I'm more than happy with our back row to want to bring in a nearly 40 year old Aussie on a massive wedge. Good player but not worth the money he would command.

If they would put Kearney at full back and he stayed fit he could be the best in SL IMO.. always impressed me when watching Cronula

But they have Platt AND Reardon, there's no way Kearney could get a game at FB.

What does me saying bradford are on a slipperly slope have anything to do with our confidence?

You didnt even make the 8 last year, you are relying on overpaid, end of their careers australians to get you through the current season, your coach is terrible etc etc. We have been there in 2005/2006. And look where we ended up - nearly relegated. We are out of that bad patch now and no doubt bradford will be if they manage to get their financial problems sorted.

Nick Scruton and Jamie Langley world class.

In truth very few teams in superleague have many world class players in them. I'd say a world class player is one that is one of the best 10 players in his set position in the world rugby.

Going off that i'd say we have-

Richards(best winger in superleague and in the top 10 worldwide easily)
S Tomkins
O'Loughlin(At least joint best 13 in superleague and probably in the top 3 or 4 worldwide)

Those are who i'd class as world class players for Wigan and as for Bradford-

Orford(in the best 10 scrumhalfs worldwide and probably in the top 3 or 4)

Thats it for Bradford though imo. I don't think Menzies falls into that catagory anymore but he has been an amzing player.

I went to the Saints v Bradford game at Odsal a few weeks ago and Bradford were appauling. If they play like that again we should beat them easily. However, they did look very impressive against Castleford when Orford, Kearney, L'Estrange and Langley all clicked very well.

I'm still scratching my head at their Salford result. Obviously their defence must have been excellent, but to only score one try against one of the poorest sides in the competition doesn't compliment their attack despite the quality they have in their backline.

I think this game will boil down to consistancy. We've been consistantly very good where as Bradford supporters probably don't have a clue which Bulls side will walk out onto the pitch. Although the current Bradford side is more than capable of getting a result against us I have to go for the most consistantly impressive side in the competition and that's us.

Wigan - 22
Bradford - 12

You think Sam Tomkins is world class?

This season, Roberts and Phelps have looked world class.

That doesnt make sense that! Joint 13th in super leauge , but 3rd or 4th in the world:S

Going off my system of being in top 10 in the world in a set position.......yes without question.

Theres no set standard of judging world class though. It's a made up term and alot of the time is used too loosely.

Guys like Inglis, Slater, Hayne, Smith, Blair, Peacock, Burgess etc are world class so maybe we should be going off guys that are in the top 2 or 3 in their positions in the world. If thats the case neither us nor Bradford have any world class players.

Now i'm sure your just someone pretending to be thick

He is in High school he said on the Bradford board just wondering why he is not there today maybe that could explain it

How can you be 13th joint in super leauge but be higher in world ? Thats doesnt make sense at all

You really think so?

I thought they looked pretty average against a Cas side that were worse then terrible.

I'm sure they can and will improve on that as the season goes on though and they'll be bang up for a game against Wigan. It's always been seen as a big game in the superleague era and Fridays will be no different.

A little clue-

Look on the back of O'Loughlins shirt on Friday night for an answear.

For the hard of thinking He plays number 13 so he is joint top in Super League not to bright today are we.

If your Bradfords top lad then god help the rest.

Lol have a day off son.

If I'm honest, I don't rate Bradford and feel they'll only continue to stagnate as a club with Mcnamara at the helm. Poor crowds will not help them in home fixtures also. Their halves are dangerous and will create chances but I'm not sure their outside backs are good enough to find the holes in the line and make the most out of those chances.

Everything in terms of logic points to a Wigan win and possibly a comprehensive one. However, everything at the moment seems to be going a little too well if that makes sense and I'm finding it a little unsettling! I get the impression I'm not the only Wigan fan to feel that way as well.

Just checked Met Office sight again, the snow forecast has disappeared. Game on. Wigan by 16.

Oh im just going with the flow. lets not stress and just enjoy

100% mate, we've become accustomed to supporting a team that wins a big game one week then gets beaten by a bunch of crappers the next. Some fantastic changes have obviously been made but I think some fans are being a little over confident; our name isn't engraved on either cup just yet.

We're not Warrington fans so lets enjoy the rugby without making comments which are likely to come back and bite us on the bum.

If anyone is experienced coaching an unbeaten team then Shaun Wane is.
Last season his reserves lost one league match all season, an improvement of the season before (4 losses one draw). He knows damn well how to prepare a team ready for the next game despite the massive pressure of being unbeaten. In addition, a lot of the younger players who have come through are also used to playing winning rugby week in week out. I'm not saying we will go close to being unbeaten this season, but the way the team is playing I can't see us losing more than 6 matches - which could see us well inside the top 3 or even two.

See here's final top positions over the last five years, this is what we are aiming for:

2009 - 1st Place (Leeds) 6 Losses.
2008 - 1st Place (Stains) 5 Losses.
2007 - 1st Place (Stains) 8 Losses.
2006 - 1st Place (Stains) 4 Losses.
2005 - 1st Place (Stains) 3 Losses.

top will be a huge ask, we havent been even remotely close since 2003

5/6 defeats means the team has been on fire at some parts of the season, and are able to grind wins when they are not, the team has to be able to go to places like huddersfield and Hull and come away with 2 points all season

Because of the amount of improved sides in superleague this year I think the top place side could again lose around the 8 games that Saints did in 2007.

We're going to lose games without question and a decent number at that but I would be suprised if it went much above that 8 mark.

Where that will get us who knows but it should easily be enough for the top 3 positions and that gives you an excellent chance in the play offs.

I actualy think huddersfield will be one to look out for this season .