Wire_91 wrote:its your first final in about 8 years and now you ravin and rantin about it F**k off, and ill be going old trafford tomoz cheering on the saints and ill be writing on this forum givin you loads of shi* when your drying you eyes and the wire fan will be here handing out the tissues in the thousands, thats if you do take that many fans cause now it looks like its your fans who have jumped on the band wagon now your in a final, this time last year there was only 1000 people in the jjb and now its fillin up cause youve won the league hahaha proper true supporters you are
imo, he's our 3rd prop and also capable of big minutes if Thompson or Havard are out through suspension or injury. It has shown this last season, that being stacked with props isnt the worst thing, as we've had injuries, suspensions and still been able to maintain high intensity in most games
For me Dupree, needs to step up and back to how he started off with us. We all know what Mago offers, and something different to the others, even if its only 2 * 10 min bursts, we know it can change a game
Hill is the next cab off the rank, and he may be the reason that the club decide to let Byrne move on / not offer him a big contract if it comes to that but i wouldnt be surprised if we offer him 2 + 1 in the clubs favour
Our prop rotation again is looking good for next season with Thompson, Havard, Byrne, Dupree, Mago, Hill, and then hopefully Eseh can kick on after a good pre-season with us. I'm sure we'll also see 1 or 2 from the academy get some game time too as we start to bed in the next crop of youngsters
In Matty Peet's remarks about Liam Byrne and the Hull FC rumours he stated he will will be with us until end of 2025 at least. I thought the "at least" was telling. Just gave me the impression that the club and Liam/his agent had made contact about continuing his future at Wigan.
In Matty Peet's remarks about Liam Byrne and the Hull FC rumours he stated he will will be with us until end of 2025 at least. I thought the "at least" was telling. Just gave me the impression that the club and Liam/his agent had made contact about continuing his future at Wigan.
Yeah, I got that feeling as well and personally I would like to sign him up long term. He frustrates at times because he doesn't show his best form often enough but when you really need him, in the biggest games, he never lets you down. The challenge for him now is to find consistency but it would be frustrating if that was elsewhere after Wigan had spent years developing him.
Yeah, I got that feeling as well and personally I would like to sign him up long term. He frustrates at times because he doesn't show his best form often enough but when you really need him, in the biggest games, he never lets you down. The challenge for him now is to find consistency but it would be frustrating if that was elsewhere after Wigan had spent years developing him.
But he does let us down, in big games more often than not. He gets dominated with the ball and can’t keep hold of it quite often in contact (Warrington home game first hit up). He was dropped by Peet because of his lack of impact and then probably found a place in the squad by default after what unfortunately happened to Cooper and the lack of progress from Hill. He might do some work in defence and that’s more where the argument is to keep him as a senior prop but he’s blocking the pathway for either Hill or a space in the squad to sign someone else in the future.
But he does let us down, in big games more often than not. He gets dominated with the ball and can’t keep hold of it quite often in contact (Warrington home game first hit up). He was dropped by Peet because of his lack of impact and then probably found a place in the squad by default after what unfortunately happened to Cooper and the lack of progress from Hill. He might do some work in defence and that’s more where the argument is to keep him as a senior prop but he’s blocking the pathway for either Hill or a space in the squad to sign someone else in the future.
We're probably on different definitions of 'big games' here. I'm talking about Cup semis/finals, play off games, Grand Finals and the World Club challenge. Warrington at home, in the middle of a lull for the whole squad isn't the type of game I'm referring to.
I'm the first person to get frustrated with him in the weekly rounds btw. He needs to find consistency and push himself week to week and not just wait for the type of big games I'm referring to. He's just turned 25, so now is the time for him to do that. I think he can do it and would rather that be at Wigan than elsewhere. If that's possible under the cap I don't know. In terms of him blocking Harvie Hill, I'm not sure it's just him. Dupree didn't crack any pots also (even in big games) and if Hill is good enough, he'll get past those two and claim a place.
We're probably on different definitions of 'big games' here. I'm talking about Cup semis/finals, play off games, Grand Finals and the World Club challenge. Warrington at home, in the middle of a lull for the whole squad isn't the type of game I'm referring to.
At the Grand Final he ran a fantastic line that holds Parcell up and helps create the gap that Bevan goes through for his try, I guarantee Peet will be looking at those little details, beyond the big carries and tackles. Commitment to running good lines whether your going to get the ball or not, I don't remember much of it when we were running with the likes of Clubb and Flower.
I'm glad Byrne is staying. He's got the potential to be a great forward as we all saw towards the back end of 2023 before his unfortunate injury. He's shown glimpses of it this year but he's struggled to hit those heights again. He seems to struggle with his consistency as one week he's one of the stand-out forwards, and then he becomes a liability the next week. If you compare this to Havard who is consistently good every week, it's hard to justify putting Byrne out there. The new tackle rules this year and the upcoming "below the shoulder" rules for 2025 have diminished one of the best aspects of his game: his aggressive tackling. He enters the tackle very upright, putting him at risk of conceding a penalty with the new rules.
So we are less than two weeks away from when out of contract players (at the end of the 2025 season) are allowed to be contacted by other clubs, 1st December I believe.
For Wigan these players are:
Liam Farrell, Liam Byrne, Jacob Douglas, Sam Eseh (one-year extension option), Willie Isa, Adam Keighran
Of the above do we expect all (apart from probably Willie Isa) to sign an extension?
So we are less than two weeks away from when out of contract players (at the end of the 2025 season) are allowed to be contacted by other clubs, 1st December I believe.
For Wigan these players are:
Liam Farrell, Liam Byrne, Jacob Douglas, Sam Eseh (one-year extension option), Willie Isa, Adam Keighran
Of the above do we expect all (apart from probably Willie Isa) to sign an extension?
It's going to be interesting to see how the change of date plays out. Signing over a year in advance of playing a game for a side comes with all sorts of risks and complications on both the club and the players side. A player could get a silly deal that they don't really warrant or they could sell themselves short. A club could over pay or they could nab a bargain. I could see the new owners at Hull FC throwing a couple of silly deals out for 2026.
In terms of Wigan, I think they and the players will be patient and see where we stand a couple of months in to 2025. I expect Isa retires, Faz plays year to year and the others could go either way. The most interesting one for me is Keighran and do we need to make room for Eckersley becoming a starter. Given Keighran is a fantastic goal kicker, it makes any decision even trickier.