Just over 1 week to go to the big kick off.

I think we just about know what the team will be, the main question being who will start at prop with mossop. The indications seem to be eric will get the shout.

Tight game expected also with a big crowd and a reasonable atmosphere.

Ill go for

Tomkins
Josh
DAZ
cARMONT
paaaaaaaaat
Finchy
Tommy
Eric
Micky mac
Mooooose
H
Hock
Lockers

Lima
Flower
Tuson
Faz

Wigan by 6 point

Crowd 17500

I think we know the 17 that are going to play so it's just a case of in what order. As you say Mossop will start so it's a case of seeing who'll start alongside him. Wane has said he'll start the 2 best from the previous match so if he goes with that we're looking at Mossop and Ben Flower imo because Lima and Eric were pretty poor the other night and made some errors between them.

I'd go-

Tomkins
Charnley
Goulding
Carmont
Richards
Finch
Leuluai
Flower
McIlorum
Mossop
Hansen
Hock
O'Loughlin

subs
Lauaki
Lima
Farrell
Tuson

I thought Ben Flower was the worse of all the props on Tuesday. At least 2 unforced errors, wasn't making many yards and wasn't hitting very hard in the tackle. I'd either use Spencer or play Hock as a prop with one of Mellor/Powell on the bench.

Flower seemed to be the one making the errors against Salford. He wasn't that strong. I thought Mossop and Lima were probably the best props.
I think Spencer has looked better than Lauaki and Flower though. I don't think there would be any drastic changes to the side Wane had in mind for the Huddersfield game even if some players had managed to stand out against Leigh.

I'd also be happier with either Mellor or Powell on the bench. They might not have stood out much during pre-season but the bottom line is the club needs at least one of them to step up. I just can't understand how Tuson makes the bench when he offers much the same as Farrell but just not quite as good. It just means that at some point the pack is going to be very mobile but incredibly small. I understand the trend of moving towards faster and more mobile forwards but it's been made clear time and time again that the pack needs size.
Given that against Salford the team really seemed to lack much of a threat down the middle, and only looked dangerous when the ball came to Tomkins I think having Mellor on the bench potentially offers something the team has been lacking.
Moving O'Loughlin into the halves is simply a compromise. He provides a great passing game but no pace, no kicking game and nothing different. Meanwhile Tuson ends up at loose which is a big step down from Lockers, losing a lot of the creativity at 13.

I'd rather have Mellor on the bench than 4 forwards. We do not need 4 forwards on the bench.

Tomkins
Charnley
Goulding
Carmont
Richards
Finch
Leuluai
Lima
McIlorum
Mossop
Hansen
Hock
O'Loughlin

Farrell
Lauaki
Flower
Mellor

My only reservations about starting Mossop and Lima is there will be a drop in intensity/quality when they are replaced. I'd go with Mossop and Lauaki starting with Lima and one of Spencer/Dudson/Flower on the bench (if Wane sticks to picking on form it'd be Spencer imo). We need at least one of Fielden and Prescott to get fit sharpish imo. Is there any news on when we can expect them back?

If you listen to the wane interview on the official site, Tuson was the stand out player from the bench at salford. S if we go to 3 forwards it may be faz that misses out

I'd go with 4 forwards on the bench,. Huddersfield are light on forwards so we may win this one up front.

Faz was the stand out player from the bench from what I saw. He was his usual self defensively and made a real difference in attack. Tuson doesn't really do anything. Defends alright and I think he put in a decent hit at one point, but other than that he offers very little.
I just can't see how both Tuson and Farrell can be put on the bench as the two interchange back rowers. They are so similar, only one offers any impact and when both play the pack loses a lot of size and gets bullied.

Was only repeating what our head coach said in two different interviews

abit biased towards a potential son-in-law possibly

I believe myself that you have got to have either Mellor or Powell as a sub if only for the following reason,when we play with 4 forwards on the bench we are stuck with no alternatives to Finch and Tommy in the halves.
This means that if Mcllorum does,nt do the full 80 we have to use Tommy as replacement hooker with Lockers going to standoff,which means we loose Lockers allround loose forward game and the creativity of a natural halfback.

Hudds pack is weakened by injury for this game, we will start with 4 forwards on the bench . This is wane's style.

Yeah i'd agree with that. I don't think we need four forwards on the bench as well but i'm not sure Wane will be thinking the same though.

Four forwards would work better due to the reduced substitutions, Our forwards may need spelling more however it's always nice to have a utility back. Tucson for me wouldn't get a shirt he belongs at London or elsewhere

I think we should win this by 20+ but you never know what can happen in the first few games of the season

I think Wane will go with 4 props ala Brian Noble at Bradford. Think we will look to dominate in the forwards this year.

Personally I would always have a back on the bench, even if it was a "hybrid".

Although not my ideal solution, we've got O'Loughlin in the pack and he can always revert to 6 or 3/4 at a push.

Yeah that's the thing. I really don't rate Lockers as a 6. It's not his fault, he is a 13- and a much improved one at that.

It's too much of an "easy" option. Having a dedicated back on the bench enables us to mix things up and try something different if things are not going well. Also provides cover for injuries.

I know we have TL, Lockers and the like but I would prefer an established back.

As I said though I don't think SW will go down that route. I think this years strategy will be blast them in the forwards, ensure dominance and then get the ball out to the backs once that platform is built.

The test of SW as a coach will be what to do when plan A doesn't work.

Thought Lauaki started well at Salford. True he dropped the ball a couple of times but he wasn't the only one to do that. He has size and isn't too slow.
Hame starting with Mossop with Lima and Spencer off the bench.
Farrell the other bench forward plus Mellor or Powell.
For game like Hudds, SW can go with two younger players provided they have plenty experience around them.

Mossop and Lima should be automatic starting props for at least the next two years and hopefully longer.

I have serious doubts about Lauaki but even if he does play to his potential, I feel he's best used as a substitute.

I agree. Lima is a workhorse forward who can play long minutes. He's the closest we have to someone like James Graham in my opinion. He's often the hardest working forward so he should be starting games. I don't see much about Lima that makes me thing he would offer impact off the bench, especially if Flower is the other prop on the bench.

Lauaki looks to be a typical impact player. He tends to drop off defensively if played for a long spell but he could be very handy coming off the bench. At the moment Mossop and Lauaki look like the players most likely to provide real punch up the middle so I don't think both should be starting.

we only have 3 available forwards also no kevin brown i would say with the problems we have its probs the best time to play you as could be still some rust but im not looking forward to this game as a giants fan i think a similar scoreline to last season could come

thats a shame