giwildgo

I was hoping for a cruel ending...but on the field, not through injury. I'd have settled for him being chaired from the field, after Saints having been bounced out of the playoffs after two consecutive defeats - bittersweet must be the way. Joking apart - hopefully he will get a chance to say goodbye to the Saints fans in a more fitting way than leaving the field injured in Wrexham. His career deserves better.

I agree - I'd hope Goulding is back to replace Pryce on the wing, with Charnley to replace Carmont if not fit. So much for Wigan relying on imports and foreigners - Charnley would be the 16th player produced by Wigan's academy to play in the first team this season and the 20th English born.

Add Chris Tuson (25/02/1990) and Sam Tomkins (23/03/1989 - 20 at start of season) to the Wigan list

Huddersfield deserved the win in the end, wanted it more and took their chances - Wigan bombed too many opportunities first half and were made to pay. Hopefully the kick up the butt that Wigan need - if we lose the next two games then we wouldn't deserve to finish top anyway. Hardly going to worry, I've not got a memory like a goldfish like some - funny how one poor performance makes us bottlers and can erase from some people's memories the two dominant away victories to playoff sides in the previous two rounds. We'll be there or thereabouts in the playoffs, but I still think that its a year too early for us to go all the way. Hope I'm wrong.

You'll find I also didn't defend J Tomkins at the time as I didn't offer an opinion on the incident. The reason for this was that my direct view at the game was obscured by the posts, so I couldn't tell for certain where the point of contact was - as a consequence it looked like a nothing incident from where I was sat, but I'm willing to accept my first opinion based on a restricted view was incorrect. Having not seen the video, (because I don't like re-living defeats - yes I concede to being a sore loser), I'm willing to accept that the challenge was a poor one given he was found guilty at the disciplinary, but I'm also willing to accept that they felt it unworthy of a ban. With regard to the above, I am not in a position to compare the J Tomkins / Ablett incidents on a like for like basis, therefore I referred to the Coley one, which in my opinion was a less serious incident and received a ban of lesser severity, hence I believe the Ablett punishment to be fair.

Weren't you part of the discussion with Wigan fans where it was agreed that disciplinary would decide on a suitable punishment for Joel Tomkins because you were so sure he would get a ban? Now you want to be a cry baby about it because he didn't get a ban? Didn't most Wigan fans say the same thing about Ablett? Could it not just be the case that each individual case is considered on the basis of the severity alone and previous record is only a mitigating factor (i.e, to reduce or maximise the ban as appropriate)? In my view, the RFL has left themselves breathing room in applying the maximum to Ablett to allow a reduction by a game on appeal due to previous record - not that I think they should as the Ablett incident was as bad as Howell last year on Tomkins in getting sent off and banned for three games. Funny how the disciplinary is only considered fair when the punishment is draconian for others and lenient for your team. Simple rule of thumb for me - Coley got two games, the Ablett incident was worse and he got three games, therefore the outcome is fair enough at the moment. Its not like Ablett is a key player for Leeds in any case - a stupid moment from an average player.

Notwithstanding last Friday night, I'd still go with Ganson - he gets things wrong as all officials do, but generally less than the others. I've seen the younger refs such as Child and Thaler have outstanding games and very poor ones - with a bit more experience and consistency I see these guys surpassing the old guard.

Serious foul play by an average player dealt with appropriately - no serious injuries. Didn't prevent the other team winning and actually removed a potential excuse for another home defeat (which most Leeds fans absolutely love to use). Time for everyone to move on now.

Its not like there hasn't been in excess of 10 similar incidents in SL since the O'Loughlin / Robinson late hit that have gone unpunished and not even been cited though. The RFL have set a precedent that they will accept late hits on non-kickers which are not high as punishable by only a penalty. Whilst I may personally disagree with this leniency at least it isn't inconsistent, with O'Loughlin's challenge and resultant punishment not unique in any way.

You are right about him not being the finished article. This season, Shenton is statistically behind the following English centres; Senior, Atkins, Bridge, Gleeson, Yeaman, with only his superior defence separating him from the likes of Welham, Sykes and Clubb who have offered more in attack but are awful in defence. Shenton has a long way to go to be a top class centre - if he has that potential at all. Saints will undoubtedly improve him as a player - but I think his upper ceiling is more a Gleeson (i.e, defensively solid and above average in attack), rather than gamebreakers like Lyon, Gidley or Newlove.

I think he has been overrated so far in a poor side at Cas and only got a chance at international level because of a dearth of talent in the outside backs. However I think he will develop into a very handy player for Saints in the long term. Comparisons to Newlove however are very premature. Newlove was a phenomenon before he even arrived at Saints, with an outstanding record at Featherstone and Bradford, together with being the youngest test debutant at the time. Shenton will still be a good player for Saints if he is half as good as Newlove.

