Exiled Wiganer
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Posts posted by Exiled Wiganer
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Never heard of him, but then I was trying to think of a current union player I had heard of, other than the ex leaguies - is there a TUilagi? A Cockerill? A Moody?
The timing is good - made the front page of the BBC web site - nice subliminal message. Makes you wonder whether Sally Bolton is pulling the strings for the whole of the sporting world.
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I like L-P. I'd have been gutted if they'd gone for Veuve Cliquot - it's diesel oil in a bottle.
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We should be selling them as the greatest rugby players in the world. I have a poster of Brett Kenny in his Kangaroo kit walking out that they put up all round Wigan for our match in the 1986 tour.
It just said "They're Coming!"
On the Dark Side, they build up the All Blacks image/myth so that getting close to them is considered an achievement. We should do the same for the Greatest Game equivalent.
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I am not sure it is extra revenue - didn't we sell all the rights to IMG, who are entitled to on sell them to whoever they want?
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OF - I'm gutted no one looked beyond the overt aggression to the underlying wit. If only I'd added a smiley.
(It did cross my mind that I'd have to don my keyboard armour though.)
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It's ok, far from a classic edition.
It has the obligatory Schofield "I would have done better than what I was given free tickets to sit through on my way to 10 consecutive Golden Boots" comedy self parody moment of course.
And it has as much doom and gloom moaning as this board, though you have to pay for Sadler's d and g.
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I hadn't thought about it, but I must say reading the replies makes me appreciate how far HKR have gone. One thing I'd say about them is that they seem to be able to attract players you'd pay good money to watch, which is a tremendous credit to them.
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I agree - what if they've only made 40 % of 40 % available and sold 40 % of those? Where would be without our resident French cynic? A happier place, perhaps?
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Given how far out we are, I remain pretty optimistic about this. For our game, getting to 500k tickets would represent an unprecedented level of success and popularity, as we watch the greatest World Cup in our history.
We seem well on track so far. A big performance from England at Cardiff and we'll be set very fair indeed (and weather like 95 rather than 00 please).
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He only need sto be better than Tuson to be a step up. He'll go well and is a great age.
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Oh and given that it was mentioned on here as an example of SL at its best, on Monday Wigan had a huge number of young British players stepping up to the plate. From our perspective this year has shown that well coached British talent can go a long way given the chance. I hope that HKR go down that route and that the next Dobbo is a Brit.
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Dobbo may be reserve grade but then Scott Moore is a first team player. Maybe his style better suits SL than the NRL.
From what I have seen Burns looks to be pretty much as good as Green, for whom they got a fee, so maybe HKR have another 7 already lined up? Sandercock must have decent connections there.
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Did we nick him from Wakefield? Wigan's youth set up can be widely acquisitive.
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Williams and Hampshire are real talents. Not seen Tierney so can't comment on whether he is a Keiron Cunningham or a (wide to) West in the sons of famous fathers stakes.
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Avoid injuries to key players. If Sam and Lockers had been out for a long time simultaneously we would have had a different season. While we were often without 7/8 players at a time they were often in positions in which we had cover. Contrast that to Saints and Leeds, where you can have everyone fit apart from 2 of your strike players and be far less potent.
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I thought that went very well indeed. Wigan did everything they had to do - make Saints turn around, run at their outside men, keep our discipline. Not sure how it must have looked to a neutral, but our second try was a wonder to behold.
To win the Quintuple - League Champions, GF Winners, 9s, Reserves and Locker Cup. A barely believable haul.
For Saints, they did remarkably well to get there, with no halves and seemingly only 1 centre most of the year. A trick for them is to work out who to develop out of their many good youngsters. Plenty of hope for the future though plenty to ponder.
A couple of things puzzle me - when the ball is stolen as a player crosses the line, why is that not a sin binning? Why did Saints move so many people around to positions they don't normally play?
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I think Les Cats have made an inspired choice. Not only does he look as if he is an excellent coach (v similar reputation to MM), but he speaks French and knows the game and culture down there. He is tailor made. I like the signing of Blanch, as he strikes me as a consummate professional. I have a v soft spot for him after his fabulous Irish World Cup performances. Menzies is a brilliant signing as a player who can set an example off the pitch and lead the team around on it. He will enjoy being surrounded by higher quality players again.
Very excited to see how far he can take a wooden spoon team after taking the NRL one to tomorrow's GF.
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I don't see the point of playing a known quantity like Sykes at 6. Cooke would be a better choice - in the absence of one of the genuine contenders Mac should have gone for someone who may be an international further down the track from the Under 20s if need be.
On wingers, Fox, Briscoe and Hall strike me as our best, with Hodgson, Goulding, Riley and Cudjoe having their merits. Riley is at 1 I assume because Mac sees no alternatives there, and I am hard pressed to dispute that (though don't Trinity have a highly rated 1?). Who knows, the experiment may be an unqualified success.
I agree Ratchford should move. To his home town club.
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Having left Exile far behind, am buzzing with excitement. Will be sititing by my 86 year old auntie who is the ideal companion for a tense game, drawing on 80 years of Wigan watching. If only Sullivan, Boston and Hanley were playing this evening...
