Absolutely immense once again. Quite simply the most complete forward in Superleage at the moment. (I would go further but I can't be ars*d arguing with a load of trolls! Haha)

head and shoulders above at the minute

really leading by example, and i think taking the ball in more than he normally would do

Personally I dislike this notion of leading by example. I don't think it works at all when the team is on the wrong of the game. More is needed of a captain when the proverbial has hit the fan IMO. However contrary to that I reckon what I saw tonight could not fail to inspire the young players in the side. It is as if the young team we have has given Lockers an even greater purpose on the pitch and an even higher sense of responsibility. Absolutely fantastic.

MOM by a long way.

Sir Kev can't get a look in in the same position

Tremendous performance from Shirley tonight.

Obviously all opinions are valid but I think leading by example is absolutely th best kind of leadership. It all depends on the people you're leading though, of course. There is no one right or wrong way to lead. It all depends on what the people around you respond to. I think it fair to say though that the team as it stands is most definitely in the 'responding to example' camp. We're punching way above our weight. You couldn't be more right when you say "absolutely fantastic' though. Tough in defence, high workrate, strong when taking the ball up and sublime hands. Some of his offloads/passing tonight was a joy to watch!

A massively underrated player and captain. One of the greatest servants of the Wigan club.

I think that is my point but also that circumstances dictate what sort of leadership is required.



I completely agree. I also think it is working both ways. I think Lockers has raised his game even more because we have the injuries we have and the young players in the side. Leading by example is working.

You will however never convince me it is the de facto way to lead a side 100% of the time.

have you ever played the game seriously????

I know I won't Dave...we've had this discussion many times before! Haha. However I would say that leading by example anything less than 100% of the time is not good captaincy either and on that score Lockers is definitely second to none. He's certainly not the 'shouting' type of captain but I think that's overrated anyway and something that [usome[/u fans rather than players want to see. It's also true that many great captains weren't/aren't shouters either. In terms of respect, influence on and off the field, professionalism, temperament, loyalty and the ubiquitous 'leading by example' Lockers is outstanding by anyone's standards!

Agreed. Thankfully the underrated part of that is quite righly starting to disappear. I think most people who were once critics have now seen the value that Lockers brings to the club and team. Even many opposition fans are now giving him the praise and respect he's due. It similarly took Ben Westwood quite a long time to get the respect he now universally gets. For some reason this seems to happen with certain players. In O'Loughlin's case I think it was the fact that he was Andy Farrells brother in law that was the root cause, something I always found a little bizarre if I'm being honest. Andy Farrell was a one off. Lockers is a different type of player and charactor but no less effective for it!

Absolute quality player for Wigan & on the international scene when he's been fit.

That being said I don't think he's head and shoulders above Sinfield like some people make out. Both are top quality players and it's a little sad that Wigan fans bang on about Lockers being underrated but slate Sinfield with their next breath.

I don't think Sinfield could put the defensive shift in that Lockers does but also at the same time i don't think Lockers could control a game like Sinfield did against us in the playoffs. His rugby brain & experience killed us that night and it was a master-class in playoff rugby. Find a weakness, exploit it and then convert every chance into some type of points.

Not sure where Sinfield comes into this tbh as I stated the most complete [uforward[/u in Superleague. Having said that I don't disagree with anything you've said about Sinfield. Danny Brough Killed Leeds (including Sinfield) yesterday apparently but again he has no relevance to the point being made...

Sinfield I think has earned the right now to be considered an out and out 6 and he's a very good one. As a loose forward his game doesn't stack up against Lockers but the same can be said whenever Lockers moves in to 6.

As for Lockers form at the minute it's fantastic and he's without doubt the most complete forward in superleague. I think he's seen the experienced lads leave and has taken it on his shoulders to offset that loss.

A brilliant player and by all accounts a brilliant person.

The player that encapsulated both aspects is of course Andy Farrell. A no nonsense 100 % "do what I do" yet vocal captain. The perfect captain IMO.

Andy Farrell could dish out and take the biff and no mistake !

So yes, a passionate ex Wigan player, who only spoiled his copy book by going for the money from the dark side.

If not for that, he would have gained legendary/great status for mine.

Lockers is an everpresent and that is his bonus. Never in this world a great player. But a Mr Consistent, which all teams need.

