I don't think Smith will ever make it at Wigan

His attack is nothing special and his defence is nothing short of awful

I am a big Tommy fan so obviously think he would go a lot better than Smith, he needs to be played at hooker to get the best out if him though (but thats for another day

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Also as far as I see it now we have our half back combo for a few years with tommy and sam, they could be wigan half backs for years to come.

I like many question Tommy at 7 though

Do you think he can take us to the next level at 7 with a youngster as his partner?

But it's no good having great hands if you can't tackle.

He also so far this season has not been match fit which I believe to be part of the problem with his tackling. He kept telling Roberts to come inside and let him go out on the wing for a breather.

Plus putting Smith back in the side would be changing our halfback combination again. How can we expect to have any cohesion in attack when we keep changing our halfbacks every other week?

Saints and Leeds have had the same halfback combination for years - to great success. Pryce/Long & McGuire/Burrow. We should follow their example and allow Leuluai and Tomkins to better understand each other. Afterall they are our likely combination for future years anyway.

Leuluais distribution on friday, when we had the chance, was awesome and it was exactly what we want from our 7. I think tommy has the ability to become a world class 7 or 9 to be honest. he is not afraid to take on the line and he has a very good kicking game which is needed from your 7. Someone must see something in Tommy when he made his debut for New Zealand at 7 when he was 19.

In response to your question, Yes I do think Tommy has the ability to take us to the next level with Sam as his partner, dont forget they are both young half backs which is a positive as they will pick each others game up as the year passes. I recall last year, Tommys best game was against leeds away in the league, and he was a pleasure to watch. He was playing with a young half back- Coyle on this day because Trent was injured, and he stepped up to the plate and led us around the park.

I want to see him given the chance to shine at 7 because it leaves us with another very talented player at 9 in McIllorum and dont forget the 3rd tomkins who is also coming through as a hooker. With our squad at the moment it is definately best for us to keep Tommy at 7 as he is definately the best option we have.

tim smith dose nt deserve be in the team but this is what he can do an im sure he must of tackeld in the nrl

In 2005, he won the prestigious Dally M Rookie of the Year award after leading the NRL in try assists. He also received much acclaim from Parramatta legend Peter Sterling, who "handed over" the Eels #7 jersey in an episode of The NRL Footy Show in the middle of 2005. Tim has been touted as the most naturally skilled halfback in the NRL with the ability to land precsion kicks and passes with incredible accuracy. With 40 try assists in his debut season Smith entered the NRL scene with a bang, he was labeled as the next 'Joey' and 'Sterlo'.

he ll have to fight for a place

and then he had a break down! its seriosuly effected someone who was a fantastic talent and I feel sorry for him. Hopefully being in the reserves brings out the best of him and he comes back into the side, if he does, a better player

I agree he has the potential but I think he blows hot and cold to much when playing 7 and have always thought he'd make a miles better 9. His long kicking game is another thing that concerns me for him to be a top 7. If he had a good long kicking game I would agree he could take us to the next level but I think he went missing a bit on Friday when it came down to the long kicking game because he left it all to Pat

He was fantastic against Leeds away last year though and I do think he plays better when he is our main half back

Smith is a great talent and needs time in the team for the others in the team to get used to his passing moves. Smith was Man of the Match against Hull in my opinion with some of his kicking and passing, and if we are going to keep him he might as well play. If I were Noble I'd rest/drop Piggy for the Salford and Barrow games, sending him the message that he isn't indispensable and needs to work hard to get picked. I'd make him lose a few pounds and get fit by giving him some intensive training and playing him in the reserves for a couple of full games. Meanwhile I'd have Smith and Tomkins at half back and Lulu and Mcilorum at Hooker. The theory being we get a more determined Riddell, give Smith a chance to prove his doubters wrong and let the whole team know that if they don't perform they might get dropped.

if only there was a way to get back the half backs you have got rid of over the years life would be so much easier

Personally I'd put Tomkins on the bench. I don't think he deserves not to be in the 13 however I'm just a little concerned about his body and how playing him for 80 minutes week in week out may affect him long-term.

Bringing back any half backs would kick someone out the team who doesn't deserve it at the moment

Smith needs to work hard, lose weight and improve his conditioning before he gets another chance.

Its time Wigan insisted that all members of the squad had the basic level of fitness required of a SL player and put the necessary work in on the tackle bags.

I don't care if Smith is the Dally M Rookie of the year, he simply isn't up to SL football at the moment.

He's lost a lot of weight compared to when he arrived last season.

I didn't get to the Hull game (by all accounts he looked a bit sharper at the KC) but he looked very slow and unfit against Leigh and Wakey. To me he just isn't physically up to it at the moment.

At the minute Smith does not deserve to be in the 17 but he will get another chance over the next few weeks. Tomkins is not going to play every game.

If Smith steps up to the mark and produces the goods then its only for the good of the squad.

He is an out and out scrum it is a waste of time playing him at 6 which is poor management from Nobby.

I think Tomkins at 6, Smith at 7 and Tommy off the bench at 9 will be our best combination by the end of the season. Tommy is having a blinding season but for me he is a good scrum half but a world class 9 and if McIllorum has to miss out then so be it. Hes good but nout special.

Was just about to type this word for word.

i can see him at warrington to replace briers in the not to distant future

Tim Smith is not what Warrington need.

He would do well in their defence though, as its even worse than ours

Hes not what wigan need either

Given the sort of problems he has to contend with, Warrington is the last place he should go to.

The situation is just about containable at Wigan, but at Warrington it would be a complete non-starter.

It would do him no good at all, nor them.

It seems to me that Tommy aint getting the credit or RESPECT he deserves at 7. for me he has been our standout player this year and one of the best last year. his passing has improved greatly and he no longer relies on that predictible kick to the corner on the 5th. he has shown in recent weeks that his offencive game has upped massively and he is now looking to take on the opposition a lot more (perhaps he has a bit of swagger about him, a bit more confidence after all he should as a WC winner). also his defence is always solid and he loves putting the BIG shots in. i would love to see him and Sam our 6 & 7 for years to come. they compliment each other well. smith, alought a fantastic player , should be a backup player. after all, he has hardly said he want to be at wigan for life and will more than likely shoot back to Aus when his contract expires. we have to think about ourselfs and our future, not him.

I think someone on here has Smith as their picture, but when he was back playing for Parramatta.

Even looking at that you can see he was just a bigger build back then. When I saw him at Leigh pre-season I was amazed how slight he'd become. I know how big you are isn't the be all and end all for an RL player, but it's not like he's whippet fast like Sam Tomkins is it to compensate? (Who can tackle as well I should add)

I still think some of the touches you see from him are different class, but the physicality is missing and he gets found out.

Aslong as he isnt a HB who will fight with other HB's in training then its an improvment and exactly what they need