Fri 3rd Mar: SL: Castleford Tigers v Wigan Warriors KO 20:00

[Wiltshire Warrior Dragon]

On 01/03/2023 at 05:52, DG70 said:

Wigan by 36

Well done, DG70.  Any lottery tips, by any chance?

[The Alchemist]

Agree with everything said from those at the game, tremendous effort to keep Cas out for 30 minutes of possession, some daft mistakes but the ref didnt help, far better from Wigan forwards in second half and game opened up as Cas tired but Wigan far fitter.

Edited March 3, 2023 by The Alchemist

[Old Frightful]

From the highlights, Liam Marshall looks like a fine wine, improving with age.

Still ain't gonna forgive him for making my lot look like muppets in Oz a few years since.

[Madrileño]

11 hours ago, Kenilworth Tiger said:

Christ almighty

How'd it finish up?

[Madrileño]

1 hour ago, WN83 said:

Once Wigan got the first score Cas wilted. I thought Wigan looked a lot fitter and just got stronger as the game went on.

Of course they did. Wigan's squad don't think it's acceptable to go out on a 15 hour bender 1 week before their first game. 

Super League?? Don't make me laugh.

Another mismatched blowout. 

[MZH]

Everyone is assuming that if Leigh stay up it will be Wakefield who are going to be in trouble. Castleford might have something to say about that. All their better players are past their prime and they have a (clueless) coach who has always been reluctant to give youth a chance. There are question marks over professionalism and attitude, and three games in they haven't really put in a decent performance yet. I'd be at least mildly concerned if I was a Cas fan.

[EagleEyePie]

9 hours ago, WN83 said:

Cas were all over us for 30 minutes and we did well to keep them out. We then saw the tackle of the season by the ref, who denied Liam Marshall a nailed on breakaway try. Once Wigan got the first score Cas wilted. I thought Wigan looked a lot fitter and just got stronger as the game went on. He’s probably not got the physical attributes to nail international rugby but Liam Marshall is some Superleague player. 

I think it would be difficult to find another player in Super League who offers better value than Marshall. He's not likely to attract attention from Australia because of his size. The same thing probably holds him back from becoming a regular international. That means he's unlikely to command star wages. You look at players like Makinson, McGillvary and Hall and they are/were top international wingers and they'll be paid as such. Even some of our previous wingers like Charnley, Manfredi and Burgess seemed to be more highly thought of. Those players might be more suited to playing at the very highest level but Super League isn't the highest level and a lot of what makes players like that so good is superfluous. The truth is Wigan don't get much less from Marshall than we would from a player like Makinson.

[Exiled Wiganer]

27 minutes ago, EagleEyePie said:

I think it would be difficult to find another player in Super League who offers better value than Marshall. He's not likely to attract attention from Australia because of his size. The same thing probably holds him back from becoming a regular international. That means he's unlikely to command star wages. You look at players like Makinson, McGillvary and Hall and they are/were top international wingers and they'll be paid as such. Even some of our previous wingers like Charnley, Manfredi and Burgess seemed to be more highly thought of. Those players might be more suited to playing at the very highest level but Super League isn't the highest level and a lot of what makes players like that so good is superfluous. The truth is Wigan don't get much less from Marshall than we would from a player like Makinson.

Aside from the last sentence, which is a great summary, I think that’s far more back handed than it needs to be. Once you have said that smaller players can thrive in SL who might not in the NRL (and we benefit from that with Field and Farrell likely to be of little interest over there, or internationally, but excellent over here) then his many qualities deserve greater focus. 

He never gets caught. 

He never gives in, and came back from a serious injury similar to the one which wiped out his father’s career. 

He catches high balls competing with taller men. 

He can beat a man any which way. 

His defence is excellent. 

[The Alchemist]

He also seems to have cut out the brain farts from earlier in his career

[EagleEyePie]

6 hours ago, Exiled Wiganer said:

Aside from the last sentence, which is a great summary, I think that’s far more back handed than it needs to be. Once you have said that smaller players can thrive in SL who might not in the NRL (and we benefit from that with Field and Farrell likely to be of little interest over there, or internationally, but excellent over here) then his many qualities deserve greater focus. 

He never gets caught. 

He never gives in, and came back from a serious injury similar to the one which wiped out his father’s career. 

He catches high balls competing with taller men. 

He can beat a man any which way. 

His defence is excellent. 

I was just setting you up to highlight his many excellent qualities. Someone has to provide the assist.

You're right though, he's got great qualities that don't get enough focus. I was merely pointing out that in Super League there isn't much that the more highly rated wingers can do that Marshall can't. His record and performances speaks for itself.

[Exiled Wiganer]

33 minutes ago, EagleEyePie said:

I was just setting you up to highlight his many excellent qualities. Someone has to provide the assist.

You're right though, he's got great qualities that don't get enough focus. I was merely pointing out that in Super League there isn't much that the more highly rated wingers can do that Marshall can't. His record and performances speaks for itself.

It’s a team game, I just put the ball down… I think it’s particularly gratifying because it feels like redemption after what happened to his dad.