Huby did struggle last year and isn't getting any younger. I'd like to see a quality addition to the front row options but would hold on to the current rota. Hirst does a decent enough job but isn't first choice option for me.

What he offers most is his biggest weakness. He will give his absolute all, but in doing so tries too hard and makes repeated errors. Forwards are all about the guaranteed error-free hard work. Solomona could be a bit error-prone, knocking on in dangerous positions due to unwise off-loads, but his excellence made up for it. With Tautai, you have the errors without the excellence.

As for Wigan's home-grown production line, their starting 17 for the Grand Final included two French blokes, two products of the London academy, a Welsh bloke, a product of the Saints academy, a product of the Bradford academy, and a Kiwi. Their home-grown production line in the backs is unlikely to feature in the internationals. George Williams possibly, who last year was one day from signing for Warrington.

It's not all rosy.

Huby's injury did knock him back a bit he can still contribute massively. Big plus when he's out on the pitch IMHO. Ditto England who started the season off with probably his best career form and never really tailed off too much. Would put Tautai in front of Hirst but, as said earlier, not at the expense of a quota spot.

Hopefully Huby recovers fully over the break. The offload game was still there just struggled for fitness and impact compared to 2017 when we were getting a big lift when he came on.

has looked fine to me since his return.

You guys make me laugh. Poptart slating me for a opinion you should not be admin and should step down. Tried to get me banned and had to get it off when you were completely wrong. Actually gonna send a report in about you victimisation.
Hirst - been poor all year
England - been good but he's running on empty
Huby - been v poor for 2 seasons shown a lack of desire to get in any kind of shape.

Thank god for Pauli back end of the year and fafita before the injury.

My opinion Tautai is better than those 3 and I go to every game.
U gonna ban me poptart absolutely disgusting

Front line of
Tautai
Pauli
Kopczak
England
Annakin
King
Possibly huby if shows desire to get fit.

Meaty props!!!

Tautai for Fifita? No thanks.

Agreed KK.
Tautai was OK whilst he was here, but has gone backwards since he's been at the Pie-eaters.
Take Big Dave (or anyone for that matter) out and replace him with him???






Better things to spend (MC's)

money on me thinks.......

we all have our opinions but I think it's been done to death on here that Anakin is NOT a prop!

Tautai has been ruined at Wigan

I mean, they must have seen something in him whilst he was here, they didn't buy him to sit in the stand.
Unfortunately, what he was offering got torn up.

Whether he could get back to where he was at a different club, I dunno.
We're a little out of that "see how you go" market these days, and I suppose if he went elsewhere and started ripping it up, we'd be competing with everyone else for his signature.
I'm not ready to cross him out till he's bombed somewhere other than Wigan.

Always liked Huby but most players get problems sorted in the off season but the last 2 years have seen him come out for the first game with yards of strapping. Would he pass a medical to sign for another SL club?

All off for different opinions but this has to be a wind-up, he says how good Fifita is and then in the next breath wants to replace him with a second-rate version lol.

Personally, I'd have England and Huby all day long over Tautai, who isn't better than either imo, he's a penalty machine & knock on merchant, who's seems to have lost his main ability to tackle bust, that made him a bit a crowd favorite when he was here. You could argue about Hirst if you like, but the fact is Hirst will be on about 3 times less and doesn't take up a quota spot - which if it doesn't need saying again, WE HAVEN'T ANY.

I mean seriously which of our foreign players would you get rid of if you could to accommodate him?

Yes. The reasons he left Hudds were not to do with his fitness I think we all know that and he arrived wadded up.

I reckon Fifita just slipped from his mind. He's kind of forgettable.

Not as much as you make us laugh with your nonsensical revelations on some players, as for Poptart I'm sure if he wanted you gone it would have happened before now, he has after all given you enough chances, maybe you make him laugh with your posts on what can be a tedious job trying to keep the peace on here.

LOL feel free. Ill abide by the decision with no arguments.
You've never even registered on my radar for a ban. I think you may be over rating your significance there.

No it wasn't



No they don't.

Wigan has 5 on their books including French. Doesn't really change the point that just about every team every season has the full 7 non fed/quota spots filled, so I don't know why he commented on Trinity alone. We'll see how many Wigan has next season.

YES it was, Wigan introduced a host of top players from the NSWRL on full time contacts that nobody else could come even close to affording. These were not summer holiday players which the rest of us had to make do with these were Wigan players!

Then of course there is the huge amount Wigan splashed out on Union players, were these guys Wigan based? Go on re-write history if you want but most of us were there.

THEY do if you count them properly. Are you including Sarginson for example because I am. I’m also talking about the 2018 team so that includes players who have since left.

No issues whatsoever with the make up of this current Wigan squad.

9 out of the 17 man squad from the grand final were home grown that have come though their ranks..

Tomkins
Manfredi
Gildart
Davies
Williams
Powell
O Loughlin
Farrell
Sutton

Out of the rest of the 17 man squad, only 3 were overseas players

Sorry and it's not just aimed at you but why don't people read the thread properly before commenting?

It was the silly Wigan fan who brought this issue up not us. No Wakefield fan had an issue with Wigans overseas contingent, all we, that's Trinity fans were pointing out is that Wigan too have had and still do have a reliance on overseas players just like any other SL club.

Nor with 10 Academy players and another 10 local players in our squad do we have anything to be ashamed of, quite the reverse. It was grossly stupid and
un-justified comment from a poster who was clearly trolling.

Thanks

For the record

1: Dan Sarginson - Born 26 May 1993 (age 25) Perth, Western Australia

2: Thomas Leuluai NZ

3: Taulima Tautai AUS/NZ

4: Willie Isa AUS/NZ

5: Morgan Escare FRENCH

6: Romain Navarrete FRENCH

7: Gabe Hamlin AUSTRALIAN

That's 7 then, or if I'm being super generous 6 like everyone else.

Sarginson, played for England, Hamlin qualifies for England (mother is from Blackpool) Escare and Navarette are EU citizens and so a right to play here.

However, I wasn't having a go at Wakefield. Check my posts on other sites and I have been asking for a reduction in the quota rules for years. Personally I would like it down to two but accept that you can't do that overnight so maybe four would be realistic.
Hull for example don't run their own academy team and have no reserve grade, but are maxed out on quota players.

All teams need to run reserve grade.

I would also scrap the scholarship and keep players with their community clubs until they are seventeen but have "town teams" at that age group.

As for producing players, I think every Superleague team bar Cas, Hull and Saints have at least one player who has come through the Wigan academy.

Twenty players played in the first team in 2018 who had come through an academy system that has appeared in ten of the last eleven Grand Finals, winning nine.

Nore emphasis has to be put on developing our own talent than bringing in expensive often overrated quota players.