We should not underestimate the affect fatigue will have on the team over the coming months. We have played far too many games in a short space of time which will undoubtedly adversely affect the performances team.

Looking at the league table we have played 18, 6 more than Hull KR, 5 more than St Helens and 3 or 4 more than most. These short turn arounds mean players have not recovered and have not trained properly between games. It also means the chances of picking up injury are increased. Leeds have played 17 and reportedly also parody’s very tired performance last night.

I know there are deficiencies in the playing and coaching departments but we have no hope of playing ourselves into form with this many games.

100% agree trainman, plus on top of that we’ve been plagued by injury since game one which has reduced our options regarding squad rotation

Players returning from injury allows players to be rested. like Faz last night.
Noticed KPP had treatment on the pitch a couple of times, whether it was cramp or a leg problem I don't know but Kai could do with a game missed. Bateman is back and Faz should return next week. Shorrocks is another who looks gassed at times and who could do with time out..

The real kick in the stones of what has been a joke of a season will be if the teams avoiding games (cough Saints and Cas cough cough) get the reward of it being extended so they can catch up in a nice steady fashion of playing a game a week, whilst we will then have to sit on our hands for weeks on end and let rust build up. The season is a farce really and has no credibility already. That will be set back further when the teams who have taken the mick get rewarded for it.

He needs a rest KPP. I thought that after the Leigh game. The lad has been brilliant and will be a star for years to come but Lam doesn’t need to flog him, even if that’s a real passion of his with the young forwards. He has come in and gone from not playing in many months (and that was at academy level) to doing 80 minutes every week in the first team, with games coming thick and fast.

Agree with your point but I think the only way they could extend the season is if they shifted the GF from Old Trafford, it's usually only available on the international fixture weekend, I can quite easily envisage teams just making the 18 game cut off by the skin of their teeth snd using the % rule to their advantage

I’m sorry but I don’t buy into that whatsoever.

Whilst our clear determination to stick to our bio bubble and bio security measures resulting in us not cancelling any game is admirable and should be praised, if we didn’t have COVID we’d have played the same number of games.

These players train 5/6 times a week and should be at the absolute peak of fitness. I don’t know where “haven’t trained properly” comes into it - unless it’s a subtle jibe at Lam’s capability. Short turnarounds I’ll have to an extent but again they’re not really different to what we’d have in a normal season.

Perhaps it’s a sign of how low expectations we have these days that we’re making excuses such as this fit. I love this club with all my fibre but f*** me it’s been hard the last 2 seasons to get even remotely excited about anything to do with Wigan such is the sad state we’re in.

Hopefully it will equal itself out as these teams need to play catch up with time left in the season running out. For these teams fatigue and injuries due to short turnarounds will be a massive test. Hopefully we can take advantage of it now we have some players returning.

It’s not just our bubble but also the bubble of the teams we have been playing. It could be considered unfortunate.

This is most certainly not an excuse, it is a reason (albeit one of several). The first few days after any game are rest and rehab with the actual training taking place after that. Having 4/5 days between games means we only really get to train as a team for 1 day per week. It is far from a normal season in which we might have to do this once or twice, we’ve been doing it for the last month and it will take its toll on the players.

If we want a higher quality sport we must play less games.

To be fair I’ve probably worded it wrong and should have used reason instead of excuse - you can blame day 4 of CV19 and 5 of isolation for that.

I still don’t agree mind but that’s by the by.

Surely if the season extends, we get chance to get bodies back, and having played more games already, we get a rest towards the end of the year?

Not buying into this one to be honest.

The final could be played on 27th November at Old Trafford, the scheduled date for the World Cup Final.

Push it back til French is fit!

No urgency from clubs that have missed loads of games to get some mid week fixtures lined up.

I imagine they’ll just creep over the 18 games and be fresh as daisys for the playoffs.

Extending this season disrupts next season when the World Cup will now [iallegedly [/i will be. Considering we want to have home/Euro internationals at seasons end and the disruption already to next season which could have to be cut short to get the RLWC in before FIFA WC I personally think we end this season as advertised.

For the past couple of seasons, the game has been in exceptional circumstances and turmoil and judging by some of the other comments, some supporters are in agreement.

But, you can never pleased those who expect everything to be as it was up till 2019!

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Your post is fixed

Bang on that Nicky

Are there even any attempts being made to rearrange the postponed fixtures? I know we' don't look anywhere near good enough to challenge at the end of the year anyway but not great if we go into the playoffs having played five more games than most other clubs.

I agree. I can accept postponements but at the moment they look more cancellations than that. It makes a mockery of the league if these missed fixtures aren’t either replayed or points go to the team that didn’t cancel.

If the league table just showed points won and not percentages then the teams who have not played many games would make strenuous efforts to rearrange postponed fixtures.
Wigan have played more games than any other team and the fatigue is showing.
I commend the players for the effort displayed at each match considering how lightweight our young forwards are. They must be aching, carrying knocks and shattered. Definitely not fair if the other teams don’t catch up on their fixtures.

I imagine things get a bit easier for SL now that 'close contacts' who are double jabbed are no longer required to isolate? Often the strain on player availability came more from the close contact rule rather than positive tests.

If you want a higher quality sport where there is a decline in the number of top quality players and a decline in support, the time has come for some clubs to merge and form less but bigger and stronger clubs.

A classic example being Salford and Swinton clubs who are both struggling both on and off the field. Salford in danger of having to leave the AJ Bell Stadium and Swinton with no Stadium of their own playing at the home of Sale RU which is nowhere near Swinton.

Thirty six clubs in three divisions with most along the M62 corridor is not a good situation to have in the present time of a poor financial state of the game, declining crowds and less quality players with only a handful having Academy teams.

Time that some owner and directors stopped burying their heads in the sand and clinging to their own little empires and faced the reality that the time has come for a complete overhaul of the game where the number of "professional" clubs is concerned.

If it does not , I fear for the games future as a fully professional sport!

A few seasons back, the Aussies did it when they said there was too many clubs around the Sydney area and they did not let objections get in the way and just went ahead with mergers with the result that the NRL is now better, bigger and stronger than what it was at the time.

Looks like none of the postponed games will be rearranged with player welfare deemed the priority. I can fully understand the concerns regarding welfare but it makes the season a complete nonsense if we're honest.

An absolute nonsense. The season has lost all credibility in that case and other than them needing the money from Sky and through the gates, there seems little point to it. Is it any wonder clubs are struggling to tempt fans back in? How will they give our players their energy back from having to play Friday, Wednesday, Sunday, Friday, Thursday etc for weeks on end, whilst some teams choose to take the two weeks off post the cup final?

Jeez I love Rugby League but what an absolute state it’s in currently.

I know you don't like the NRL, but listening to the Ellis podcast, it's a different level over there. Ellis talks about them sharing spaces/facilities with other sides & listening to him talk, the organisation and coordination is superb. It's no surprise they haven't had any games called off.

Over here, we'd rather just say "nah, we'll have a win % based comp". From the outside looking in, it looks like another roll over to appease some clubs who claim poverty.