Two wrongs don't make a right - RL does not need this sort of behaviour regardless of which team's supporters are involved. Most Wigan fans didn't condone what happened at the CC game, albeit a lot less serious incident than the damage to the coach which caused injury. Sometimes I think supporters of both sides need to show a bit of common sense and not apply a one-upmanship or revenge mentality with regard to regrettable incidents that have no place in the game. You do yourself and your credibility no favours with this post, notwithstanding the provocation from BoaB in the past.

Ablett charged with a Grade C - Striking with forearm - reckless - potential ban of 2 - 3 matches. Bailey - no charge. J Tomkins - no charge for high tackle on Senior. Coley - sin bin considered sufficient for 'late challenge' on Burrow

Great post - I share the same concerns about Graham, he has the potential to be Fielden Mk2 in terms of burnout before his peak (although Stu is getting some form back this season to be fair). Graham's workrate for Saints is phenomenal and for that reason alone he is the best prop in the league destroying all comers in the total metres stat category, but as you say his effectiveness per carry is less impressive.

What I'd like to happen in Caps, with a little explanation of why and what is actually likely to happen; Phil Bailey - RELEASE - no better than home grown options and a waste of a quota spot. George Carmont - RELEASE - We have home grown options now, but I Believe he has a 1 year option in his favour so will be staying for another year. Andy Coley - KEEP - Opposite to Carmont though, may decide to retire to pursue his part time profession at a QS - would like him to get another year whilst Davies develops. Paul Deacon - KEEP - Form suggests he has value as a back up and mentor, particularly if Mellor doesn't recover from a bad injury - Probably will retire to a coaching role as originally intended. Cameron Phelps - RELEASE - Respect his enthusiasm for the game, but lacks the talent to justify a quota spot - better home grown options available. Karl Pryce - RELEASE - A decision that Wigan may regret because he has huge potential, but it just hasn't worked out and at some point you have to cut your losses. Mike McIlorum - KEEP - An asset if we can keep him fit and the only specialist hooker in next years first team squad (although I expect Leuluai to move to 9). Paul Prescott - KEEP - Will never be a great prop, but a functional rotation player that all clubs require under a salary cap system. Iafeta Paleaaesina - RELEASE - A luxury player that Wigan cannot afford, sad to see him go as he was a fan favourite in a time when there was little to cheer about, but in the end his lack of conditioning and defensive frailties are his undoing. Stuart Fielden - KEEP - Has gone from massively overrated in the first couple of years to a point where his contribution to Wigan's success is now underrated - his contract would have to be significantly reduced for us to keep him though. Mark Riddell is also confirmed as leaving for personal reasons despite not being off contract.

Good news for French players and the potential strength of the French national team, not so good for Catalans or Toulouse as the potential monopoly on French talent will be well and truly broken by the open market. Seems a clear indication to me that the RFL are looking in a different direction than a second French team as the answer to growth of the game internationally at the next franchise decisions. It may be the case that they see Toulouse as too much of a risk and therefore have acted now to remove one of the real problems in France, which is a limited pathway and number of opportunities at the top of the game. Maybe they have looked at the NZ Warriors / NRL model and noticed that the strength of the NZ national team has not necessarily been hampered by having only one team provided that there are fair opportunities elsewhere.

Charnley appears to be in the running to be the long term replacement for Carmont together with Stefan Marsh. The loan spell at Hull KR has done him the world of good and probably makes him the obvious favourite at the moment. Hopefully he will get some first team action at Wigan next season, as centre is a position where we do not have a huge amount of competition below our first choice, particularly given that Phelps and Bailey will not be around beyond the end of the year and Goulding now appears to be favoured on the wing.

I'm just glad this thread wasn't started by a Wigan fan - the league leaders shield may be a certainty, but the real work towards the SL title is yet to be done and the race remains open.

Central Park, the DW Stadium, Post Office Road, Hilton Park, Galpharm, Knowsley Road, Halton Stadium and HJ Stadium.

Same and same reason - notwithstanding the fact that I also think he is a damn fine player.

I was thinking that there needs to be some halfway house for foul play - the on-report is seen as a cop out for the officials, I'd like to see it taken away and the sin bin used, as that actually has some punishment within the confines of the game where the offence occurred. Such a system would have been fairer and worked better last night - assuming the officials didn't see either the Ablett or Bailey incidents enough to consider a send off, Wigan would still have derived some benefit and the incidents could then be considered for further action at the disciplinary. I know some would argue that it would result in nothing incidents getting players binned - but I would counter that officials still get things wrong in this regard - see Coley's sin binning last night as evidence.

Did Leeds get beaten at home this evening by a team previously labelled as big game bottlers by any chance? and will all those injuries to blame it on as well

In fairness - Mathers does it more frequently than most (to provide a little balance - his attacking play and link into the line has been impressive this season)

Didn't see it - the posts obscured my view

Was very similar to David Howell's malicious challenge on Tomkins last season that resulted in a red card.