In terms of a try’s per game ratio, guys like Makinson and Hall trail well behind a guy like Charnley but both are far better all round players IMO (or they were in Halls case) and for the reasons pointed out above. In terms of all time Superleague wingers, I’d probably have Makinson towards the lower end of a top 10 but he’d definitely be in that conversation. Makinson and Hall are two guys who reserved their best for England as well, so that helps their reputations.

Golden boot winner.

He’s 33 and still the best winger in SL

Which is why he always finishes top of the try scorers list.


Oh! Wait a minute...

What is your hypothesis based on?

The fact that Makinson plays for St. Helens.

It’s between Makinson and Ritson for me.

Longer than you think. I remember chatting about Carney and Dallas and discussing how much yardage work they do and how they started the sets for us. That’s probably 20 years ago.

Fair point.

Go back further to when Robinson and Offiah used to take the ball in from their own twenty on a regular basis.

With the corner flags in play Makinson would be no more than an above average player.

In an era when they would get a lot more 'special attention' than defenders would get away with now.

If ever there was a post that highlighted how little Wigan fans know about rugby this is it.

He won’t sleep toneet now

Just explain why you think Makinson is currently the best player in SL rather than sidestepping the issue.

Superleague's top 3 try scorers were all wingers last year and didn't include Makinson. Care to explain why? Incidentally, Tom Johnstone beats Makinson on every measurable marker. He's faster, stronger, makes more yards and...lo and behold... finished top try scorer. Go figure! The only thing he doesn't do better than Makinson is play for Saints. By the way, in case you're in any doubt, he's currently Superleague's best winger and that's not opinion.

I'm tempted to say that your post illustrates how little Saints fans know about rugby but, of course, you aren't a Saints fan, are you? What it ably illustrates, however, is that Union trolls should stop making fools of themselves on League boards.

i'd say there was a subtle difference as i never saw Offiah as one to do the hard / dirty work, and the defences were a lot more broken than they are nowadays. I'm not saying he didnt take the ball out (or Robinson), but it was perhaps 1st /2nd tackle. Last year especially, we had on a regular basis Miski, King, Wardle, Marshall taking 4 / 5 drives out of our own 20. The best example i can give of this was v Saints on GF. we'd been pushed back onto our own line on tackle 1, but with those 4 exited over the half way line, and Smith kicked Makinson onto his own line and smashed him in defence.
thats where Miski also added something different to when we had French on the wing too, as i dont think French likes to do that sort of work. I would say French is a better all round winger due to his pace and elusiveness, but Miski adds something different in that he likes the hard yards, and sets us up to put our plays on

Say's a RU trolling little man.

I cannot understand why people continue to engage with the wind-up bell end.

Just ignore him/her/it.

Tom Burgess signed for Hudds for '25, great signing for them

You can’t knock Ken Davy. It must like he’s fighting a losing battle at times but he keeps going.

I didnt see that coming!

Sam must have advised him about signing for Wire.

Not a rumour just a comment and one that confirms our policy under IFL is regarding players going to the NRL.


Laters edition on the Bye Round features Jon Bateman. He said during his first spell at Wigan IFL approached him and discussed his opportunities in the NRL and said that Wigan were a bit of a stepping stone to the NRL and if it didn’t work out for players they would be welcomed back.

It was pretty telling in terms of why we’ve struggled more than most to keep players away from the NRL. It wasn’t a surprise to me because I remember being at a fans forum years ago where Lenagan spoke about players going to the NRL for fees being part of the business model of the club.

Re. Bateman the business model worked a treat, two transfer fees for him must have made him one of the cheapest big money players we've had at the club