We could interchange O'Carrol and Prescott on the bench, if they are performing on the pitch we could give them a perminent place in the starting line-up

Thought Fielden was here till late 2010?

Would keep him on a much reduced contract or sell him. Would be interesting to see what we could get with the cap freed up by

Fielden
Mathers
Phelps
Coley
Smith
Bailey
dare I say Goulding?

I reckon keep the same as last week - There's no point in throwing Sam T in straight away against Bradford - Bradford are a big pack, they will tire after the second half... Thats when he should put Sam in, maybe even 5-10 minutes later than he did against Quins.

Smiths defence is terrible - In London, I watched him prepare for a tackle and then back out at the last minute - It's a shame because he can be a quality player & can produce an awsome pass - But his defence is shocking, that's gonna be his downfall

I am staggered how some people can defend having Tim Smith in the side. He is a shadow of his former self, I do not care what he has won in the past so far at Wigan he has not produced the goods. He has looked absolutely awful in defense his positioning is out of place, his tackling technique is ridiculous for a halfback and his general fitness does not look up to scratch. He is a big weak link in our defense and teams will continue to exploit this all season. It infuriates me when I see him shouting and screaming at the rest of the team when he is the one who is letting players get passed him!

I appreciate people do not want to rush Sam Tomkins but I do not think we are rushing him at all in fact I think the opposite we have been far too slow to bring him into the first team. He needs more game time and seems to thrive on the expectation put on him. He is also very solid in defense as was evident against Harlequins. We looked a far better team with Smith off the field and Sam Tomkins on it. I don't care what age he is, if we're a better team with Sam Tomkins on the field then he should start next week against Bradford. He's ready.

As for Smith IMO he needs a few extra sessions with Mike Forshaw as he does not look fit enough to play consistently for 80 minutes. He needs a lot more work on his tackling technique and we'll see how it goes from there. I'm sure there is a good player in Tim Smith somewhere but so far there has been little evidence of this and it's something we need to address to benefit both Wigan and Tim Smith. He's had a long time out of the game so I'm willing to accept to a certain extent but some of the tackles he's made this season have been shocking and he seems very rusty in that department and unfit. Something which can be fixed and IMO we should give him a couple of weeks out to address these issues, Sam Tomkins is more than capable of filling in for him until Tim Smith is ready for first team action again but until then he should not be playing next week.

We needMoi Moi is a very good player but I really wouldn’t take him. This team is crying out for a leader and there aren’t very many around imo.

We need a Faz type player who will in situations were the game is in the balance put in the hard yards, steady the ship and make sure focus isn’t lost. Peacock did it against us in the CC last year and does it numerous times in the big games. We are crying out for a prop like that and despite his age Petro will do exactly that for you. I wouldn’t expect him to be the top of the meter charts but he’d add far much more to our game.

Fielden.
Feka
Petro
Prescott/O’Carroll- Both of these will get plenty of game time via injuries, cup games & rotation. Then when Fielden leaves we can accommodate both of them with ease and Mossop can step up into the role Prescott and O’Carroll currently fill.

Easy as pie…………

Playing as an out and out 7 with some extra defensive work/tackle work we'd see a different Tim Smith.

Why this thread has drifted off topic I don't know but Fui Fui Moi Moi is not the type of prop forward we need. He is another impact prop and having 2 of them in the same team is pointless. We need a grafter someone that will run their blood to water and lead from the front. Andy Lynch, Luke Bailey, Petero Civonaceva (sp) would all fit that bill.

On another note I don't like the way Wigan attack with a pitch split with a 1st receiver either side of the pitch.

I prefer a 1st and 2nd receiver of both halfbacks. Like Burrow/McGuire Edwards Greg.

With Smith and Sam this would work.

Can see Pryce going if he doesn't prove his fitness. If not him then Goulding going as I don't see the need for both to cover

That side looks very strong IMO
I think a house prop, solid partner for Sam (6 or 7 would do), a top centre to play with Roberts

Luke Bailey would be ideal, Petero would want too much and to say he is getting on is an understatement

As for the half back Dobson would be fantastic, Orford has been mentioned, didn't someone mention Richie Myler (is he off contract?) if he is I think we would be stupid not to go for him

IMO him and Sam will be the future England half back partnership in around 3 years or so. I know there is a big question of experience but we we would have other leaders on the field to help them. I know we would have to wait a season or 2 for them to develop but I for one think it would be worth the wait. Stability is often mentioned on here and they could be our half back partnership for the next 10 years. Dare I even say another Edwards and Gregory



We should still have a lot of money left on the cap so a centre in the Cooper/Gasnier/Inglis mould should be targetted

Absoulutely spot on.

how can you put them 2 in the same sentence as Petero Civoniceva he is world class grafter them 2 aint good enough lace his boots know what your saying thou we need someone who is a born learder and who you know will give you a shift when he is on the field Jamie Peacock Petero Civoniceva Brent Kite or Steve Price

Petero Civoniceva was a world class player I accept. However I don't think we'll get as much out of Petero Civoniceva (32) as we would Andy Lynch (29) or Luke Bailey (29).

Don't under estimate just how good those two players are. I think they could offer a lot more than Petero Civoniceva in terms of years of service to the club and also I think they'd be a far cheaper option than Petero Civoniceva.

Bang on

People are talking about Myler to partner Sam but I would sooner see somone slightly older with a little bit more experience, similar to how Greg was a few years older than Edwards.

I can't help but think Dobson would be prefect. Still a young man but has a few good years under his belt.

Petro is an awesome prop, but considering his age, and wage he would want I feel he might not be the best option. I really think the cap is best used spread out a little more.

Hopefully if Fielden, Prescott, O Carroll and Feka come to we might not feel the need for a big money prop. I also feel Hock has the potential to move up to Prop. Considering the depth in the backrow replacing him if he were to move up to prop wouldn't be an issue.

Not for me, that'd be a waste of Hock's quality outwide to get the ball out by an offload to a fast centre/winger. Inside he's not as effective.

Don't forget we have Ben Davies (18/19) who's an England U21 International coming into the first team, along with Mossop who has the potential for Prop/Second Row also.

Moving Hock to Prop IMO would not work out as well as you think

I agree

Hock has great mobility, agility and speed to move him up to prop he would be forced to put on weight taking these qualities away from him

However I think later on in his career when he naturally loses some of these attributes I think we should move him to prop then but for now I think it would be a waste

IMO he'll turn out similar to Bryan Fletcher. Big, powerful and good with ball in hand. As he slows down and adds a bit more weight later on in his career then maybe if we're desperate to move him to prop.

Possibly he could play the Flecter type role. Start at second row and move to prop when needed. I think he can be effective as a prop.

God I miss him

Are you joking?

Fielden?
He works his socks off consistently week in week out. Easily our best prop IMO, Noble needs to start playing him for 80mins again.

Hearing from people inside the club, he is one of the most hard-working and dedicated professionals there. So what it doesn't happen for him sometimes, but when teams score the majority of tries against us when he is on the bench, is no co-incidence.

Baileys work rate also goes un-noticed IMO, not a world beater, just a hard worker.

Thing that goes against them is that there salaries say they should be world beaters

Hardly their fault though is it? The previous regime were all too eager to throw money around.

No I'm not saying it is mate

I like Fielden, think he's a very good player

Thing I have against Bailey is I think we have 4 better backrowers than him all on less money and I don't think we need 5 when we have the likes of Mossop and Farrell in the reserves

Beat me too it

I hope not. overrated pen machine.