very true bondi. Some people don't really understand the game, like you say, they just focus on the exciting stuff

Completely agree. I am a Feka fan but his game is very limited, as is Ainscoughs. Madge is a stickler for defense and looks very hard at game stats in this area.

Thought Pryce might have been in line what with all the tries hes been scoring for the under 20's. Maybe Madge doesn't like what he sees

Fair comment, though his net return is still positive. It's a good (hypothetical) question, though: would you prefer someone to score 20 tries and concede 10, say, to one who scores 10 but has perfect defence?

Give me that option anytime.

Ditto. Any one of those ten tries conceded could in theory cost you a game, and 2 SL points with it. If I was a centre I'd want to have a winger outside me I coud trust to defend properly and be in the right position at all times

Sure, but that works both ways, any of those 20 scored could equally well win a game.

The one that scores 10 and is perfect in defence. In games like were we are up by 2 with minutes to go and were defending for our lives on the try line, we need all 13 guys to defend perfectly no weak links. Would you want him on the wing then???

I understand what you mean by his net return, but what use is it him scoring 4 trys in a game we win 58-0, compared to him costing us a try in game we lose 18-16..... Hypothetical i know, but his net retun would be 3 yet a guy who scored just 1 try but didnt conceed any could mean we win both.

I agree with all the comments about defence, I think we need a team of complete players (as much as is possible)

However, it doesn't mean to say I'm not looking forward to seeing how Ainscough goes on Friday, because I am. He definitely has a rare talent with the ball in his hands and has the ability to light up the game, particulalry one where we are expected to win easily. This his is problem though in that I don't think we can afford him in tighter games, of which we have a couple coming up in the near future.

When it comes down to it though I think he is not yet good enough attacking wise to cancel out his stubborn weaknesses in defence. As well as that I think his size will do for him.

I think some of this stuff about Ainsough's defence is being exaggerated. I've been critical of him in the past, but I don't think he's the complete turnstyle that some are suggesting, or that anything we've seen of him at Cas should be a source of concern.

At Cas he was clearly playing in a woeful team. Against Huddersfield, they were flanked on a number of occasions - it wasn't just Ainscough, it was Shenton as well.

In fact, I've heard it's because of this that he's been brought home.

I would certainly take the latter.

People are going overboard about Ainscough's try scoring abilities aswell.

Sure, but again that works both ways. He'd be equally as likely to score the winning tries in a close game, and concede tries like we did against Sheffield, when it didn't really matter.

I can see both sides..and I know Madge, too, prefers defence - I'm kinda playing "devil's advocate" here.

Perhaps so, though I'm not aware of anyone with a better tries per game ratio.

I get what you mean, but some of the one on one efforts to make a tackle have been very poor.... I honestly think people under dont see or accept how poor is defence can be. As for the big arugement that he scores alot of tries, well we havent exactly suffered with that this season, 3 out of the top 4 try scorers are from Wigan.

You can't say stuff like that.

Anyone that dares to say his defence isn't as bad as made out on here always get shot down.

The fact of the matter is that you’re right Cruncher his defensive lapses are majorly over exaggerated on here by some. The same people are very quick to rubbish his defence but never to acknowledge just how good he is in attack. That isn’t being blind to his defensive weaknesses but rather giving a balanced picture of his overall game.

Just as some people are very quick to acknowledge just how good he is in attack, but never see how poor he is defence.

This is something alot of us will never agree on. I hope the lad proves me wrong though.

One thing I can’t quite understand is why people seem so reluctant to sit on the fence with certain players.

Ainscough has a lot of time ahead of him and with the setup we have now he can (surely) only get better.

He has raw talent and although he is rough around the edges he has a fantastic attitude.

I don’t think that his defence is awful as some have described it, whilst at the same time do not think he is the best finisher in the game either.

Some people either try too hard to either hype him up and some people go out there way to criticise him.

We should all have an open mind and judge him after a good few games in a Mcguire and Wane coached side.

I am getting fed up with people being too quick to make a decision either for and against a player and then it rapidly descending into a whole us versus them type debate.

We are top of the league at the moment but he as a team have not quite clicked fully IMO and I believe that there is a heck of a lot more to come from us performance wise. With this in mind you could quite easily say the team as a whole have bad points to there game

its not as if we are the aussie national side with readymade galacticos waiting in the wings.

we have some young lads who are far from being the finished article.

Why can’t we all be a bit more objectionable?

EDIT - i have just read the posts above and by cruncher. I was not nicking ideas for an argument honest!!

I'd much prefer Marsh to play before Ainscough on Friday.

I acknowledge he’s no world class defender but there is no way he’s as bad as some make out either. I’d be very hesitant to write his Wigan career off at such an early stage as well.

He has a reputation, unfairly imo, for defensive howlers and that in turn leads to a major over exaggeration when he does mess up.

Some people again are very quick to write off his phenomenal attacking talents. Amos apart I don’t think there is a winger in SL with a step that even compares to Ainscough’s and his ability to create half a gap or break the line means I think he’s got a future at Wigan.

Whilst i think his reputation on his defence is justified IMO, i agree that we should give him time in this team and see how he goes. I certainly think he has a future at Wigan but i do think he has to work very hard on this area of his game. I do think he is very good in attack, but we need players who can do both.

Well thank God someone posted this before I did because there would have been a queue forming to disagree if I had gone first!

I completely agree his defensive weakness is exaggerated and if he has been brought back because Cas are poor and this is considered something that is detrimental to his development, then this agrees with something I posted on exactly those lines in a previous Ainscough discussion about the value (or lack of) of sending players on loan to poor teams.

Someone else posted people only focus in the exciting stuff with Ainscough but the same can be said about other players such as Feka, TL and in particular Phelps. The latter is well liked for his enthusiasm and the fact he chimes into the line well on attack but until some doubts were cast about his defence in the recent Phelps thread after the Sheffield game he was never subjected to the same scrutiny as Ainscough and IMO defensively he has as many if not more issues than Ainscough.

So I agree with tugglesf78 that a bit more objectivity would not go amiss for exactly the reasons they state in their post and it needs to be applied to all the players because as they say the team as a whole have their bad points. Why Ainscough has people lining up to have a go at him when other players have similar or even worse issues is a bit of a mystery though I think some of it stems from Nobby supporters wanting to back him as coach last season so had to find fault in Ainscough to justify Nobby dropping him.

It's also important as has been said already to give him a run of several games in an MM coached team as he has not been benefiting from the mew coaching regime while at Cas.

Dave

I hope other critics stick to that and truely mean it. Ainscough is fighting a losing battle with some people IMO.

Shaun stood out in a poorly coached Brian Noble side that was doing that much. In fact, they hadn't won a game prior to Ainscough being given a shot. Mark Flanagan recently said that at Wigan it was just 'four or five drives and then a kick'. I'm interested to see how Ainscough gets on in a far better coached side & a team that is utilising their wingers more and is playing with a lot of confidence. Ainscough doesn't lack confidence and isn't afraid to back himself which leads to tries. His defensive errors have been very heavily documented on here and it will be interesting to see how he gets on. However he could get a hat trick, MOTM, but make one error and he would be crucified by some on here.

Good luck Shaun.

Hope he goes well and takes his chance. There's no doubt he has excellent try scoring ability and is an exciting player, just needs to improve on those aspects of his game that have been well documented by coaches and fans. I hope he does as we would have a fantastic back line if he can keep his place when Roberts is back to.

+1 Rooting for you Shaun

Good Luck if selected on Friday