He wasn't but he was still in the squad and there was always that worry he might get another chance. Now he can't although whats the bet he now finally finds his feet and rediscovers his pre NRL form!

TBH I doubt he will get into our team either and certainly not straight away. Smith knows the lad though and must think he can sort him out.

(I thought Mathers was injured anyway)

Hernia op apparently.

It could simply be Wire needed the money given the Inland Revenue is sniffing around and is supposedly after a 6 figure sum for unpaid tax and/or N.I. contributions.



No he can't and if he has to look after Smith defending on the right side he won't look any better than any other we play in the right centre slot (when it comes to defense)!

Dave

I agree you have to make improvements one step at a time but I think we could have already addressed the prop situation. Players were available so while we have fixed one problem it was not the most pressing one IMO.

Dave

That basically sums up my thoughts too.

Nor mine but Nobby feels differently. The only concerns I've heard him raise are that the team is too young and he needed a centre. Well, he's got his player and raised the experience level/ average age of the squad. Does this heap even more pressure on him?

And maybe Humpty Dumpty & Scrooge didn't think they could fix the problem with the money/players availabe at the time????

Either way Dave I look at our backline compared to 3or4 years ago and can hardly stop Smiling!

Coley gone end of year (Surely!) and Bailey (Or at least on vastly reduced terms) To bring in a New Sh1tHou5e Prop with maybe a New 6 or 7 dependant on what happens with TL & where we envissage ST playing (I see him more as a 7??)

Gleeson is an improvement on what you've got so you should be happy even if he never recaptures his GB/Saints/Wire first season form.

Mathers is an improvement on what Wire have got ( in the way of fullbacks given Reardon's likely dismissal shortly ) so Wire should be happy even if he never recovers his Leeds/NRL/pre-Wigan form.

That can't be the only reason there so Bad is it!



Just for DaveO here goes! Maybe it was because they signed Higham!

To repeat what I stated elsewhere, Wire have been poor so far this season, no doubt, leaving us so far a massive two points behind the no-doubt brilliant as ever Pies.

Who have just signed one of the best centres in the league and Warrington have just lost one of the best centres in the league while gaining the services of the worst fullback I have ever seen at fullback. Mighty Max could do a better job.

You have got Mathers now to pull you out of the Mire, good luck

Glesson is a class centre and adding him to Wigan's backline will improve it considerably. Now you have a backline that will trouble all the Super League sides if your style of play changes and you open up more as a team and stop the 5 drives and kick which is quite frankly a boring way to play rugby. At least you have your backline sorted now. Once Feka has lost weight and gets back to the weight he was playing in the NRL, Fielden needs a rocket up his to get him firing again and as for Coley you need to get shut all together. Once the forwards are sorted out you will have a team to be reckoned with thats for sure.

I'm still struggling with this 5 drives and a kick that we're supposed to be playing.

The vast majority of our tries this season have been scored by wingers and centres. I'm sure Bilko will confirm it.

Yesterday, Ainscough 4, Carmont 1, Pryce 1 and Sam 1.

I think you may win the league now after signing gleeson...

What the league thats starts at 3rd place

Nah, I think the Mathers factor will swing it for Wires !!!!!!!

Saints didn't get rid of Gleeson because they needed cash.

Nope, they can't. There isn't one player alive who could provide us with a complete transformation.

However, we couldn't have signed many better threequarters IMO.

A team is a jigsaw and we have just put in a very good piece.

There is a risk of that because if we continue to to play as we have Gleeson won't make that much of an impact.

Despite having a very impressive looking back line most posters on here know enough about the game know if the pack is getting battered you are stuffed. Unfortunately we may have one of the best back lines in the league but we are way down the pecking order when it comes to the pack.

So it depends if we end up not much better than now results-wise with Gleeson on board if people are prepared to write another season off and wait for some new forwards to be signed whether or not the pressure increases on Noble.

Dave

That's not actually true.

I actually liked him. He is a very good defender, and second to none in putting his wingers over the line.

He never let us down, but unfortunately plenty of Wire fans didn't like him as they often saw him drunk and his attitude didn't really endear him to fans. I think many expected too much from him, and expected him to win games single-handedly, which doesn't happen from 3 nowadays.

I'm sorry to see him go, and think Wigan have got a very very good player, although am happy with the Wire press release on this, but to state that he never got stick until now is just miles off the mark.

Bang on with your first post - but signing people like Bailey, Riddell and Roberts isn't really building for the future? and is Nobby the man to do it? Remember - he did not build Bratfut - Ellliot and Smith did.

It amy take a few lean years of panning but Wigan do produce good quality players who just need time...and maybe a better coach?

Why is it that some people knock a signing before he even debuts?

Gleeson is one step in a long journey to correct the positional problems at Wigan - and a very very good step too.

Well said.


Now a prop forward please ( or 2 if possible ).