Fri 11th Feb: SL: Hull Kingston Rovers v Wigan Warriors KO 20:00 SKY

[Exiled Wiganer]

1 hour ago, EagleEyePie said:

I'd be very surprised if only the top 2 had anything to play for by Easter. Yes, there will only be 4 teams left in the cup by that point but that's still 4 teams with something to play for (and cup winners aren't always among the top 2 in SL). There will only have been 7 rounds of Super League played by that point and last year's league winners lost 4 games and Saints lost 5. While everyone seems to be tipping Saints and Catalans as 1 and 2 again I'm not sure it will be that cut and dried. 

Besides, gradual improvement doesn't mean going from 0 to 100. Wigan won more games than we lost last year so if that's the starting point then it's not the same as suggesting we won't win for weeks. A slow start might mean a loss at Rovers. Maybe even against Leeds. Or it could be a reasonable run of victories. Taking time to bed isn't the same as playing badly. It just means they might not be at their very best right from the start.

A fast start would be great and it might happen but that doesn't mean it's realistic. It also doesn't mean it's sustainable. You say playing well in August is no recipe for boom times but neither is winning our first 7 only to fall apart by August. The cup taking place earlier adds a new dimension but a team can still start slow and win the cup because starting slow and improving over time isn't the same as playing badly or losing. 

I think we are perhaps at cross purposes. I think this is a pivotal year for Wigan to try to persuade people to turn up to watch them. After years of Waneball, people getting out of the habit during the pandemic and last year’s unwatchable bilge when we were allowed back in, we have again got lower season ticket sales. You and I can see that it is reasonable for Peet and the new players to be given time, and that being good in August is more realistic than being good in February.

However, if we don’t hit the ground running it will be the likes of you, me and WN83 and only us interested by the time we get to see a settled Wigan team. In the 8 weeks up to Easter, we play HKR, Catalans and Saints away, and Leeds at home. Plus, a challenge cup game. Get a tough cup draw and lose those games (all of which we lost last year), and in terms of enthusing the town our year is gone. We have no home games for 2 months after Easter, and most of the away games we will be playing will not be televised. 

If we can’t win the first 2 games, we will be lucky to get 6k by the time Toulouse come to town. I hope the club have realised the make or break nature of a fast start this year, and have us all guns firing from the first minute, because it really matters if the club wants to reverse its downward spiral. 

 

[Jim Prendle]

4 minutes ago, Exiled Wiganer said:

I think we are perhaps at cross purposes. I think this is a pivotal year for Wigan to try to persuade people to turn up to watch them. After years of Waneball, people getting out of the habit during the pandemic and last year’s unwatchable bilge when we were allowed back in, we have again got lower season ticket sales. You and I can see that it is reasonable for Peet and the new players to be given time, and that being good in August is more realistic than being good in February.

However, if we don’t hit the ground running it will be the likes of you, me and WN83 and only us interested by the time we get to see a settled Wigan team. In the 8 weeks up to Easter, we play HKR, Catalans and Saints away, and Leeds at home. Plus, a challenge cup game. Get a tough cup draw and lose those games (all of which we lost last year), and in terms of enthusing the town our year is gone. We have no home games for 2 months after Easter, and most of the away games we will be playing will not be televised. 

If we can’t win the first 2 games, we will be lucky to get 6k by the time Toulouse come to town. I hope the club have realised the make or break nature of a fast start this year, and have us all guns firing from the first minute, because it really matters if the club wants to reverse its downward spiral. 

 

Go and have a few pints mate, things will look better.

 

[Vambo]

Whilst I'm always hopeful where Wigan are concerned I only see one winnner here.

I said it a couple of times last season but I will repeat it... HKR were my favourite team to watch last season. So unpredictable and willing to entertain... the HKR fans must be loving life right with all the positive things surrounding their club.

Still hope I'm wrong and that Wigan get the win but I think this is an incredibly difficult game to start the season with.

[WN83]

52 minutes ago, Exiled Wiganer said:

I think we are perhaps at cross purposes. I think this is a pivotal year for Wigan to try to persuade people to turn up to watch them. After years of Waneball, people getting out of the habit during the pandemic and last year’s unwatchable bilge when we were allowed back in, we have again got lower season ticket sales. You and I can see that it is reasonable for Peet and the new players to be given time, and that being good in August is more realistic than being good in February.

However, if we don’t hit the ground running it will be the likes of you, me and WN83 and only us interested by the time we get to see a settled Wigan team. In the 8 weeks up to Easter, we play HKR, Catalans and Saints away, and Leeds at home. Plus, a challenge cup game. Get a tough cup draw and lose those games (all of which we lost last year), and in terms of enthusing the town our year is gone. We have no home games for 2 months after Easter, and most of the away games we will be playing will not be televised. 

If we can’t win the first 2 games, we will be lucky to get 6k by the time Toulouse come to town. I hope the club have realised the make or break nature of a fast start this year, and have us all guns firing from the first minute, because it really matters if the club wants to reverse its downward spiral. 

 

How do you think we’ll get on this season? I’ve seen you saying we have to start like a train and have a successful year but you think we’ll get beat comfortably tomorrow. I guess you’re not optimistic? It’s not a trick question by the way, you just seem to be a bit different to most Wigan fans I speak to or read comment on various forums. I think most are pretty happy with how we’re shaping up going in to tomorrow but as you point out, it’s not the die hards that need convincing to get down and support the team. 

[Exiled Wiganer]

15 minutes ago, WN83 said:

How do you think we’ll get on this season? I’ve seen you saying we have to start like a train and have a successful year but you think we’ll get beat comfortably tomorrow. I guess you’re not optimistic? It’s not a trick question by the way, you just seem to be a bit different to most Wigan fans I speak to or read comment on various forums. I think most are pretty happy with how we’re shaping up going in to tomorrow but as you point out, it’s not the die hards that need convincing to get down and support the team. 

