Sorry to say it, but how good do Wigan look? : Tue Feb 28, 2012 12:08 pm  

It pains me to say it but at the moment we are miles behind Wigan in every aspect of the game. They look so much more organised than we do, plus Sam Tomkins looks like hes proving why he is the best player in the country.

God that was hard to type, so come on the Saints pull your finger out. I'm hoping its just a blip and we will be there again at the end of the season cause at the moment we are way way off the pace.

Re: Sorry to say it, but how good do Wigan look? : Tue Feb 28, 2012 12:32 pm  

And yet coached by what many describe on here as an "ape". Must the best damn coaching ape there is.

I don't want to count our chickens just yet, but it's looking good. I can't wait for Good Friday that's for sure.

Credit to Wane, he said that he wanted to work on the teams skill levels and attacking play, and if the last few games are anything to off, he's been true to his word.

Good on you Judge for putting rivalries aside and acknowledging when a close competitor is playing well.

Re: Sorry to say it, but how good do Wigan look? : Tue Feb 28, 2012 12:36 pm  

There was a lot of comments in RL fans in general how Wigan were weaker this year, but the squad particularly the forwards are stronger.

Hoffman and Coley were effectively replaced by Hock, Lauaki and Flower.
Lauaki was supposed to be an indisciplined penalty machine. He has given one away so far (and that was for hitting Ryan Bailey )
Hock is running the ball in well but needs to cut down on the penalties.
Flower has been steady, nothing flash.
Add to that Lee Mossop (must get an International call up this year) is playing well.

When the forwards get on top then Finch is pulling the strings and Sam is doing what only he can do.

It'll be interesting too see how we go on against that big Catalan pack on Sunday, and will probably give us a better idea of where we are. Last year they produced the best away performance I have seen from any club at the DW, they were fantastic and a joy to watch

Re: Sorry to say it, but how good do Wigan look? : Tue Feb 28, 2012 12:37 pm  

Running up big scores against weak times is what Wigan do best. They looked solid against Leeds but the jury is still out on how good Leeds are going to be this year.

There is a long way to go. They will have a "wobble" at some point and how they react to that will be the key to their season.

Re: Sorry to say it, but how good do Wigan look? : Tue Feb 28, 2012 12:38 pm  

LovesToSpooge wrote:

8)

And yet coached by what many describe on here as an "ape". Must the best damn coaching ape there is.

I don't want to count our chickens just yet, but it's looking good. I can't wait for Good Friday that's for sure.

Credit to Wane, he said that he wanted to work on the teams skill levels and attacking play, and if the last few games are anything to off, he's been true to his word.

According to the ape on twitter as @shaunwane he's using mcguires notes from last season hahahaha


Being serious, wigan do look head and shoulders us above us at the moment and I'd dread to see what score they would put on us.

I think the fact youve got tomkins and fullback, finch and lulu on the halves and lockers at loose gives you a very very good spine.

The off the ball running from the Wigan players when your moving the ball IMO is second to none and I can see how your putting big scores on.

Re: Sorry to say it, but how good do Wigan look? : Tue Feb 28, 2012 12:49 pm  

Rogues Gallery wrote:

There was a lot of comments in RL fans in general how Wigan were weaker this year, but the squad particularly the forwards are stronger.

Hoffman and Coley were effectively replaced by Hock, Lauaki and Flower.
Lauaki was supposed to be an indisciplined penalty machine. He has given one away so far (and that was for hitting Ryan Bailey )
Hock is running the ball in well but needs to cut down on the penalties.
Flower has been steady, nothing flash.
Add to that Lee Mossop (must get an International call up this year) is playing well.

When the forwards get on top then Finch is pulling the strings and Sam is doing what only he can do.

It'll be interesting too see how we go on against that big Catalan pack on Sunday, and will probably give us a better idea of where we are. Last year they produced the best away performance I have seen from any club at the DW, they were fantastic and a joy to watch

This pains me to say but from what I've seen of Wigan this year has impressed me, the runners (options) are excellent and must be terrible to defend against.

Re: Sorry to say it, but how good do Wigan look? : Tue Feb 28, 2012 1:00 pm  

i have to admit they are playing some terrific stuff. Tomkins looked unbelievable in the game against Castleford.

Re: Sorry to say it, but how good do Wigan look? : Tue Feb 28, 2012 1:00 pm  

TheJudge wrote:

It pains me to say it but at the moment we are miles behind Wigan in every aspect of the game. They look so much more organised than we do, plus Sam Tomkins looks like hes proving why he is the best player in the country.

Lots of Saints fans were saying the same thing at this time last year. Yet remind me, who was it that knocked Wigan out of the playoffs in 2011? And how crap were we in attack AND defence this time last season?

Get a grip!

Re: Sorry to say it, but how good do Wigan look? : Tue Feb 28, 2012 1:05 pm  

St pete wrote:

The off the ball running from the Wigan players when your moving the ball IMO is second to none and I can see how your putting big scores on.

That's certainly one of the big things Wane has worked on. For the last couple of years we pretty much ran the same patterns over and over again, to an extent where they were became predictable.
But under Wane we've changed a few things, first of all by involving more players in the moves and having forwards passing before contact onto other forwards, plus not every single attack revolves around Sam any more meaning the opposition can't just flood the side he's attacking, with defenders.

When I watched the highlights of Warrington there really is a big contrast in style. Nearly everything from them begins with an offload or two, sucking the opposition defense in, and then whipping it out wide. It looks far more off the cuff stuff, than the structured play that Wigan employ.

Re: Sorry to say it, but how good do Wigan look? : Tue Feb 28, 2012 1:08 pm  

SaintsFan wrote:

:roll:

Lots of Saints fans were saying the same thing at this time last year. Yet remind me, who was it that knocked Wigan out of the playoffs in 2011? And how crap were we in attack AND defence this time last season?

Get a grip!

And who knocked you out of the CC, and then want to win the final?