I think people need to cool down.

That was a great game and I simply don't know how anyone can go into details of how any player was this good or that bad. It was intense and brutal at times. Every player gave 100% and did his very best to serve up the best they could for their club, fans and themselves.
Sadly the pitch ruled out any chance of playing good open fast Rugby.
Players made plenty mistakes due to the opposition's pressure and the under foot conditions.

As for the return fixture, injuries will play a part again both prior to the game and during it.
From a Wigan POV, we will have Charnley, Thornley & Powell back in the backs. With Crosby, Flower and O'Loughlin in the forwards. As for who will be out injured then, who knows.
It will be a dry fast pitch which should suit Wigan's back three of Hampshire, Charnley & Burgess, all who have blistering pace. It can't be emphasised enough how much O'Loughlin is missed and that win yesterday was an excellent win in view of his absence.

If anything turned the game Wigan's way it was probably the miss count after the 5th tackle when Richards was tackled. I put that down to fatigue both mental and physical as you'd been running with 15 from the second half. Two interchanges down and it told. A quick ptb and your right defence was caught short with the quick kick and a very fast winger.
A remarkably evenly matched game won with just two tries to one!

Let's hear it then ?

I truly felt sorry for Richards, he looked awful - really nervous for some reason?
I don't think he would have played many minutes without the two injuries.

If we keep on getting two bad injuries per game then in another 5 games we will have none of our first choice teams and will be dipping into the 19's or the lower leagues.
Can't believe such awful luck this season (again).

He had a off day didn't he? Players have them, let's hope he bounces back on Monday

SP here's some interesting stats. I know you are big Burns fan, but in the games Williams has played at #6 this year he has scored more tries, same number of assists, made more metres, made more tackles, missed fewer tackles, given fewer penalties and made fewer errors than Burns. He's also made more clean breaks and more tackle busts.
Williams is doing o.k. not brilliant bit learning on the job. At least Wane will give our young halves a chance.

I have to laugh when some Saints fans ask what Wigan would do if they had both halves out. Well they could put the England Knights havles from 2013 in there couldn't they
or play Hampshire at #6?

I am a big Burns fan and he's done well for us but he's not able to play his normal game at the moment as he's playing more as a ball player. He likes to take the line on more and I feel that's when he's at his best.

He's had no 7 with him yet but when Walsh is back ( im hearing next week) I think we will see the real travis Burns. It's just a shame we have to wait until burns is back now to get them on field togeher.

With walsh having no luck, I've a feeling we may never see them on the field together.

It's Matty Smith we need more from. He's whole hearted and looking at the passion displayed by him during the game on Friday was fantastic but he's off colour. His decision making close to the opposition line has been ordinary. He can and will play better soon enough and like the whole side there's more to come.

As for Williams I've said all season I think he's been good. He's a running threat, he's tough in defence and he's come up with some big plays whilst kicking close to the opposition line. His decision making needs to be a bit clearer and quicker at times but it'll come.

When Wigan's young halves have actually accomplished a corpus of success that is beyond dispute then and only then will they have "made it". Until that point they are just another Lee Gaskell or Tommy Lee or Ducky O'Donnell waiting to happen.

I can count the number of great British halves produced in the last twenty five years on one hand. Which means one or both are far more likely to fail miserably than succeed.

You don't have spout some shee-ite don't you! Does that only apply to Wigan or is Percival 'far more likely to fail' given the dearth of class British centres we produce? Each person is an individual and should be judged as such. Edwards was no less likely to succeed just because Gregory was good. Burrows no less likely to 'make it' because he had McGuire at the same club. Sean Long didn't fall away because Tommy Martin played alongside him. I thought SLS was the biggest idiot on these boards but I've got to say you've been giving him a real run for his money recently. Get some perspective. Not everything Saints is to be talked up and everything Wigan talked down. There's good and bad at both clubs.

Btw I must have missed your big forwards steamrollering ours on Friday.

You missed our big best pack in super league steam rolling hull FC as well.

He's still here !

