That's exactly my point and why the stats can tell lies. I also agree Micky Mac and Roby/Clarke would be ideal to play together, much like the KC and Roby combo at saints

I'm not sure what this proves. I've never attempted to hide how I feel. The difference is I can still have reasonable conversations on here. It's everyone else who tries to turn it into a petty row.

There's only me who hasn't resorted to derailing and insults and yet I'm the bad guy apparently.

I've never known such a xenophobic group of people.

Ps my post didn't mention the Wigan fans. Seeing as I have close friends and family who are lifelong Wigan fans you are barking up the wrong tree, again.

Why don't we just stick to the topic instead of you picking fights?

I agree they are very different type of players and this was one of the reasons I started the thread.

We had two different styles head to head yesterday and it'll be interesting to see what McNamara goes for.

I think Roby will be there for sure, but whether he goes for a hooker on the bench or not remains to be seen and if so, would he go for a Clark-type or McIlorum?

thats what you have been getting at all along flower

I haven't at all. I mentioned the "owning" as a tongue in cheek reference to how you lot think McIlorum own Roby simply because Wigan have beaten Saints.

What I've been "getting at" is the current battle for the no.9 jersey for England and what people's thoughts were.

I've never suggested Clark should play for England simply because Castleford won yesterday, flower.

Daryl Clarke is on a different planet compared to Micky Mak IMO
The only thing that Micky brings to the table is his undoubted enthusiasm and aggression
He is well below Roby and Clark

All depends on the speed of the play the ball with Clark to be honest. Don't remember him doing much when we were able to slow them down a bit (although he might not have been on the pitch.. can't remember).

Why all this anyway?
McIlorum's leg was strapped up yesterday like I've not seen it before. He was plainly not fit. Clarke had a better game did he? OK then, he wasn't out there much though.
Wigan fans are, me included, very happy with Micky Mac as he has done it tough for us in Finals and big games for years. We are even more happy that he's signed for another four years.
Saints fans think Roby's great which he is, Cas fans feel the same about Clark.
Just that Micky is a very big reason why we've won trophies for the past number of years.

Agree with all of that.

One thing nobody could question is his importance to Wigan. The only thing I'm not convinced of is whether he would have the same effect for England.

Some thing like this I think, probably daz's quietest performance this season, weather that was due to wigan tactics I don't know. Clark played up until 30 mins and then came back on just after farrell scored, normally he does more minutes but I think the plan was to use him at the end as the wigan forwards tired, plus he gave Finny a rest after he had been ran at all game. Both hookers were fairly average on Saturday but to compare them is folly, different players but both equally important to their respective teams, my opinion is that Clark will be the England hooker for years to come, where he plays his club rugby when that happens is anyone's guess

Nail on the head! We all know what he is with his grown up “I hate Wigan” mantra, then trying to cod everyone by saying it’s not me, it’s you lot. I don’t consider anyone who actually writes the word I HATE in a post is very grown up, but that’s just my adult opinion. Back on topic on Saturday I would say that Clark had the better game.

I would agree that Clark had a better game. The only advantage Mcilorum may have over him from an England POV is that he something completely different to Roby, whereas Clark is of a similar style.

You've never been grown up about anything on this forum unfortunately. That fact that you're happy to use the word 'hate' when posting your drivel shows what an absolute juvenile you are. I feel sorry for you to be honest. To spend a whole day on an opposition forum because they've lost a game is about as sad as it gets. You could do with taking a leaf out of St Pete's book. Obviously no fan of Wigan but always able to make a reasonable post that's worth reading. Shows it can be done...

As for your OP: please elaborate as to how one game determines who is best (MM v Clark) but another (let's say Good Friday) doesn't? In truth neither does, as I'm sure you know. Clark is a fantastic player, as is Roby and Mcllorum. I think where Clark may lose out at International level is that he is in direct competition with Roby rather than with Mcllorum who offers something different to the other two. We all know how difficult it can be to depose the incumbent although Clark is certainly worthy of his chance. It will certainly be a positive for the national side if he can replicate his club form for England!

I KNOW that one game doesn't make a player better than his opposite number, hence the tongue in cheek reference in my opening post. I know that McIlorum isn't better than Roby because Wigan beat Saints, just the same as I know Clark isn't better than McIlorum purely because Cas beat Wigan. I have never seriously suggested that to be the case.

The rest of that paragraph I agree with though, as it repeats what I said earlier with regards to playing styles and the fact that Clark is similar to Roby.

According to the stats printed in the league express McIlorum missed 7 tackles
IMO these are not the figures that one would expect to see from him as this aspect of his game is probably his best attribute

Put it down to possibly a bad day at the office

McIlorum misses oodles of tackles, probably 4 or 5 times more of his tackles are missed compared to Roby

He looked injured IMO, kept getting beat by footwork. Do you know if the rest of the stats are online anywhere?

McLlorum always misses tackles but that is due to the nature of his aggressive defensive style. He flys in and sometimes bounces off in the collision, most other players slow down before contact which makes it easier to grasp the attacking player.

Would anyone want to change the way Micky tackles aggressively to eradicate the odd miss tackle? Not me, he sets the tone for our forward pack.

As soon as I saw who started this thread I knew it would be a waste of 10mins of my holiday

As for my take on the original question, both players suite their team and there are only 2 ways to decide who's better

Medals at re end of the year
Whoever mcbanana chooses for England

Sadly, neither are very accurate

How about comparing the attributes of each player? That would seem like the most logical way of doing it.

If that's what you want, then tell us the attributes you want to compare.

Anything relevant really. There could be a whole host of different things you could look at, including:

Creativity
Distribution
Errors
Tackles
Missed Tackles
Kicking Game
Penalties Conceded

Those things are far more relevant than medals won when comparing the ability if two different players. Medals are won by a team, not by one player.

You find those stats, let us know the outcome and who is best and then we can close the thread.

Stats don't always tell the full story unfortunately.
With regards to the thread, close it when you like, I genuinely couldn't care less.

I checked - McIlorum wins.