To suggest that Chris Chester is more knowledgeable about Rugby League than I am is just absurd.

Or even being allowed to hold onto the #1 shirt at the start of the previous season?

This is my beef about side-lining an outstanding youngster, which we effectively did once Grix came crawling back.

It's all conjecture now anyway.

Or do we just accept that team sport works that way?

Prime example - would the illustrious Sam Tomkins be a RL superstar now, if he hadn't been forced to join the 1st team due to an injury to Thomas Leuluai?

You really are hugely vindictive at times.

He was sidelined as you put it because the flaws in his game towards the end of 2016 were obvious to all - he simply wasn't ready. The idea that somehow he'd have improved if left in place in 2017 is absurd. Yeah he may have gotten better but to suggest he'd have given us the season Grix did doesn't hold up to scrutiny. I suggest a full season at F/B would have destroyed his confidence and scuppered his future career. He got his chances in 2017 and was pretty much awful in every game, how is that Grix or Chesters fault!

As for Grix coming "crawling back" - seriously man is he the first player ever to leave a club and then come back.

Jowitt broke through as a 20 year old into a technically difficult position, one which he hadn't mastered - he needed the time to grow his game and Chester gave it him and has been very quick to reward the player for doing so - what more do you want?

Chester has been utterly vindicated regarding Max but then he sees him day in and day out so he would wouldn't he, and he knows the lad well which is more than you or I do.

You were wrong he was right, to me it's that simple.

Indeed.
History is littered with players in all sports getting a break or, making the most of a "freak" opportunity.
However, Jowitt has had to be extremely patient this season and credit to him for not throwing his teddy out of the pram.

Now that he is getting a decent run in the side, I really hope that he goes from strength to strength and if we managed to find a spot for Crowther, even better.

These two, were absolutely busting a gut in pre season and both seemed to deserve a break. ?/

It was an Injury to Tim Smith that gave ST his chance in the Wigan first team and to answer your question IMO yes he would, Sam only needed 80 minutes of first team rugby to prove how fantastic of a talent he was and only got better with a few games under his belt.

Chances will inevitably come for the `next in line` one way or another, it is how they take them that counts.

I'm just happy in the knowledge that MJ is playing well, and even though I'm a fan of Grix, there would be no automatic return for him at the expense of MJ.
I get what OP is saying but this site just about our opinions surely!

Kyle wood has left and 'come crawling back' twice now....

If an opinion has no validity, is there any point expressing them?

Wasn't Max suffering from a shoulder injury too, that was impacting him, forcing him to have surgery at the end of the 2016 season.

If I remember rightly, he and Miller both needed surgery, but there was only Craig Hall available to cover either position for the last 2-3 games of the super 8s.

In the end Max played and Miller didnt.

Jowitt at 1 is a forced change, so it hardly matters who you'd prefer.
Bagging Grix gratuitously in favour of Jowitt just taints an opinion.
I wouldn't bag either, they're both decent players, I'd rather have on-form Grix in than Jowitt but I'm not gonna pull Jowitt apart to further my viewpoint, the lads playing well and the more games he plays, the better he'll get, but he isn't going to get Grix's nouse over night.
Same goes for Finny really, you can't negate the value of nouse with a speed/pace argument alone.

Unfortunately, unlike back in the old days when player's club loyalty was a large consideration so-called A-Team players would languish in the second team for years and not get regular spots. One thinks of players Like Don Metcalfe, Ken Rollin. Ken Hirst et al who were second choice for ten years or more. Of course today's game is totally different and as Superleague is a full-time professional sport players have to go where the money is. Young Players like Jowitt, Crowther and Caton-Brown won't stay second or third choice for ever.

Nailed it - Jowitt is faster and probably fitter than Grix, because he has youth on his side - but he is miles away from Grix in terms of nouse, guile and understanding how to manage a game; he'll probably learn that with experience and game time, but he 100% does not have it now. One would hope that as a young player, he knows that and so doesn't become disgruntled when he plays second fiddle; young players who don't get that, usually end up in the wilderness - apart from the freaky phenoms who seem to emerge from Academy sides fully formed - but there aren't many of them.

Chester speaks with forked tongue when refering to our own . he is very critical of them while allowing his leadership group mistake after mistake . i believe if it wasnt a s/l rule teams had to have seven home grown players in there squad chester would have none

Here we go again - yet another coach who hates young players; it was Kear, then it was Agar, now it's Chester.

Can this be something in the water at WT, or could it be that certain people have a particular interest in a certain young player, and assume that when doesn't get selected, it can't be for any reason other than that the coach is a bad person who hates not just their young player, but *all* young players?

If there was no rule regarding home grown players AND money was no object, then we may have FEWER homegrown players at Trinity, then you may have a point.
His task is to assemble a squad, within the parameters set out by the RFL and within the budget that the club can afford, to make Trinity the most competitive that they can be and you're being massively unfair on Chester and the team to suggest that if he had his way, that there would be no homegrown players.
If local players aren't getting picked, it probably because we have someone slightly ahead of them in the pecking order, either due to form, ability or injuries to them or other players.
This type of argument has gone on for years and right now, Trinity have more quality homegrown players than they've had for 25 years.
Last week CHESTER selected Jowitt, Johnstone, Hampshire and Batchelor in the 17, plus Annakin in the 19 man squad.
I'd suggest that this is as many as we could possibly name. What more do you actually want ?

Odd attack on Chester. Ranks along side the argument he can't turn around a team on a losing run.

Wasn’t it Chester who brought Jowitt in as soon as he took over in 2016, and moved BJB to the wing?

It certainly was Chessie that brought Max in, moving BJB back to the wing.

Just as something as food for thought, about coaches of the past.

I wont name drop of any player, but I recall a debtor/creditor meeting I had with JE, back at the beginning of 2013, and Richard Agar called the office.

I do recall James saying words to the effect of the following " I want so and so in the 19 man squad, because he is one of our quota players, and he is one of our bigger earners" this really did happen.

Maybe sometimes in the past, there has been a little bit of outside influence

there is no such rule, but its still probably the closest bit to the truth in your whole statement

I agree. There is a double standard though when people talk about McNamara, Agar, Webster and the like.....

How do you put Finn and Grix in front of max and rocky it the best thing that has happened to Wakey this year We have got more speed round the ruck ,look more dangerous with the high ball ,competed in every game max and rocky have played in .In fact I will go as far as saying if they had played against Salford away and both been in against Huddersfield we would have been safe in the top 8

Squad selection must certainly be a headache as to who’s pick and whose dropped with players coming into contention.
Tonight we go to saints who are quick all over the park
We have Finn who has the rugby brain but not the speed and Rocky who has the speed but as yet the Guile .
Like a game of chess been played out on the park .
A win and Chester’s a hero , a bad loss and he’s the devils sporn .
Who be s coach I ask you

So if given the choice are you saying you'd rather have Batchelor, Annakin or Crowther in because they are home grown if Sam Burgess was available?

Only over here for the wages
Can't get a game in the NRL
Etc