Fri 29th Apr : SL Warrington Wolves v Wigan Warriors KO 20:00 SKY

[Mr Frisky]

11 minutes ago, Man of Kent said:

Needs a pack of forwards first 

Still can't belive they let Chris Hill go - never let them down.

[Harry Stottle]

How bad is this Wire team, they don't seem to have a clue what to do.

[Padge]

That could have gone either way but th no try call swing it imo

[Padge]

Wigan's middle caught cold again under the sticks

Edited April 29, 2022 by Padge

[RayCee]

Warrington have gone from bridesmaid to not even invited to the wedding!

[DavidM]

Walker’s been their liveliest player

[Padge]

Cust nowhere near aggressive enough in that chalenge.

Edited April 29, 2022 by Padge

[GeordieSaint]

Harry Smith has played very well this evening.

[Padge]

Powell looks shell shocked. Who will he blame.

Edited April 29, 2022 by Padge

[Scubby]

6 minutes ago, GeordieSaint said:

Harry Smith has played very well this evening.

He is probably on 20% of the wage that George Williams is on. 

[JohnM]

5 minutes ago, GeordieSaint said:

Harry Smith has played very well this evening.

Yes indeed.

And Wolves nowhere near as bad as some are saying. Several times came really close and only superb Wigan defence kept them out. 

Great also no one seems to have been bothered about the attendance, very little mention of the ref, either. All round, a great watch and a civilised forum.

[Damien]

Worst Warrington team for a long time. They seem to have lost so much quality. 

[Dunbar]

12 minutes ago, GeordieSaint said:

Harry Smith has played very well this evening.

Yes, he is showing a bit more confidence I think.

Still has the potential to have by far the best kicking game of an English half.

[Man of Kent]

More of Paul Cullen, please. He speaks sense 

[doc]

Dedicated to Wigan.

[WN83]

7 hours ago, Saint Toppy said:

Not quite sure I follow your logic on this one. These kind of local derbies are usually tough, physical encounters and mentally draining for the players just as much as physically. So while the body may recover for the following weeks game its tough to mentally be at your very best in consecutive weeks.

There's also the fact that these games tend to have more than their fair share of 'flash points' and the chances of things boiling over and players picking up bans is higher than a lot of other games.

Given the choice i'm sure Wigan would much rather be playing Salford at home this week like Saints are than playing Wire away.

We got the sort of game you thought we’d want in the end anyway. Jeez Wire were disappointing. It sounded like the Saints games was the opposite of what I’d have expected as well. 

[Dave T]

44 minutes ago, Damien said:

Worst Warrington team for a long time. They seem to have lost so much quality. 

It's certainly true that we aren't playing with quality. I haven't followed the thread as I was at the match, and haven't bothered watching any back ( I doubt I will either!), but my view is that we are just so soft down the middle. On too many occasions we were finishing our sets in exactly the right positions, but Wigan were able to match 80m upfield and put a slick move on out wide to score. 

There is a team there that is really unbalanced, has a real lack of dynamism, but can play a bit of Rugby. But that is no good if your basic defensive structures and backbone is non-existent. 

I thought Wigan played a very good game tonight, tactically excellent. Early on I thought we may be in for a 36v30 kind of game, but ultimately Wigan have that bit of backbone which meant that Wire couldn't just score every time they got the ball unlike how it seemed to be for Wigan. 

I don't think we are a disaster, but something needs to change in the pack, and I'm not sure how we are going to do that without new bodies. Oliver Holmes has been a disaster of a signing, and the lack of quality prop signings is bordering on negligence. 

But we can play better than that, and we won't play a team as sharp as Wigan every week. But I think the best we can hope for is to be best of the rest. 

[StandOffHalf]

Warrington to me look like a team of too many limousines and not enough tractors.

Williams isn't really on the same wavelength as his back-rowers, loose forward, and centres. Just too many parts doing slightly different, disjointed things.

Really frustrating watching them because they have some really good players.

Fair play to Wigan. They were quite good I thought. I picked Warrington to get up over them at home, but Wigan just look a bit more cohesive and decisive.

[StandOffHalf]

1 hour ago, hullste said:

Wigan getting away with several forward passes for me especially Marshall second try and Field pass to French. 

Warrington woeful though and don't deserve anything

Yeah, I thought the Smith ball out to Marshall came out of his hands forward. He did run past to disguise it, but the passing motion just looked suspicious to me.

I didn't pick up on anything wrong about the Field ball though.

[Dave T]

2 minutes ago, StandOffHalf said:

Warrington to me look like a team of too many limousines and not enough tractors.

Williams isn't really on the same wavelength as his back-rowers, loose forward, and centres. Just too many parts doing slightly different, disjointed things.

Really frustrating watching them because they have some really good players.

Fair play to Wigan. They were quite good I thought. I picked Warrington to get up over them at home, but Wigan just look a bit more cohesive and decisive.

Williams as a marquee signing will naturally receive criticism, and the guy I went to the match tonight with was very critical of him. 

My take on it is if Williams was replaced with the best 7 to ever grace the game tonight, we would still have conceded 40 points at home. We scored 22 and had our halfback not spent so much time stood under our own sticks, it may have been more. 

[StandOffHalf]

Just now, Dave T said:

Williams as a marquee signing will naturally receive criticism, and the guy I went to the match tonight with was very critical of him. 

My take on it is if Williams was replaced with the best 7 to ever grace the game tonight, we would still have conceded 40 points at home. We scored 22 and had our halfback not spent so much time stood under our own sticks, it may have been more. 

Williams is trying, but he seems frustrated that his outside players aren't quite anticipating his plays. When he skirted across and wanted to drop someone under, the receivers stayed out and picked up on his wish too late. It just seems a bit choppy and lacking in understanding between players.

I'm not criticising Williams on his own. It's just interesting to see a ball-player like him not quite linking and connecting.

[StandOffHalf]

Paul Cullen talking post match about how he's looking at the game ''as a neutral''!

Haha

[Dave T]

1 minute ago, StandOffHalf said:

Williams is trying, but he seems frustrated that his outside players aren't quite anticipating his plays. When he skirted across and wanted to drop someone under, the receivers stayed out and picked up on his wish too late. It just seems a bit choppy and lacking in understanding between players.

I'm not criticising Williams on his own. It's just interesting to see a ball-player like him not quite linking and connecting.

It's clear the team just isn't balanced and working at the moment. With the changes in halves, I'm not surprised Williams is not sharp at the moment. Williams is one of 5 halves we have named in the first dozen games, which isn't helping cohesion, but whilst that is a problem, seeing teams march 80 to 90m per set and finish off is the major problem with this team. 

[Futtocks]

Individually, Warrington still have plenty of talent. Can Powell make them work as a unit? He hasn't yet, but it doesn't mean he won't.

[Futtocks]

3 minutes ago, StandOffHalf said:

Paul Cullen talking post match about how he's looking at the game ''as a neutral''!

Haha

A pre-match Sky interview with Paul Cullen and Andy Farrell a few years ago.

Cullen: Can I have something to stand on so our heads are on the same level?

Farrell: You never needed help reaching my head when you were a player.