FB 6 French
RW 2 Marshall
RC 1 Hardaker
LC 4 Gildart
LW 23 Bibby (ease Manfredi back in the reserves)
SO 31 Hastings
SH 7 Leuluai
P 19 Bullock
H 9 Powell
P 10 G.Burgess
SR 16 Smithies
SR 12 Farrell
LF 14 Flower

S 15 Greenwood
S 17 Partington
S 22 Clark
S 28 Smith

A season too far for Clubb and Lockers unfortunately

Where would sammy kibula have figured in that list had you kept him?

Tough to say. I got the sense Lam wasn’t impressed with his commitment to pre season last year and he never got a look in. If he was still here and he threw himself in to pre season then he may have made a breakthrough but initially he probably would’ve been 8th or 9th choice.

I may be in the minority but I’m really looking foyti seeing Clarke in a Wigan shirt.

I personally believe he will be a real asset IF he has his head screwed on the right way.

I remember watching him at Bradford and thinking this kid could be something a bit special.

He has undoubtedly lost his way a little but I think there is a very good player in there if he commits to it.

Minority you are.

From what I’ve seen he’s lazy and ineffective in the Championship. He needs to improve his game 100 fold, any less and he’s a failure

The downer on Clark already is a bit unfair for my money. The guy was poor for Leigh granted but he hadn’t played for months when he went there, he’d had a tough time being frozen out at Cas and had clearly let his fitness slip. They’re possibly not good signs but the Cas fans (prior to him Signing for Wigan) will tell you how good he can be. He turned our game against them last April around and we struggled to handle him. He turned up for training at Wigan two weeks earlier than he needed to and if he’s committed to that and got himself in better shape, he has the natural ability to make a good impact for us.

Al lof those props are better prospects than Kibula hence why we released him.

10th behind Havard

I agree with this. He’ll be a big hit in the friendlies IMO

That’s the magic of it IMO. I don’t have high hopes for him, as many don’t but it’s for him to come out and prove me wrong and be an asset. For me that’s one of the greatest things a player can do.

He’s certainly not coming with much expectation. It’s totally the opposite of George Burgess and it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if come the end of the season people are really happy with Clark and underwhelmed by Burgess and a lot of that will come down to expectation and reputation.

Fingers crossed both will smash it though.

Just keep scrolling down and he might be there??

In terms of the front row I’d go.

Burgess
Powell
Bullock
Greenwood ( give him pre season on the right edge)
Farrell
Smithies

Flower Clark O’Loughlin Tommy,

Partington Clubb Bryne Havard Navarette as reserves

Who partners Hastings though? I'm not a big fan of Leuluai in the halves but French and Smith only have one SL game each in the halves going into the season, and French didn't look good in his.

I'm more than happy to give French a chance. He played about 60 mins over 2 games in a team he'd only been involved with for a few weeks. Didn't know the moves/calls, etc.

It may turn out to be a bad move, in which case we shift him to fullback or wing and go with Tommy/Shorrocks there and start introducing Smith.

Whatever half back pairing we will have it will be better than last seasons without a doubt

For me :

Burgess and Bullock, direct to make the hard yards and tire the opposition out, two big men to start the game.

On the bench Clarke for a bit of impact and Flower aswell.

Seen Flowers quotes on wigantoday.net?

Fuming he’s had the number 10 taken away, says he’s worked 9 years for that shirt. Feels let down by the club.

I hope the ‘I feel let down by the club’ line has been meant out of context a little because he should feel anything but tbh. I don’t see him as a bad apple of any sorts, in fact probably the total opposite but he needed to word that more carefully ‘if’ he means he’s disappointed that the club have given his squad number to somebody else. ‘The club’ have given him a career at the top level, plucking him from a team that came and went in a couple of years, the club have helped him develop in to a good player, the club have helped him win honours, the club stood by him when he cost us a Grand Final and got banned for half a season and the club have stood by him through numerous injuries. He’s been a good player for us, I really rate him and believe he can get back to his best but that line sounds horrendous.

Agreed. I felt a bit let down by him in the 2014 final!

He’s got the cursed 14 shirt, everyone who has that leaves the year after.

He should have had the 8 shirt, he’s miles better than Clubb.

Not sure about the curse of the 14 shirt, only one player in the last five seasons has left the season after holding it. It's Bateman's lucky shirt if anything! Agree that Flower should have been given a starting shirt on merit, but talking of the club letting him down shows a real lack of awareness from him.

Flower hasn't been good for over 3 seasons now, even then I wasn't overly impressed. He's never been anything more than a poor man's Andy Platt.

Let down by the club?! He should be grateful he has been able to hold down a shirt at a club several rungs bigger than his ability should allow.

Bang average even at his “best”.

The fact that there is a discussion over whether he or Clubb should have a starting prop number tells you what you need to know about where Wigan’s squad needs investment.

I think you’ll find that we’ve already invested in that department , can’t argue with the Flower/Clubb comment though. For me both should have been moved on.