Are you going to tell me again how Walmsley wouldn't make the Wigan side over the brilliance of Clubb, Tautai, Patrick, Mossop etc again ? Please, since you're here again, explain. I've been laughing since you wrote it !

I wouldn't particularly look at Stats to sum up Burns's contribution. Throughout our winning start, despite Wilkin starring in the highlights reel with more assists, its was Burns's game head that was moving us round the pitch so well. He's a very astute player and a very good signing for us.

Let me guess - is the answer that you'd be even worse than you already are with your first choice halves?

I know I said I wouldn't and it's a complete waste of time even bothering but what the hey!

Do you mean where I said: "You might think he'd get in ahead of some of those, and you might be right"

I actually said I thought Walmsley would get game time in the Wigan side and that Amor was a shoe in for a starting place but don't let that stop you. That was based on last year's form btw. On this year's form I would reverse that and have been quite open in saying so. Walmsley continues to make strides and is establishing himself as one of the top props in SL and can't be far off England selection. Indeed you may remember my quote from the same discussion; "he has all the attributes to go on and be a top class prop and I hope he fulfils his undoubted potential".

I know what sort of poster you are and I really can't be bothered with your sort. Life's too short. I was attempting to have a reasonable discussion as you can with the likes of Pete, FTV, YG, Offside monkey etc. but I soon realised talking to you was akin to talking to a 5 year old so I quickly stopped. I've had no real reason to change my view as it's quite obvious you're of the 'Saints good, Wigan bad' school of limited posting and I can't see that changing anytime soon.

For what it's worth the Walmsley of last season showed all the promise you could ask for of a young Prop. In fact he stood toe to toe with the best in the league but it's also true to say that he played short minutes for much of the season and his defence wasn't his best suit and not even close to the Wigan Lads (not that it was bad, before you start quoting that I said it was!). When I compared him to Flower, Clubb and Taylor it was in the context of how the Wigan pack operates and I said he wouldn't (last season) of 'walked into' the side ahead of those players as you claimed. That is still a fair comment whether you agree with it or not. In all honesty I don't think much has changed from last season other than the positions of Walmsley and Amor have reversed. Walmsley would now be a 'shoe in' for the 17 of a mixed Saints/Wigan Pack but, on present form Amor wouldn't walk in ahead of Mossop and Clubb (Obviously I can't comment on Flower!) but would still be in the reckoning. Again, that's a fair comment whether you agree with it or not.

The fact is I never compared him to Patrick and Tautai as well you know. I merely mentioned that we'd added them for this season and that they were in the Wane mould. As it goes neither is in the same class as Walmsley but, as I never said they were, I'm not sure what relevance that has.

Just as an aside, I see you're very quick at misquoting people and holding it up to ridicule yet you never seem to hold your own pronouncements up to the same scrutiny. What happened to your pack steamrollering ours as you promised it would? We were our two best packmen down and yet you failed comprehensively to do it. Even allowing for the loss of Greenwood (who did similar similar minutes to Tautai anyway) you had the majority of your first choice pack out on the park. Surely, given we can't possibly live with you at full strength, let alone with players missing, and your assertion that Mossop and Clubb aren't a patch on your lads it should have been a rout in the forwards? Same against Hull KR who had a makeshift pack...what happened? Hull? Is there a possibility you could actually be wrong in thinking your pack is all but unbeatable? God forbid, hey?

Anyway, I guess I've wasted enough time. You're not really worth discussing things with and there are far better people to chat with on these boards so I'll take my leave, once again, with a final quote from that previous conversation: "Like I say, I have no problem with you championing Walmsley; I agree with much of what you say about him. But to say he's better than Flower, Taylor and Clubb is just opinion. Only if he played for the same team in the same systems and then, and only then, boast better stats would that cease to be the case." I still fail to see how that is an unreasonable statement. You may or may not agree with it. That's your prerogative. But whether you like it or not it's a perfectly valid point of view. Walmsley is a good player. However, only a one-eyed moron would suggest the others aren't too.