Is it just me or should Williams be left out to sort his head out because from what I've seen he has been nowt but rubbish the pass to Escare being a case in point the strength of the wind should have told him not to throw the glory pass,as we were coming out of the ground people were blaming escare for over running the pass but he didn't the wind took it,also when will pass he instead of going for it himself on the last tackle?

No I don't agree.
Williams is a talented player and should play.
All he has to do is get his mind around it.
IL may have helped in saying a fee of £500k will be needed to sign him.
That should kill off any interest for now. See out his contract and he can leave without any issue.

I would absolutely let him leave for a decent fee as would IL I’m sure. Probably the only reason GW would stay would be to play under Shaun Edwards which is looking less likely as time goes on. Contrast that to the advantages of living and playing in Australia, it’s a no-brainer for him or us.

I agree

Correct me if i am wrong but it was only after Edwards was announced did Williams come out and say that Wigan and SL was his new priority (im paraphrasing obviously) . I am also sure there was mention of working with Lam and Edwards as part of his change of heart regarding the NRL

Possibility his current state of mind could be reflective of the team knowing that Edwards is a pipe dream..

2 + 2 = 5 perhaps

To answer the original question, it’s an absolute no! Why would we drop our biggest attacking threat at a time when the whole atmosphere around the club is so low? George Williams might not be on top form but he’s still a major threat. Form as they say is temporary but class is permanent. He’s an excellent young player and we need to boost his confidence and get him firing. To leave him out won’t help him or the club.

I fully agree with all that but one thing I think we now need to stay clear of is describing Williams as a ‘young player’. He is now 24 years of age with 5 seasons at the back of him. He’s a young man but in playing terms you want to see signs that he’s maturing and learning new tricks and for some reason we’re probably not seeing enough.

I’ve backed the lad over and over and I will never question his quality but I can’t hide my disappointment at the way he is progressing and I think some of that is down to that eye he seems to have on a move to the NRL. One thing the very best players do is step up and stand out in big games but with Williams if anything he goes in to his shell. That isn’t a great sign for any chance of success down under because the big games will come thick and fast.

The problem is, for all his talent/potential, he hasnt made as much progress in the last 2 years as he should have

For all his talent, it's not just that he hasn't progressed, his form is very hit-and-miss. I can't remember the last time he put together 2 quality performances from one week to another, so it's always one-step-forward and two-back. Despite his great step, solid defence and brilliant short kicking game, he does not seem to have a 'rugby brain' that is the difference between a good and a great halfback - in other words, his pass selection and decision-making is often poor, especially for a player who can break a line and play off the cuff.

Unfortunately he's very important to our attacking options because he's the only halfback we currently have who can create scoring opportunities. Perhaps if we had more quality elsewhere in the squad, George's erratic form and decision-making wouldn't matter as much as it does.

Personally I'm getting tired of the soap opera around this lad, this is the second time we've had the 'his head isn't right because he has big decisions to make' saga. We don't have the option of dropping him, but this prima donna behaviour causes huge disruption to the team as a whole because he's pivotal to our attack.

This was more or less hinted at the other day by Adrian Lam in an interview.

It's absolutely true, that some players simply have too much baggage. George is evidently one of them. If he was turning in top-quality performances each week, I'd want the club to fight tooth and nail to keep him. But as you say, he's a long way off that, with no sign that improvements are happening. So maybe it's best if we just let him go and milk the next club for as much cash as we can in the process.

I don't know about Williams there is just something I don't like about him he's no get up and go in him and just doesn't have the consistency you need in a half back and like others have said he has definitely got his mind on somewhere else

I think he lacks confidence tbh and it’s held him back from going from a very good player to a World Class one. The big finals come round and he looks nervous rather then like he thrives in that environment. He looked like the goal kicking got on top of him also. He was told by Wayne Bennett he doesn’t talk enough on the field and again I think that comes down to confidence.

He’ll go to the NRL for sure but I personally see him coming back within a year or two because unless he’s in a very very good team, I think the weight of expectation on his shoulders will be too much. I do hope I’m wrong (even though it would mean he’d stay there) because I do enjoy watching him as a player and there is a fabulous player in there somewhere.

What is irrefutable is that when Williams was out injured last season the team fell apart. When he came back Wigan won every game including the Grand Final. That's how important he was.

It’s a rare situation with Williams were a player is very good yet still frustrates people because you just knows he capable of being even better.

I’ve got a couple of mates who say he’s rubbish and I tell them they’re having a laugh but I still think we’re yet to see him play to his best on a consistent basis and if he’s going then time is running out.

Consistancy is What Williams needs and not just the odd game here and there he's got it in him just wish someone would give him a good shake and wake him up!

I agree. Irrefutable proof that he’s the best half back at Wigan. Is that your only point or am I missing something?

A lack of quality in the replacements rather than Williams being indispensible

Very well put.

He's class pal.
When he has a quiet game, it's not so much down to him, but rather opposition targeting him and restricting the ball movement towards him. He has the most devastating short attacking game out of all SL imo.

The poor games Williams has are often when he has very few players running alongside him. If he has't got support he gets forced inside and an easy target for a decent defence.

It's very easy to blame the man with the ball rather than players who aren't in view (when they should be!).

A fair point, it is also a case of a lack of other creative options in the squad - we have 1, 7 and 9 who offer zero creativity, even last season we were heavily reliant on Sam T adding some creativity rather than our 7 and 9 and without him we have even less.

Williams is a good player rather than a great (he has many areas that need to improve to be considered great) but struggles sometimes as he tries to do too much due to a lack of other creative options in the team, shut down Williams and the team struggles. Only Lockers offers any real threat.

I wonder if he's not in his best position...

I think you’ve summed up not just mine but a lot of other posters opinions on GW. The more and more I see him under Lam the more I’m getting the feeling he’s a player that needs to play to a structure and not to be left to his own devices and be the sole creator. It’s times like this with TL as his HB partner I think we genuinely miss a Matty Smith type HB to partner GW. TL is incapable of organising or creating anything, he’s 2yrs past his sell by date for me. GW is trying to do the job of two HB’s and he can’t carry the can for both.

I for one wish Matty Smith had never left always thought he gave us more than what Williams does atm!

Whatever Marty Smith did or didn’t do he was by Williams side at the best spell of his Wigan career for my money at least

Any credibility you may have had has now been lost forever with that one post.