It's disappointing to see the lack of faith in one of your own, for starters Hughes hasn't had much game time but people have judged him to be not good enough at 22 years of age.
Compare him to Harrison Hansen when he was 22 and i rate Hughes higher. I just don't see enough perseverance in English Rugby League and until the mindset changes you will always struggle to produce enough quality players.

No i'm not , and i really can't disclose anything ...but i am serious (honestly)

Spot on with your comments there. We've replaced some of the best players in SL with guys that aren't at this moment in time as good as them. Don't get me wrong i love that fact that we are identifying guys like Scott Taylor, Bateman and even Sarginson as they are some of the best young talent in the league. We've moved decisively and quickly to secure these guys before the other big clubs did the same and that needs applauding. What i also have to applaud the club over is their willingness to give the top young guns from our a academy a shot - Burgess & Crosby in particular.

What i do however have a problem with is that at the same time as we are looking to the future we are neglecting the here and now. Guys like Taylor and Bateman should be playing alongside guys like HH and Mossop and not Clubb and James. By holding firm with HH and Moose yes we would have lost out on revenue from transfer fees but we would have been in a much stronger position on the pitch.

For me i just don't don't think the club has the balance right between long and short term thinking.

We've had too much faith in our own and it's time to stop with the 'bring the kids in mentality' that everyone instantly turns to when a player leaves.

The day we turn away from Aussie imports or signing guys from other clubs is the end of our great history with signings

I must have missed pettybourne Bowen green smith Taylor flower and Bateman coming through the ranks...

While accepting what you say to a point, you have to get used to the idea that currently we, thats SL in general, CAN'T afford aussie imports in their prime.. Simple fact of life...

My post wasn't directed at the club it was directed at the fans love in with any player that comes from our academy. All of the above (Bateman aside) have at some point had the 'bring the kids in' brigade question either their talent, ability, form or suitability to the Wigan side.

Like i said we've had too much faith in our own and imo and in many ways it adds extra undue pressure/question marks over the guys we do sign.

Is it worth trying Gelling there?

Jordan James is Championship standard at best.

Huge mistake letting Hansen go, Hudds also took advantage of the channel he used to defend on the right hand side aswell.

He was immense against Widnes last week in a poor Salford team. I do like the look of young Burgess though.

He's a good player but world class? Give over, he can't even get close to the NZ team! How many world class players are there at any one time in your opinion? 100? For me 'world class' means a player who would be picked in a world 17

Having a fit & healthy second row helps and apart for SOL Wigan have had a decent record in that regard. In the pool of the second row competition Tuson & HH had question marks over fitness (of late) and it may have been the deciding factor in them leaving. But thats not fair when u have Goulding missing alot of games and a lack of competition in the centres. If Joel Tomkins doesnt make the England squad this year squad we should try & poach him back

Joel will hang on for the 2015 RU world cup...

I haven't watched the game again, but I thought Farrell had a good game and his stats seem to confirm this impression (32 tackles, 179 metres gained in total). You could say he was the best of a poor pack, but when a player has scored a try, made the most metres of any player and put in 32 tackles without missing any - I don't see how he was poor.

He was in the Samoa squad for the WC and always was down to be so yes, correct he's nowhere near the NZ squad?

He's in the top 3 or 4 backrowers in the SL for me and would get so much more recognition in the NRL where they appreciate top workhorse like backrowers more than here. He is a top, top player.

I think realistically we both know he would have played for NZ if he was in with half a shout. I agree that he's a good player, very good by SL standards, but unfortunately that doesn't make him world class in my book. He would br lucky to be named as one of the top 10 back rowers in the world right now, and nowhere near a world 17

I don't think our problem is our 2nd rows to be honest. The way we defend out wide is determined by how we defend on the inside. Each player has to make their defensive decisions based on what the player inside does. Look at Cas and Hull KR and the middle Chanel players are rushing up, leaving it difficult for the edge defenders. Dorn's last minute try was exactly that as our defenders all seemed to anticipate a drop goal. Even as kids, we were taught to number off and move up in a straight line. That's all we need to sort and we'll be hard to break down.
IMO - Hughes is good enough for a good run in the 17 this year and I really believe if he gets a consistent run we'll see a very good second row. He needs time to grow onto his position that's all.

I think in an ideal World we would have sent Hughes out on a season long loan to another SL club this year to develop his game.

An experienced backrow on a 2 year deal would have been an ideal replacement for HH, I still think Costigan would have been a great signing for us.

Brett ferres is a fantastic second rower and would absolutely fit the bill!

What is the situation with Sam Hopkins, he signed from Leigh with a very good reputation and since then I think he appeared in a couple of preseason matches and hasn't been seen since.
He is 23 years old, is a big lad and can play all across the pack, the club have gone in a couple of months from seeming to have an embarrassment of riches in the forwards to scratching about by including recently retired journey men.

According to yesterday's League Express or League Weekly he and Tierney turned up late for training and were made to walk into Wigan in full kit (including gumshields) as their "fine.

I can see a lot of potential in Hughes and as I said I don't think giving him the no 4 shirt was a wise move and it set him back.

However, like Bateman he is one for the future and at the moment we lack the experience and the particular set of skills H brought to the team on that side. It stands out like a sore thumb. As someone else said the squad management has gone wrong here.

As much as Hughes was given the 4 shirt last year, he only played a handful of games at centre and still featured mostly at SR, so I really don't see how it could have set him back.

He was used mainly at centre right up until April though, which presumably means his training was geared towards centre throughout pre-season and the first 2/3 months of the season. He looked like he lost weight in that time to me

This indeed did happen ha. Saw the video on George Williams' Instagram. Quality punishment ha

He looked comfortable in the back row and like a duck out of water in the centre. However few games he played there seemed to affect him.