Re: Wigan v Sts discussion - THIS THREAD ONLY PLEASE : Thu Nov 21, 2024 1:42 am  

The Saints squad is made up of two parts. Aging players several whom seemed past their best, and some young players looking to make the grade. I think there are around a dozen who are over 30

Re: Wigan v Sts discussion - THIS THREAD ONLY PLEASE : Thu Dec 19, 2024 9:15 am  

Thought I would resurrect this thread but for a Wigan question. What are your predictions for next year? Obviously you are the team to beat and if I was a Wigan fan I would be feeling really confident but what are your expectations?

Will the Vegas trip have an effect later in the year? If you go far in the CC will that have an effect on the Grand Final? Naturally injuries are a huge factor and if you lost the likes of Smith and French at the same time, it would be an issue all be it Farrimond would come in who is a generational talent.

I think you'll win the GF again but not the CC is my opinion.

Re: Wigan v Sts discussion - THIS THREAD ONLY PLEASE : Thu Dec 19, 2024 12:21 pm  

A repeat of this year where we win everything in sight is 99% not gonna happen. We'll be in the mix for it all of course, but if I had to guess I'd say we'll probably win one of CC or GF and finish 1st or 2nd in SL.

I expect Hull KR to finally get their hands on a trophy in 2025. Wouldn't surprise me if they got LLS plus a CC or GF

For Vegas, Wire are a good team but I think we'll be well up for that and treat it like a GF. If we've got a full team I reckon we'll win by 12+

Re: Wigan v Sts discussion - THIS THREAD ONLY PLEASE : Thu Dec 19, 2024 12:59 pm  

Vegas will be less of an issue than the WCC so I don't see it as an issue, travelling apart. I think we have found our groove and based on last season the team (players, coaches, backroom staff) are able to raise their game when it matters. Obviously, every team will want to shoot Wigan down and rightly so, therefore it will be much harder than last season to win trophies. Having said that, I look at the other teams in the competition and I don't see much strengthening. I would be surprised if we didn't win the LLS, which increases our chances of winning the GF. As for the CC, much depends on the draw. Based on last season, the squad is good enough to cover injuries and suspensions, our young guys have a lot more experience under their belt and I expect them to be pushing for starting berths.

How do you rate Saints chances Stu?

Re: Wigan v Sts discussion - THIS THREAD ONLY PLEASE : Thu Dec 19, 2024 1:33 pm  

Zig wrote:

How do you rate Saints chances Stu?

Lots of moving parts to consider. I have a good feeling about Sailor, he has come over here with a great attitude, seems settled already and wants to prove a point. I think he will give us a bit of X factor that only really Welsby has given us before.

Feldt will go well, strong carries, sound defensively and will finish tries. If Murphy can stay fit then he will be a good signing too. I also think the new assistants have definitely provided some freshness and from interviews I've seen with some of the players, they do seem enthused with the coaching changes and intensity. Briers has a big job on with the attack but if he can get Welsby and Sailor linking well with Murphy and Feldt as finishers, we will go ok.

Those are the positives.

The negatives are that we are still short at centre- two really. Percival is quality on his day but injury prone now. Hurrell is a liability defensively and now a year older and coming off the back of a big injury. I can't believe he has been given another year.

We are still short of a quality 7 as Lomax is nowhere near the player he was. We are still short of props too and are hoping that Walmsley can stay fit and provide a couple of 15 min spells and that Paasi comes back better and fitter than last season. If we can get limited minutes out of those two then with Lees, Stephens and Delaney we will go ok. It's a big if though and I can see Walmsley still suffering with injuries.

Batchelor was woeful last season and needs a big year, so too Whitley. We do still have quality in the likes of Clark and Knowles but we are relying on a relatively low number of injuries. Last season killed us in that we had half the year with lots of forwards missing and the second half of the season, the forwards came back and the backs were injured.

I'm predicting a top 4 finish but no pots. Maybe a CC if the draw goes well and Wigan go out.

The fact is we have a Head Coach overseeing everything who is not good enough.

Re: Wigan v Sts discussion - THIS THREAD ONLY PLEASE : Thu Dec 19, 2024 8:42 pm  

Saints pack got pretty much dog walked by everyone bar London and Hull. The pack is also weaker the coming season. They will scrape 5th or 6th.

I can really see Wigan doing the treble again. They are so far ahead of everyone else it’s embarassing

Re: Wigan v Sts discussion - THIS THREAD ONLY PLEASE : Fri Dec 20, 2024 12:33 am  

Stu M wrote:

Lots of moving parts to consider. I have a good feeling about Sailor, he has come over here with a great attitude, seems settled already and wants to prove a point. I think he will give us a bit of X factor that only really Welsby has given us before.

Feldt will go well, strong carries, sound defensively and will finish tries. If Murphy can stay fit then he will be a good signing too. I also think the new assistants have definitely provided some freshness and from interviews I've seen with some of the players, they do seem enthused with the coaching changes and intensity. Briers has a big job on with the attack but if he can get Welsby and Sailor linking well with Murphy and Feldt as finishers, we will go ok.

Those are the positives.

The negatives are that we are still short at centre- two really. Percival is quality on his day but injury prone now. Hurrell is a liability defensively and now a year older and coming off the back of a big injury. I can't believe he has been given another year.