It may surprise you, but I am very optimistic about the squad. I think we will win a lot of games, and in a lot more style than last year. I like what I have seen in the offseason - more offloads, Field showing his speed, KPP and Mago’s offloads all give us far more points of attack than last year. If French gets fit soon, Powell gets injured so we play O’Neill and we get a good run with injuries elsewhere, we could be very strong indeed. For the first time since Maguire left the penny seems to have dropped that you need big lads to take the ball up in the middle, building a platform for Field, French and Cust to break up the game. 

My concern - as you know - is that the team only clicks in May. If I am spending a grand on tickets for the family I would like us to be watching matches with humans rather than plastic seats for company by the time we come good, and by then we could have little to play for. 

If the CC started in May, I would be very confident that we could win it. The massive challenge we face is that one team is so very good, and so very used to winning, and so the road to winning LLS and the GF goes through St Helens. But the Cup is a different and more unpredictable beast, and we could end up avoiding them altogether. 

[Liverpool Rover]

Home advantage will take Rovers over the line but I think this will be a tight game. 

[WN83]

57 minutes ago, Exiled Wiganer said:

It may surprise you, but I am very optimistic about the squad. I think we will win a lot of games, and in a lot more style than last year. I like what I have seen in the offseason - more offloads, Field showing his speed, KPP and Mago’s offloads all give us far more points of attack than last year. If French gets fit soon, Powell gets injured so we play O’Neill and we get a good run with injuries elsewhere, we could be very strong indeed. For the first time since Maguire left the penny seems to have dropped that you need big lads to take the ball up in the middle, building a platform for Field, French and Cust to break up the game. 

My concern - as you know - is that the team only clicks in May. If I am spending a grand on tickets for the family I would like us to be watching matches with humans rather than plastic seats for company by the time we come good, and by then we could have little to play for. 

If the CC started in May, I would be very confident that we could win it. The massive challenge we face is that one team is so very good, and so very used to winning, and so the road to winning LLS and the GF goes through St Helens. But the Cup is a different and more unpredictable beast, and we could end up avoiding them altogether. 

It does surprise me a little but I think it’s a fair enough summary. I’m not a Powell knocker but I am a big Brad O’Neill fan and he’s good enough to force his way through in this next season or two.

I think everyone associated with us is a little unsure how we’ll get on this season that is very unlike Wigan in the recent past. We’ve had that mentality for a long time that even if we stutter through the weekly rounds, we’ll be good come the business end but I agree we need more than that to start getting people excited about getting down to games again. 
 

I genuinely wouldn’t be anymore shocked if we finished top than I would be if we finished in the bottom 3 or 4. We’re such an unknown quantity and that’s exciting and un-nerving rolled in to one. It goes totally against everything we’ve known in recent times. 

[Jughead]

Is Miski likely to get much game time this year? 

[binosh]

I hope this game is as exciting as the St Helens one last night, usually Wigan games are terrible to watch as they grind away ala the Shaun Wane blueprint.

Hull KR on the other hand tend to be a good watch.

[WN83]

2 hours ago, Jughead said:

Is Miski likely to get much game time this year? 

I think he will but maybe not straight away. I'd be surprised if he started tonight after not starting the Wire friendly, especially with Hardaker adding to the options but it's a long season and he's certainly looked good enough to push his way in from his friendly appearances. There's no way we'll stay clear of injuries for long, so his time will come.

 

[Scubby]

Really excited to see this game. Hull KR really do use the ball well and Wigan may finally realise dull percentage play doesn't really work and certainly doesn't entertain. 

[Old Frightful]

As others have said, I'm really looking forward to seeing this game, however, unlike others have said, Hull KR are certainly not becoming my favourite second team. That particular honour goes to whoever are playing Hull KR on any given matchday.

I have a feeling Rervers may just sneak this so I will now venture on one or two gambling websites to see if I can place a bet which may just ease my pain a touch should this end up being a home win.

Please gamble responsibly folks.

Hull KR 18 Wiggin 16.

[Dunbar]

Really looking forward to this game.

The Wigan team under Lam really were directionless and it can't have been down to the players as the halves were talented enough.

The only way is up for the way Wigan play and hopefully we will see a bit of ambition to match KR's entertaining style.

[dkw]

Loved watching Hull KR last season, when most teams were playing tedious "process" rugby they were playing heads up stuff and It was very entertaining. 

Be interesting to see if they can kick on from a pretty successful last season, I just hope they keep playing the style they do.

[MZH]

I feel like a lot of people are massively overrating Rovers whilst doing what is still a decent Wigan side a bit of a disservice. 

Wigan by 10

[Ullman]

Sky just reminding us what an entertaining game this was last season.

I'll be surprised if Rovers get away to a 16-0 lead in the first 15 minutes this time but still anybody's game I reckon.

[Futtocks]

KR were great to watch last season, so I hope they haven't changed that.

Wigan - who knows how the coaching changes have altered their style? Their 2021 approach didn't make the best of their talent, that's for sure.

[johnh1]

If you’re cold. Wear your head the right way round. Brilliant by Carney.

[Dunbar]

Kai Pearce-Paul in the centre could be a good move.  He is a big unit but skilful and good hands.

[Whippet13]

Wigan by 8.

[Eddie]

Just finished work, poured myself a pint of Legacy Blonde and put Main Event on - bliss. 

[Ullman]

Brian Carney "Caravan Park"

Classic.

[Damien]

Craven Park looking good and the atmosphere sounds great. Loving these big crowds.

[johnh1]

Fantastic crowd. Fantastic atmosphere. Well done HKR.

[dkw]

Is there a sweepstake on when Willie Isa's brain will explode tonight?