RLBandit wrote:
This running story about Wigan's tactics, if true, ought to be backed up by some statistics. Do Wigan get more Red and Yellow cards? Do teams statistically suffer more injuries against Wigan? I genuinely have no idea. If the answer is yes, you may have a point. Some 'anorak' (meant in the nicest possible way, I promise) might be able to dig these numbers out?
Statistics don't necessarily tell the story though do they? I mean does the fact that Bowen went unsuspended for his incredibly late swinging arm head shot in the first match of the season mean that it didn't happen? Do the late cheap shots to the backs of half backs by many Wigan players, but Flower, Dudson and McIllorum especially not count because for some reason it's not deemed a yellow card offence? Is it alright for a third or fourth tackler to go full bore into the ribs or legs of a restrained opponent incapable of bracing or protecting themselves because Wigan players themselves have ensured that the tackle is not yet completed by holding the guy up and technically it's not illegal?
No doubt you'll respond with an argument that all of these things are offences committed by all teams, and to a degree that's correct, but they seem to happen around Wigan an awful lot.
There might not be an obsession at Wigan about setting a world record for how slowly you can peel off a tackle, and there might not be a scorecard kept for how many half backs they can rattle by deliberately hitting them late and from the back, or one where you get extra points for being third man in and doing a bit of damage. These might not be what Wigan are all about and everyone who questions their tactics might be wrong, but maybe, just maybe, everyone else is right and Wigan's approach to the game has gone beyond aggressive defence and into the realm of 'the dark arts' and therefore no-one should really be surprised when one of the hitmen steps outside the very flimsy boundaries set within the club.