We are still short of a quality 7 as Lomax is nowhere near the player he was. We are still short of props too and are hoping that Walmsley can stay fit and provide a couple of 15 min spells and that Paasi comes back better and fitter than last season. If we can get limited minutes out of those two then with Lees, Stephens and Delaney we will go ok. It's a big if though and I can see Walmsley still suffering with injuries.

Batchelor was woeful last season and needs a big year, so too Whitley. We do still have quality in the likes of Clark and Knowles but we are relying on a relatively low number of injuries. Last season killed us in that we had half the year with lots of forwards missing and the second half of the season, the forwards came back and the backs were injured.

I'm predicting a top 4 finish but no pots. Maybe a CC if the draw goes well and Wigan go out.

The fact is we have a Head Coach overseeing everything who is not good enough.

Thanks Stu, on the whole I agree with your synopsis. What’s your take on having 18 players out of contract at the end of next season? There appears to have been some inept planning. The biggest concern should be Knowles and Lees being able to speak to rival clubs.

Re: Wigan v Sts discussion - THIS THREAD ONLY PLEASE : Fri Dec 20, 2024 1:40 am  

Stu's assessment of Saints is pretty much my own view although I will add that I've seen some Saints fans saying "if we have better luck with injuries" and similar and I genuinely don't think that's a possibility. Although there's always an element of luck there's a law of diminishing returns when you (re)sign injury prone players. Saints have too many of those. I see similar to last year, or maybe a touch better, on the injury front but not enough to make a significant difference.

For Wigan I think we'll go well again but unlikely to match last year's heroics simply because we'll be competing on all fronts again. We did well to get our spine (O'Neil excepted) back in harness when it mattered and I don't think that's something that you can count on most years. Vegas will have an effect too. I'll go for another trophy and there or thereabouts in the others. That said, I wouldn't put it past this lot to raise their game again.

Like most Wigan fans I'm looking forward to the season again and that in itself is something to be happy about.

Re: Wigan v Sts discussion - THIS THREAD ONLY PLEASE : Fri Dec 20, 2024 9:01 am  

Phuzzy wrote:

Stu's assessment of Saints is pretty much my own view although I will add that I've seen some Saints fans saying "if we have better luck with injuries" and similar and I genuinely don't think that's a possibility. Although there's always an element of luck there's a law of diminishing returns when you (re)sign injury prone players. Saints have too many of those. I see similar to last year, or maybe a touch better, on the injury front but not enough to make a significant difference.

For Wigan I think we'll go well again but unlikely to match last year's heroics simply because we'll be competing on all fronts again. We did well to get our spine (O'Neil excepted) back in harness when it mattered and I don't think that's something that you can count on most years. Vegas will have an effect too. I'll go for another trophy and there or thereabouts in the others. That said, I wouldn't put it past this lot to raise their game again.

Like most Wigan fans I'm looking forward to the season again and that in itself is something to be happy about.

i think the good thing about Wigan, despite the success last year, is that we will still have some young hungry players who perhaps werent part of that (yes they were squad members, but maybe didnt play as much as they wanted). So the likes of Hill, Walters, Farrimond and O'Neill (through injury) should all be keen to show what they can do and win medals, and i think that'll keep pushing us through

as most say, i cant see another clean sweep, but we'll be there or there abouts when it matters

Re: Wigan v Sts discussion - THIS THREAD ONLY PLEASE : Fri Dec 20, 2024 9:06 am  

Phuzzy wrote:

Stu's assessment of Saints is pretty much my own view although I will add that I've seen some Saints fans saying "if we have better luck with injuries" and similar and I genuinely don't think that's a possibility. Although there's always an element of luck there's a law of diminishing returns when you (re)sign injury prone players. Saints have too many of those. I see similar to last year, or maybe a touch better, on the injury front but not enough to make a significant difference.

For Wigan I think we'll go well again but unlikely to match last year's heroics simply because we'll be competing on all fronts again. We did well to get our spine (O'Neil excepted) back in harness when it mattered and I don't think that's something that you can count on most years. Vegas will have an effect too. I'll go for another trophy and there or thereabouts in the others. That said, I wouldn't put it past this lot to raise their game again.

Like most Wigan fans I'm looking forward to the season again and that in itself is something to be happy about.

Agree about the injuries. The relentless, physical way of playing for 3 years under Woolf is starting to show with some players. They are older and wear and tear is showing. If anything they are likely to pick up more injuries not less.

We need to start providing some energy with youth and it will be really interesting to see how Briers works with the likes of Robertson and Whitby. I'm hoping Stephens gets more game time as he was bending the line when he did play last season and has an offload on him. He needs more minutes and for his fitness too.

As for the number of players out of contract at the same time, it's exceptionally poor planning and a lack of vision. I can't understand how that's happened when for years we've been really smart with our retention and more often than not our better players have stayed.

That said there is a large number of that 18 who will leave the club and not many who I would want to keep. Knowles and Lees are the crown jewels in the pack and I'm hoping we keep both. I do have a feeling though that Lees will go to the NRL and I don't blame him. Knowles should be the next captain and money thrown at him. We are a different team with and without him. Now that he is finally over the groin injury he has been carrying for over a year, you can see how important he is.