And Bateman is more than a match for most forwards in SL thanks. He was outstanding in defence last night and last week against Cas he was probably the best forward on the pitch.

Epic 3x combo post but how funny is it to see Mugwimp on here after one loss? I bet his last post was err... about 6 weeks ago?

I really don't understand criticism of McIlorum. Our best spells were when he was on but once again he was spelled and was off the field for over half an hour. It just seems a tactic to give Powell some game time, because the drop in our overall standard of play when McIlorum is off the pitch is huge. I wish we'd just go with MMc for the full 80.

Point taken, but you have to have someone used to playing there if he should get injured... So Wane HAS to do it.

Mental mickey signalled to the bench in the first half that he had to come off,to me the only way to keep up the intensity is to put bateman at hooker while mickey is off to maintain the level of aggression.

May have to make a change next week, granted I was 100 yrds away on the terrace but the tackle Powell did when he came in 3rd man didn't look to clever, a visit to Red Hall may be on the cards.

I came on here after the match having a go at Wane for giving a team talk by calling him motor mouth ( over the top maybe) which in a way is right , because he seems to give the opposition as much impetus as he does Wigan with his team talks.
My take on the match is as follows, I was watching it and was certain with the amount of pressure Wigan put on HKR in the first quarter they must break. But approaching the half hour mark I suddenly started thinking Sheffield 1989, I think the odds on Wigan winning last night must have been the same. That feeling never left me all night.

One thing that really struck me was how HKR had really done there homework on how to combat the Wigan attack. by that I mean that during the last 8/9 matches Wigan have regularly spread the ball to the wings with such precision that overlaps occurred on a regular basis.(especially on the left)
Every time Wigan tried the famous "Wigan Structure" last night it failed, either Wigan were rushing it and moving the ball to quick so that they failed to keep it tight and the overlap was never there. Or what I thought was that HKR had done their homework and worked out that if they slid across and matched Wigan's movement the overlap would never appear. HKR took the chance (in my eyes ) that Wigan very seldom try anything different once the "move " is on and by that I mean suddenly bringing a player against the grain either a forward or an halfback.
Now comes the controversial bit, a lot as been said over the last few months about Hampshire's best position, I have contributed to this maybe not always right, but it as come to the stage that a young players career is in danger of being ruined by this instance that he is a fullback.
It is now obvious that when an high ball goes up that the coach and the fans HOPE HE CATCHES IT instead of knowing he will, either let him go out on loan to try what he wants to do which is play standoff, or let him go (the latter is what I think may happen).

Finally after what as been a bit of a downer today but I certainly have an upper tomorrow, myself and the family are having a bit of a party for my mother who had her 104th birthday a couple of days ago.
Then the pessimist in me thinks it maybe going downhill after that, I am due to fly to Spain on Wednesday and then on to the Catalans match.

Like for like, I like it if you know I mean.

Would agree - 7 matches is the norm - ask Rangi.

Rangi is a nut job with a heap of previous... The loon should be sent packing...

Absolutely nothing in it.

And how is this different to Sam Tomkins? He can't catch a cold so we will always have this problem.
And as for 7 matches for Powell? I think some people have been smoking wacky bacca , what he did and what anti Wigan supportors wanted to see are 2 different things he actually tackled his backside not his knees.

If it is the same incident I am thinking about nobody has anything to worry about.
When the ref called Lockers over he said "I didn't blow up for a cannonball tackle it was for you (meaning lockers)making an attempted shoulder charge".
In the playback you can see Lockers charging in half with the shoulder and chest as he does, that was why the penalty was given.

Powell went with real force at the back of Tilse's knees. He got his head in the wrong position and his face hit Tilse in the back. If he hadn't led with his face a dead cert cannonball tackle. That was fortunate for Tilse. The Rovers players at the ruck were not happy.
Reckon Powell will get at least a warning if not a game or two. Maybe ´lockers' will get one for the shoulder charge.
Lost count how many times Mickey Mouse slapped our players at the ruck as he was running off. The look on McCarthy´s face when he was slapped by him was bemusement anger then hilarity. Your hooker is a f##king imbecile and liability. Long may you pick him.

He penalised Powell for going in after he had shouted held and said it wasn't a cannonbal tackle. The Lockers shoulder charge was another incident when the HKR player lost the ball in the tackle.

Rouges I definitely heard the Ref say it wasn't for a cannonball tackle it is for the shoulder charge, not certain if it was for the same incident.
But if you say they were two different incidents I stand corrected, more important things to do now I am off down to the Club with the family.

There was 2 incidents with Powell involved 1 definitely was a cannon ball tackle i think our hooker grabbed Powell straight after

Nilled some opponents struggling to put out a team. Can't see a win in the next month

I agree especially with our poor away form

Completely wrong but don't let that stop you.

Whether it's your game or not (which it is, at least in part - unless you're suggesting Wigan prefer slow PTB) - the fact remains that on the front foot your backs are as good as any in the league.

Granted, the fullback position is a bit of an issue at the moment. But overall I thought the backs (including the halves) stood up pretty well.

That game was won and lost purely in the forwards. In the first half your pack stood up pretty well against Hull KR's bigger and more aggressive pack. But in the second half it was the same old problem. Going forward your props and hooker seemed to lose interest in scrapping for those one or two extra yards which make all the difference. This created a yardage deficiency which was further exacerbated by the smaller guys in your back row exhausting themselves tackling Hull KR's bigger men. If you watch the video there's a palpable upsurge in Hull's efforts with twenty minutes to go (initially after a confidence-building defensive stand on their goal line and then in response to the distressed signals your back row was giving).

Admittedly Hull KR's try involved a fair slice of luck. But when you're not taking chances and tiring rapidly it's only a matter of time before your opponent sees momentum swing his way. As stated, I just don't think it's wise playing Bateman and Farrell for extended periods together against sides like Hull KR.

Totally agree with Mugwump about our very lightweight second row. Farrell and Bateman must be totally shot as the second half progresses. When I saw them both named in the second row with a half fit loose forward behind them I thought then that the writing was on the wall. Not sure that Wane had many more options though with our injuries at present.

What has happened to Logan Tomkins? He's never going to be on the level of Micky Mac of course, but I do believe he's a better option at 9 than Sam Powell is. Was great against Warrington, and his defence has considerably improved and he hasn't been seen since. Thought the intensity dropped considerably once Powell came on for MM.

After a lot of expansive rugby of late, I was very surprised to see us seem to flat and predictable, Smith and Williams were outdone by Campese all night. But I do think we missed Tony Clubb and Flower more than the 'lightweight' second row people are saying on here IMO.

There's a few threads on the usual opposition forums that are highly amusing

End of the day, we were crap and thats that

Do you think so? I've been on Saints, Wolves and Rhinos recently and find myself in despair. I can agree that the obsession with all things Wigan can be amusing but some of the bile, particularly with regard to Faz's injury, is very unpleasant to read. The poster Big Steve (I think) got it right with his comment on certain individuals that populate the Internet. You can see it in Wigan Peer's sig if you're interested. The whole environment wherein people can behave outrageously in anonymity is, I'm fast realising, just not somewhere I want to be. Could be its time to put foolish things behind me.