

Charnley is similar to Richards although Josh has a bit more 'strike'. A modern fullback is more of a traditional stand off in the mold of Tomkins, Slater, Hayne.... Phelps to some degree. neither Richards or Josh are capable of filling that role effectively enough for me.

I agree, perhaps we should be looking more toward our up and coming young Halves...

The problem with Richards at Fb is that he had no cutting edge or that extra yard of pace. I think Charnely could provide this and would personally give him a shot at FB.

The attack would stop with him though and it would be predictable for defenders. with Sam, Slater, Hayne and even Phelps, it puts the defence in two minds. Will he take me on or will he pass???

Completely agree. A modern fullback is more of a 3rd pivot rather than just someone who is fast. To keep playing to these same structures we do now but without Tomkins it is vital we have a fullback with a good passing game. Sam has contributed 18 assists in the league as well as all his tries, you wouldn't get that with Pat or Josh. It's one of the reasons I have reservations when Hardaker is mentioned, he's got excellent speed and footwork but I don't think he'd be creative enough to play as a fullback in our system. I think within SL there is only really Ratchford or Lomax who I think could offer the same sort of attacking threat as Sam does (though not to the same standard).

I do agree with this, the FB role as a 3rd pivot, however I do believe Josh could fulfil said role. It's not exactly a pivot role, more of a link up to the 3/4 line often causing an overlap or, as in the case with Sam, other players planning their runs to open up a channel for Sam, at times Wigan make Sam look good giving him the space to break through, if he goes to the NRL I suspect he'll find it difficult as the club properly won't play to him.

Roberts was a sensation during his spell as a FB, I believe Josh would be similar given time. I clearly remember the up-raw when it was suggested that Sam moves to FB.

There's a few more I'd put in that category, although they're mostly a bit suspect defensively: Escare, Eden and Hanbury, for example.

If we could sort out his defence Eden would be a good choice

Agree with Escare, lightening pace and a 2 year contract won't be that much to buy out.

I'd like someone like Minichello bring Tierney on but he loves the Roosters too much

Minichello would be great signing for a couple of years. I've just watched him playing for the Roosters and he's still a class act. We've enough "young legs" to carry him through and his experience would be superb to help bring on the likes of Tierney and Hampshire.

Honestly can't see this, he's not even your best winger. As we've seen at Hull playing wingers (Briscoe) at FB can be awful. Do you guys thing Charnley would score as many tries if he wasn't in such a good side? Honest question not just to wind you up.

Your post presupposes that he would not... "Would he score as many" is a silly question, as a lot depends on the quality of of ball supply.