Would never have got into our side in the 1990's though I am afraid.

RL's standards are dropping here in Superleague.

I agree to an extent. Lockers is certainly not a better player than Hanley or Faz, and his closest equivalent would be Phil Clarke (who IMHO I consider him to be a very fair imitation of).
The one thing that has struck me so far this season, is the dearth of genuinely creative players on show in SL. Cas were very good, by utilising a big bruising centre/wing combo, and Giants have a very good midfield general.
Im not sure whether its the weather, pitches or teams 'pacing themselves' this season, but this year has been poor in creativity, with forwards and defences to the fore.

Anyway - Lockers has certainly blossomed in the last few seasons. He's a decent leader (not great), a great defensive player now that he his learnt to stop taking peoples heads off, and has a good offload. He is the most consistent player on the field, and you know that he will run his blood to water for you.

Club great - yes. SL great - yes. Legend - no.

I can't believe that anyone would say that Andy Farrell was anything but a Wigan Legend or one of our greatest ever players/.

A 13 year career with most of it being the clubs captain and best player.

However he decided to end his career it was a decision he'd earned the right to make.

I think you have a very rose tinted view of our sides in the 90s! You're remembering the Hanleys, Edwards and so on but we had some very workmanlike players in those teams too and Lockers is in a different league to most of them! Superleague standards are indeed dropping overall but the best players ar still the equal or better than most of the players running around in those days. The likes of Sam, O'Loughlin, Westwood, Peacock, Roby etc. would walk into any team from that era including ours!

You'll get little argument from me. The point I'm making is that, just because someone doesn't measure up to the very best, doesn't negate their own worth. Otherwise all players are poor because they don't measure up to Wally Lewis! In fact, in my time watching the game, I can think of only one Wigan captain that measured up to Farrell in those terms and that's Dean Bell. That doesn't mean that the likes of, say, Phil Clark, Graham West or Ellery Hanley weren't great captains in their own right. Indeed, as is mentioned elsewhere in this thread, I'd say Lockers is very much the equal of Clarke. The only difference being Clarke didn't suffer the tag of being 'Andy Farrel's brother in law'!

I think Lockers has a more rounded game than Clarke, though of course we will tragically never know how he would have developed over the course of his career. Farrell was a fantastic player, over a long period - though the manner of his leaving us and subsequent behaviour casts a shadow of those memories.
Hanley, though, was the greatest British player I have ever seen. Not for nothing was he voted into 5 clubs' team of the century.

This thread started out by saying how good Lockers is playing at the moment and now we have gone to who was the best Wigan Captain.
What I am trying to get my head round is the mention of Clarke as Wigan Captain, he left for Aus at the end of the 94/95 season and to my knowledge he was never Club Captain.
During the years he was at Wigan we had Hanley, Bell and Edwards who Captained the Club, maybe my memory is playing tricks ,if so I am sorry for butting in.

Bearing in mind he was only 50 / 50 late in the week he put in some performance can't wait until he 100 %, well done Lockers.

Quote ="stillinthepast"This thread started out by saying how good Lockers is playing at the moment and now we have gone to who was the best Wigan Captain. What I am trying to get my head round is the mention of Clarke as Wigan Captain, he left for Aus at the end of the 94/95 season and to my knowledge he was never Club Captain. During the years he was at Wigan we had Hanley, Bell and Edwards who Captained the Club, maybe my memory is playing tricks ,if so I am sorry for butting in.'" Agreed. It always seems to go that way. But then praising Lockers has never been a straightforward enterprise. No real surprise if I'm honest! As for Clarke: www.wiganwarriorsfans.com/wigan/?s=Player&o=9962

Quote ="stillinthepast"This thread started out by saying how good Lockers is playing at the moment and now we have gone to who was the best Wigan Captain. What I am trying to get my head round is the mention of Clarke as Wigan Captain, he left for Aus at the end of the 94/95 season and to my knowledge he was never Club Captain. During the years he was at Wigan we had Hanley, Bell and Edwards who Captained the Club, maybe my memory is playing tricks ,if so I am sorry for butting in.'" Agreed. It always seems to go that way. But then praising Lockers has never been a straightforward enterprise. No real surprise if I'm honest! As for Clarke: www.wiganwarriorsfans.com/wigan/?s=Player&o=9962