whats up with you, you soft tit what kind of reply is that...........
your the one saying Folau is a winger when he won Dally M centre of the year in 2008 and is now off to Western Sydney Aussie rules club.....


kids and ale.......

Haha, good one :p

According to Rugby Leaue World we are in talks with 20 year old Leeds Carnegie Winger David Doherty [urlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Doherty[/url

Doherty has been realised by Sale Sharks, who were nearly relegated last year. i'd much prefer us to use Williams and Penny instead. Surely the loss of Hicks would free up wages?

Think loose forward should be a priority, followed by a winger. Riley isn't up to it imho, so Hicks will leave a massive hole next season. Could move Atkins there, with King and Bridge in the centres?

Wow, 46 tries in 78 SL games (inc 21 in 20 this season) = not good enough for you. You set high standards!

Indeed I am fussy. I want Warrington to win Super League in the next couple of seasons.

Riley's try count speaks for itself, but the amount of tries a winger scores, doesn't necessarily relate to the quality of the player. Riley has scored a load of tries because Warrington have had plenty of ball, generated by a dominant pack, and the likes of Briers, Bridge, Solomona, King have been able to work space for for Riley to score.

Like most wingers, most of his tries are simple walk ins, which most Superleague wingers would score. the same goes for Hall, Gardener. What sets a decent winger apart from a quality winger isn't simply the amount of tries they score.

Riley is a willing player, and I do like him, but there are fundemental problems. He'd too small. When you are that size, you have to be exceptional ball in hand. The step and change of pace of a Robinson, or Burrow.

Riley is quick, but not rapid, but has no real ability to beat a man, especially on the outside. He lacks confidence in his pace, and rarely shows it to full effect. Added to that, his lack of height makes him vulnerable to a good kicking game, plus his tacking can be weak. Both were exposed against Leeds.

To be fair, ball in hand he played as well as I have seen against Leeds, and seemed to regularly make yardage, when returning kicks etc, so maybe there is hope he can improve. For me though, he won't be good enough for a top 4 team, and quality opposition should be able to exploit his weaknesses.

I would agree with that Clutch. I think it's a fair assessment. In an ideal world you would want two 25 year old Chris Hicks' on either wing but they dont grow on trees and thats the problem.. there isnt an abundance of talent off quota in this country especially wingers and centres so until that changes, you will see the likes of Riley on the wings.

Riley is a good try scoring winger and I do like him but he is prone to the odd mistake. I'd still say him and Bridge on one wing with Atkins and King on the other.

It's taken me a while, but finally i have found an extremely good post on rlfans. Congratulations young man(or woman).

I'd be looking at Rhys Evans to step up to first grade next season.

Great post and absolutely spot on but I dont think the addition of a quality winger will make any difference to our title aspirations....

However when was the last time Chris Hicks Burned his opposite winger ..? or went 80 metres for a score....? top of my head i'm struggling for examples....

I would wager at Warrington under Smith its an absolute crime to take an opposition winger on the outside and be bundled into touch.
Riley doesnt have the pace to do this on most occasions but the one or two occasions you'd back a winger to go for it he cuts inside as ordinary wingers do.
and on watching the supposed fastest man at the club Rhys Williams his very first instinct was to cut inside even ten yards away from the touch line

the notion of us having an exciting winger that can score from anywhare is a pipe dream Smith wants a percentage game. he would rather have a winger that can make hard yards from his own goal line on tackle one then finish of with a two yard stroll in at the end of the set.....

that said its not a bad game plan...I just dont see the need in the current team set up to pay big bucks for a world class winger.
We can replace 'good' with 'okay' and it wont make any difference...see Ade Gardners trophy cabinet as an example...

rhys williams faster than kevin penny?

Waste of time SEB, these people are the same ones who slated Henry Fa'afili despite similar figures. Unless we signed a winger the size of Lesley Vainikolo with the pace of Brian Bevan and the sidestep of Jason Robinson they wouldn't be impressed.

do you think Faafilli would still be here playing under Smith, knowing Smiths 'work for each other in defence' ethic...?

I think he would have gone before his mate Gleeson...

I think you have to understand that some great wingers wont get the service and wont score...like Dessie going 16 games without a try (and 4 all Season) playing outside Cullen and Joe Ropati, and some ordinary wingers will get tremendous service like faafilli playing outside Briers Logan Swann and Gleeson and will score Bucket loads.

its quite easy to distinguish between a great winger and a fat idle swine without looking at the try scoring charts...

Hicks doesn't have top end gas, so won't score 80 m tries. He makes up for it by being outstanding in other areas.

In tight space wingers are correct to cut inside, nothing more frustrating than watching a winger run towards touch when clearly he has no chance of beating his man. Riley's habit of doing this serves us well most of the time.

However in space a 'quick' winger should be trying to get on the outside of his man. On many occasions I have seen Riley in space, and with his alledged top end speed, he should be able to run flat out and the FB wouldn't get near him. He lacks confidence imho, and will cut inside too often. Not sure it is a Smith thing, as I witnessed the same under Cullen. Besides Luke Donald scored a great try in the Grand Final a few years back, with Smith in charge. He dummied Wellens and beat him on the outside. That was a fairly crucial try at the time, as it killed off Saints. I know Wellens is a carthorse, but it was what I call a proper wingers try, which very few in the game are capable of scoring. Penny is, which is why I would like us to persist and work on his faults.

I agree that a quality winger isn't a priority for a team e.g Gardener, but that is a shame. The improvement of Roberts for Wigan is one of the many reasons they are top at the moment. Quality teams need players, be it centre, stand off or wing, who can turn a game on its head by scoring or creating a try out of nothing. Maguire and Tomkins have managed that against us this season, Leeds and Wigan would have arguably lost those games otherwise. Maybe Warrington lack these 'x factor' players. We have quality, but in different aspects of the game

Good post. Most make the weak Fa'afilli argument without witnessing the Wire with absolute dog dirt/ 2nd rowers in the centres outside the wingers.

hayne would be nice

[urlhttp://www.superleague.co.uk/statistics_player.php?hs1=2010&hp1=2341&hs2=2010&hp2=2918&stat=clean_break&season=2010[/url

[urlhttp://www.superleague.co.uk/statistics_player.php?hs1=2010&hp1=2341&hs2=2010&hp2=1193&stat=clean_break&season=2010[/url

Look at Rileys statistics compared to a couple of wingers whom most seem to hold in high regard. For an average winger he isn't too bad is he? Stop seeing him as the little ginger kid and look at what he is actually doing. Then think of the wage he is more than likely on, I would suggest that it would be extremely difficult to get better value for money.

Pretty good that Bob, pat richards is way ahead though!!! Carries and meters for Richards is awesome!

Still think Penny should be given a chance.

An intelligent counter argument. Noone knows player salary, but it is safe to assume Riley is amongst the bottom of the 1st choice 17. Players on the lower wages who can perform to a level are as important as the big earners.

I question those stats though. depends on what a clean break is. For me, using my definition there is no way he's made 18 clean breaks.

Penny needs game time to somehow learn some discipline in defence. I'd worry about Riley in defence, but the likes of Wigan, Saints etc will expose Penny. Even though he's probably the best winger in Superleague with a bit of space. Against the best sides, space is at a premium. Shame, as I love watching him.

I really think Penny should be given another chance. Especially with his experience at quins.

Craig Hall would be a good signing, great utlility value as well.

Is he still at Barrow?