If they can avoid high levels of long term injuries I think they will walk the LLS and will in all likelyhood also land the GF. Not sure at this point who can stop them.

There's a long way to go but they've shown already they're capable of playing some great footy. Whether they can keep that up through a season, with the risk of injury to key players or just losing form, is another matter. For the rest of the contenders, including Wigan, we need to show a lot more than we've shown so far.

I think that they are the best team at the moment. I feel that they will put a score on Widnes at the weekend after Widnes' huge performance v us. They will definitely be in the top 2 IMO, however it is a long season and sides aim to peak in September/October. My general feeling is that that they missed their golden chance in the grand final V us in 2013. I think they were the best team in the comp by a mile that year. This year, they've had a great start, much better than I expected but if I was pushed to name grand finalists I still come back to 2 of Wigan, Leeds & Saints. I can see them winning either the LLS or Challenge Cup.

After the Wakefield game I was in a takeaway talking to a couple of randoms, I said we had it in us to put a cricket score on someone but it just wasn't clicking, if we could just make the things 'stick' that we were trying then someone would get a pasting.

We still look rusty, we can be very static at times and we are over running the centre's and wingers and then coming to a grinding halt a lot.
Plus we are playing very high risk stuff, as you know with that comes errors.

Cas was the perfect storm, Sandow was finding passes and gaps and space almost at will and to be fair it wasn't Cas being poor it was Sandow being 10 steps ahead of them.
Sure he threw a face ball across the 2nd row and centre to hit the winger in the 2nd half that made me realise he had vision way above any other halfback (imo) in SO.

We need to iron out problems, I still don't think we have and by next Saturday I don't expect us to be unbeaten in 9 games, although I hope we are.

before a ball was passed this season I was hoping we would be in the mix for the top four. I thought Wigan would be the team to beat.

We were quite frankly a disgrace last year...and then we added Ryan Bailey and Jordan Cox to the squad...



But the key signing is Gidley, fit as a fiddle, and a non stop talker on the pitch, took the weight off Sandow who has since settled in the team and the Town.

Matty Russel is fit and starting at 1 every game and is getting us on the front foot time after time we missed that for big chunks last year.

and the calls that it is the worst league ever just because Wire are near the top ...?? I wouldn't expect anything else ...and I wouldn't care... we are back to playing entertaining rugby and if we win the league doing that then happy days...

And it must a shocking league if a player of the Calibre of Stefan Ratchford cant get into our side. with many Wire fans saying "I dont see where he will play...unless there are injuries..."

oh and Jordan cox has been superb so what did I know....



still hoping we finish top four...and not getting carried away unlike Widnes Fans..

jordan cox has been a superb signing, just goes to show both hull clubs have poor coaching.

Thanks jamie peacock.

Sorry for coming onto the wigan forum to put this straight but i think you will find that us widnes fans aren't 'getting carried away' we are pinching ourselves as like all RL fans we can't believe we are top atm,we are realists and most of us are praying that we we could do the impossible and finish in the top 4,it all boils down to how lucky we are with injuries and it starts tomorrow as we are missing 4 starters for the 13

FWIW I said after watching the boxing day that gidley will lead you to either 1st or 2nd with you contesting the GF with the pies

As I've said if teams are lucky with injuries they will do better and the wire like ourselves uptil now have been quite lucky with injuries especially to key players whereas the pies are missing the likes of both Tompkins,Crosby and especially williams and once they are back they will only get better

As I've also said the GF will be between the wire and the pies

Does this really merit a question after half a dozen games?

Not to put the mocker on us but



You're well within your right to have these opinions, however unfounded they may be, and I do think when we turn up to your place we could be on the end of our first defeat of the year, but I don't think you've actually been paying much attention to us this year to be able to form that opinion.

We too sort of rolled our eyes when Cox was signed but he's actually been pretty great for us. Especially today, he made many metres for us. I'd go so far as to say he's been doing a damn sight more this year than Mossop or Tautai have been. Sandow is ripping it up offensively right now and is well on his way to MOS if he keeps it up. I think he could be found out big time trying to take down the likes of Gelling but in all likelihood he'd muller Smith and if he can attack like he has been then someone else can defend for him.