I am holding nerves at bay, and have tried to stick to my normal game day routine, doing some light singing to warm the voice up - trying out a There's only 1 Wigan Rugby/Sam will tear you apart medley. I think this has all the ingredients of a classic, as the teams are well matched.
A few random reflections...
Big game experience - should be pretty even, with Wigan maybe edging it - we have NRL, World Cup and Grand Final winners, and they have a fair few players for whom the experience is new, or who can vividly 3 GF defeats. Our Coach knows what is required and our young players are used to beating Saints year after year in the Reserves final, so can draw on that.
Tactics - I am no expert, but Wigan have a better the better back 5, and Saints the better front row, so I expect more flair from us, as against close range barging from Saints. Wigan have to keep the penalty count down and spend as little time on our line as possible. I read somewhere that KC* is playing his last gane, though I might have wrong, Let him play the game trying to bring the ball out of defence. One thing which strikes me about Wigan's last 2 games is that they seem to have been pacing themselves much better. Rather than trying to blitz the opposition and trying (and failing) to defend a good but not massive lead, we have played well at the end of each half, even scoring the last try in both games, which is far more of a rarity than you would expect for the season's most successful team (where is Clarkey when you need for a random fact?).
Atmosphere - in the flesh and in the virtual world, I see no reason why the minute's silence and game can't be enjoyed in an atmosphere of mutual respect. Now the teams are evenly matched for once, there isn't the need for bitterness/taunting that characterised the eras in which first Wigan and then Saints were massively dominant. That may be wishful thinking and we may get Choker threads aimed against us if we lose (I was particularly amused by the folk who accused Pat of choking - this a man who has scored the winning try in the NRL Grand Final...).
International implications - I hope all the English players come through unscathed. You could make excellent cases for Wellens, Foster, Graham, Roby, Wilkin, Sam, Joel, Goulding, Gleeson, Fielden and Lockers being in the 4N squad. Having read Open Rugby's article on that Comp we will have an enormous task to trouble NZ or Oz so we need all our talent fit and well.
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One thing that concerns me slightly about the week end is that both teams seem to be becoming more conservative as the season goes on, with Saints relying on scoring from within 10m of the line and Wigan having seemingly put flowing back moves more on hold in the last couple of weeks. I hope one team goes a couple of scores up so the other throws the ball around more. This could get tight and attritional if we're not careful.
I hope I'm worrying unduly.
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I wasn't meaning to suggest that Wigan would be undone by unfair refereeing, rather that either indiscipline from the likes of Joel and Coley or our inability to control the speed of the ptb could lead us to be defending our line against v big lads.
Silverwood is a more than decent referee and we don't have the issues with him we seem to have with Bentham.
I would if Bentham had his time again he might wish his record wasn't so bad for Wigan. I appreciate they go for the right man on the day, but if everything else was equal Cummings wouldn't be human if he gave the nod elsewhere than Bentham.
I don't for a moment any ref ever does less than call the game as they see it, and have never blamed a ref for a Wigan defeat. I consider the disciplinary committee to be fair game mind, as they have the benefit of time for reflection.
Anyway, I liked the look of Wigan for pretty much all of the game on Saturday - it was a very complete focussed performance. We look to be fit and firing and if our kicking game achieves parity we should be well placed. I think Sam at 1 works brilliantly when Deacs is 7, as he can do as he pleases.
So excited about this game. Good luck to Saints, they will be worthy champions if they prevail, having a fair bit of adversity not so much in the number of injuries so much as their concentration in the halves. .
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The refereeing will decide this. If Wigan are level on penalties they ought to win. If they are heavily penalised their line defence will be put under too much pressure by Saints' close in attack. I think Wigan's back 5 are very good indeed, and good enough to score mid 20s points.
I am not sure this will be a classic to match Leeds' DW win, but I think the sides are much better matched than when Saints beat us in 2000 (?).
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I read (in the Times I think) that there will be twice as many Wiganers there on Saturday. If so, that could be a bad thing in that we really want the game to feel like an away rather than a home match, to stand our best chance of victory.
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That went better than I expected for Wigan. Do they decide these things on the day, as Wigan could have been hammered by Leeds on Saturday, in which case the case for a clean sweep would have been harder to make. I hadn't realised Sam was still young enough for Young Player. It hardly seems fair on all the other young lads.
The never-ending League Restructure debate (Many merged threads)
in The General Rugby League Forum
Posted
Schofield managed not only to big himself up as a guru on half backs and then to dismiss anyone else who played after him (as per) and then turned on his peers, Goulding and Edwards.
Surely, anyone new to the game might think, such a stellar player would have inspired the side in which he played to win trophy after trophy, and would be destined for a glorious coaching career.
That playing career in full - GS - 1 Yorkshire Cup, 1 Panasonic Cup (I was a bit embarrassed even to include these, but they really are the whole story); SE - 3 World Club Challenges, 8 Championships, 9 CC wins, 5 Lancashire Cup wins.
That coaching career in full - GS - I was almost too embarrassed to write anything here - 13 games at Huddersfield and 5 at Barrow; SE - sadly, all Dark Side, but seemingly impressive in their terms.
GS awarded himself the Golden Boot for each of the "lost" Open Rugby years, before being given it well after the event by his employers. Edwards won Man of Steel once.
Next week, read how GS was so much better than that Alex Murphy fella.