Re: Wardle : Thu Mar 30, 2023 8:16 am  

Pieman wrote:

chris mckenna, dean bell, ellery hanley.....there are literally loads

Gilmour, Wild, J Tomkins

Re: Wardle : Thu Mar 30, 2023 8:27 am  

Pieman wrote:

chris mckenna, dean bell, ellery hanley.....there are literally loads

Bell and Hanley is over 30 years ago

Re: Wardle : Thu Mar 30, 2023 8:31 am  

Itchy Arsenal wrote:

Bell and Hanley is over 30 years ago

There are literally loads though.

Very similar skill sets in the modern game too.

Phil Bailey, Isa, Tomkins, Tony Iro, at our club alone.

Tony Carroll, even Hurrell at Saints who is transitioning between the two.

Re: Wardle : Thu Mar 30, 2023 8:32 am  

stpatricks wrote:

Gilmour, Wild, J Tomkins

Gilmour is a good one. Over 20 years ago though.
Tomkins went from forward to centre in rugby union?
Don’t remember Wild playing centre but if you say he did fair do’s.
How many in the last 20 years? Isa? Not a very compelling case.

They are few and far between. I stand by that.

Re: Wardle : Thu Mar 30, 2023 8:39 am  

Not every player changes position….but when they do centre to secondrow is a fairly natural switch.

I’d say if any player swapping position centres moving to secondrow have been the most successful at transitioning.

Re: Wardle : Thu Mar 30, 2023 8:44 am  

jonh wrote:

There are literally loads though.

Very similar skill sets in the modern game too.

Phil Bailey, Isa, Tomkins, Tony Iro, at our club alone.

Tony Carroll, even Hurrell at Saints who is transitioning between the two.

Tony Iro was 30 odd years ago.
Bailey 20 odd years ago.
Tomkins played centre at union because he would never get a game in the forwards in union.
Isa not a very centre or forward. Isa for emergency centre is fine but for permanent role there……….
Tony Carroll???

The skill sets are similar in my opinion due to playing at centre with traditional skill sets is exceptionally difficult and is perhaps the most difficult position to coach.
By the way how many ball handling backrow forwards have we got or had this millennium?
Burrell should be in the forwards but just isn’t fit enough to play there.
Name me a Wigan centre who has converted to the backrow this millennium?

[Fantastic Mr Catpiss]

Re: Wardle : Thu Mar 30, 2023 8:44 am  

what you're getting back to there though is what people have been complaining about over the last 20 years, the game changing to identikit, 6ft 2 16 stone players that you can pretty put in most positions,and do a job.

Re: Wardle : Thu Mar 30, 2023 9:04 am  

Itchy Arsenal wrote:

Tomkins played centre at union because he would never get a game in the forwards in union.
Isa not a very centre or forward. Isa for emergency centre is fine but for permanent role there……….

Didn't Joel play most of the 2011 season at centre after gleeson left? The backrow was Hansen/Hoffman/O'Loughlin.
He certainly played centre in the challenge cup final, scoring one of the cup's finest tries in the process.
Isa was predominantly a centre/winger before we signed him and he's always been the first choice to cover centre.

Not Wigan but Kallum Watkins has arguably revived his career by moving in to second row for Salford.

Re: Wardle : Thu Mar 30, 2023 9:18 am  

Not sure but didnt Jack Hughes start at centre (or at least played there) then move to SR

Re: Wardle : Thu Mar 30, 2023 9:27 am  

John Bateman & Ben Currie both covered centre for club and were selected to play centre for England.