Exiled Wiganer

I have always found the World Cup scheduling slightly odd, as, aside from Rochdale’s brilliant Fiji links in 2013, we have never seemed to have got a grip on where they should play and how to promote them. Is that because there isn’t a Fiji equivalent of Samoa/Tonga in Auckland and West Sydney?

Goodness! Cats are superb today. The magic of the cup in reverse.

Fantastic game between 2 superb sides. About the only time Peet was publicly ill considered was when Nicholson left us for Wire. He is a cracking player.

I mentioned above that, given the horrific outcome, which may end Isa’s career, I would rather not re watch it, as that feels ghoulish. I was just thinking about the “foul/not foul” question in the abstract, by reference to my own experience.

I am not sure I agree. When you make a tackle, you occasionally find yourself in a position when you are applying pressure in a way likely to cause injury. Not because the tackle was a standard foul, but because of the movement of other people involved. And then you can release, or do nothing, or apply greater force. I think this is what the rule is trying to pick up. It frequently happen, but in most cases people move or release the pressure. It might be cumbersome wording, but I think the idea is sound, having been in that position as tackler and tackled on many occasions.

The score in the Cup was an outlier - Cas had beaten Salford (who have beaten Saints and nearly beat Wigan) the previous week. Only the Giants had given them a hammering in the league. It showed a few things for us: pluses include - our pack strength is immense and we will benefit from playing at home a lot in the second half of the season. Negatives for me were Leeming’s passing and Hampshire’s inability to read the game. I am not sure why we don’t go all in on Farrimond as the back up half back - he has real vision.

Cas will be much better. They beat Salford in their last SL game. In the Cup, when it’s gone it’s gone.

Dunbar is a Wigan fan. I have not looked at the tackle - given what I have been told the result of it was, I am not sure I want to see it - but I would have thought the rules should give some guidance as to 1) if this tackle broke the rules, and 2) the severity of the rule breach (possibly differentiating between accidental, careless, reckless and deliberate etc). That establishes the case to answer. Then, as to sentencing, I am assuming that the extent of the injury is a pertinent factor in the sentencing. The guidelines must cover these points.

He has decided to leave sport for a job in the leisure sector. League made him good, and will make someone else good in his place.

“Culture” though may be something more subtle than not having 20 pints, but be around what does it take to become a serial winner. I absolutely take your point that, over the last 15 years, you have won plenty of big games and done so in style.

I didn’t mean to claim any credit on Wigan’s behalf - you weren’t forced to sign him: this was good judgment on your part. Wigan have had a surfeit of good pros - Willie Isa being another case in point - and so the cultural upside was arguably less significant for us. My father - to our eternal shame as a family - was on Saints’ coaching staff for a while (and Wigan’s shortly after) and he made the point that the levels of dedication and professionalism pros like KC and Roby brought to every training session were light years ahead of Wigan’s efforts at that time. All the indications are that Peet has put that right. A result like Saturday’s suggests Wire are doing a lot right all day, every day. That was built on months of commitment. I would be very buoyant if I were you.

But another way of looking at that is that those were moments where in the past they might have folded. This lot didn’t and the next time they will draw from that.

A few things on Wire, having re watched the second half: - they have the resources but seemingly not the culture/character; - they were inspired one year by having Andrew Johns on board. That presence of a world class talent made everyone else believe and fulfil their potential; - if you don’t have a work hard enough to win ethos in the club’s DNA, then you have to look elsewhere. I wonder whether 2 Sams could be key here: in Sam Burgess they have an Andrew Johns equivalent. He has the stardust and can inspire because he has been there, done that. It doesn’t matter so much that they follow the Wire way when they can follow the Sam B way of doing things. It inspires greater ambition and takes some pressure off. While he is a limited player, everyone connected to the club believes that Sam Powell was a central figure for us. In terms of always turning up, always working, always learning. I assume he was signed with that in mind. With Sam B inspiring and Sam P keeping everyone’s eyes on the prize then it comes down to talent and resources, and Wire have enough of those to be champions; and - it might though be a year or 2 too soon for this squad, as they have ground to make up. However, with no inspiration at 9 or coaching them they have the advantage of being far better placed relative to Saints than at any time in the SL era…

They have won the cup on multiple occasions recently and topped the league. They have had a lot of good years recently.

Superb performance. Burgess was a risk, but my goodness it looks like coming off. The post Roby/KC world may be tricky.

Excuse me? Have you blocked my posts for some reason?

I thought that was a good game between 2 good teams. Both of them have superb players, and clearly know what they need to do. Very entertaining. Leigh have just got too many injuries to be at the top table, but the wheel will turn. And the ground looked and sounded absolutely brilliant - and that was for a cup game. It makes you wonder just how big they could become…

Whoever wrote that knows their onions. Having re watched the Giants Wigan game recently, I came away thinking we were very lucky to get one of our games against them out of the way. Good players and a good coach will take a team a long way.

On props, Wigan have Havard, Hill, Thompson and Dupree (and Byrne and Eseh), who could be internationals (again for 2 of them) one day.

I think Thompson is superb. O’Neill is class but there are other options.

If you like. I only saw one of his games and he was already central to everything their pack does. My point is a narrow one - how many WCCs, or international games or Suttons starring at Canberra do people need to see before they simply take it as read that there is nothing at all surprising about a player who has been in the pro ranks at Wigan (or Saints, or Leeds, or wherever in SL) walking into a middle of the table NRL side. It is exactly what we should expect. Again, the only surprising thing is someone swapping proximity to Liverpool, Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire and the Lakes for Canberra - playing in their winter. Am guessing the money is vastly higher there, because anyone who doesn’t opt for a Sydney/Brisbane team is going to a cultural/social desert.

KPP and Smithies will of course lift the level of the teams they joined. They were there or thereabouts in the first 17 for Wigan, after all. Having seen how well Thompson has handled the step up in quality, I am at a loss as to how he wasn’t a stand out player at Canterbury. I am guessing there is something not right with the culture at that club.

Or kept 13 men on the field. Make sure you don’t record over the video.

Wigan are very strong indeed. They should have too much for Cas, which, given that we apparently spend twice as much on wages, is to be expected.

Wire know how to win this - spin it and chance their arm. There’s no tomorrow in the cup, and, if they adopt that approach they will win. Score 20 against Saints and you’ll win.