We have an extremely strong second row with Currie, Hughes and Westerman not to mention Westwood just returning too. We're very mobile across the park with only Sims being limited when it comes to agility, even Hill has a great step enough to get his arms past defenders to offload. Clark went off today I think so the only place I think we're weak going into friday assuming everyone comes out Okay on Monday is at hooker but you're hardly looking good in that department either. Your centres probably have ours beat offensively but defensively we'll have to see.

With the amount of pressure on Smith right now from fans I dread to think of the effect our kick pressure [icould[/i have on the poor guy.

May as well call the season off then.

You really are clueless, we have our strongest squad for years.

Warrington have started well,but best to ask again after the magic,things will doubtless be clearer by then,but they do look the real deal..at the moment anyway

No point Sam coming back. We should just give up. Resistance is futile. Everyone knows 2016 is the Year of the Wolfs.

Yesterday would have been a lot closer had Brown played, there was a 10 minute period in which we didn't touch the ball and Widnes couldnt break some Rorke's Drift like defence. Brown may just of found something. Smith said in an interview they had 31 plays in a row on our 10 line.
We then scored off the set when we finally got hold of the ball and that's when our tails lifted and their heads dropped.
Again though we look to be at our most dangerous on the 60 minute mark, really looking forward to the Wigan game, even if we lose the streak to Hull on Monday.
Both teams and fans are usually well up for this.

I saw some of the tries during our match on Sky. Some truly awful defending on show, most of he tries were crash overs after one pass from dummy half, or poor kick defence. I think Widnes will lose 2 or 3 of their next 3.

Should be a cracker next Friday!

Did Sandow not play today?

he played ans was fantastic today, in the first half, went missing the second half, made to look a fool being told to go back and applaud the good following wire fans, i think he wanted a quick escape after being too cocky with his swan dive under the post then turning and grinning at the east stand

as for the game, radford out coached smith today, we changed our starting line up, 7 changes from the derby whilst moaning smith who whinged about the tough easter schedule played the same team virtually that played against widnes, enthusiasm and more energy, if less skill got hull the win today, wire were knackered in the last 10

Yep, sums up my thoughts earlier in the the thread about Wire's lack of depth. Even without significant injuries, they can't afford to rest players.

Johnson is no Russell

Ratchford is no stand off

We have depth of personnel, just not depth of rugby brains.

Gidley is the glue in that team and the performances in which we have looked suspect coincide with no Gidley im the team

come on we were down one of the in form Full backs in Russell, our best hooker in Dwyer and also lost Gidley who is our organiser..... Ratchford would normally be a luxury no other team has that would fill one of those spots very nicely.. but when all three require filling quite rightly we are going to struggle..

in hindsight penny to fullback and Ormsby on the wing would have been safer but Jack Johnson is a real star for the future and his inclusion is not an indication of a weak squad. Dan sarginson at full back however...???



and struggle we did we lost by a conversion...



we are not all that.....and similarly if you overtake us in the league next week neither will you be....... we have both recently had better starting 13's than what took the respective fields today.....

but I'm still hopefull of a top 4 spot thank you...

Massive game this one as we are clearly the best 2 sides in SL so far
I'm hoping that home advantage will see us take the win

Yeah, shaping up to be the game of the season, certainly so far. Shame I can't make it, but I can't take another day off work this week.

Well I think you'll win this one because we'll have some very tired bodies out there.
Hull match took a lot out of us.
If Gidley and Russell are back we may have a chance, but I doubt we'll be fluent.
We've won a number of matches ugly this year and not played consistently well.
We hit a purple patch against Cas.

I'm looking forward to the match - in particular seeing how you try to deal with Sandow.
Some of the stuff he's done has been unreal. Yesterday he went for a drop goal from 40m out, totally cocked it up and the hull fullback just managed to knock it out of play stopping Lineham getting to the ball in the corner!!

Should be good.

That's pretty much what we'd say about our chances too, I reckon - substitute Saints for Hull and Williams and Farrell for Gidley and Russell. Too close to call, and while it may not be a classic for those wanting fluent, skilful rugby, it'll definitely be exciting!