Your probably right, I'm just getting giddy. Johnson's obviously worked hard, but his stats don't show anything out of the ordinary in terms of go forward, unlike Emmit.

Wigan have signed Ben Cross until the end of the season. www.wigantoday.net/sport/wigan-w ... _1_3568321

Wigan have signed Ben Cross until the end of the season. www.wigantoday.net/sport/wigan-w ... _1_3568321

We've run at least two props light all season (Fielden and O'Carroll)

Prescotts done a hamstring and Coleys playing on knees that are worse than mine. The games we have struggled this season have been when we have had only three available props, so I guess it's a good short term signing.

Fileden I believe is still four to six weeks away from playing, however hopefully O'Carroll will get a game in the U20's this Saturday, but will he survive it?

What did Feilden do?
For all the talk over the years that he's "burnt out", i seem to remember him having a pretty good injury record.

Knee injury.
And you are correct I think he has only missed about ten games through injury in his time at Wigan prior to this season.

He should have been "good to go" about three weeks back but overdid it in training, trying to push himself a little too much.

He'd have had a lot of game time this season.
IMO he's gone for a short term gain,not a career progression.
I also think Saints could have done more to keep him.

He didn't know that when he made his decision. At the start of the year if you'd asked me our team and bench I'd have said:

Perry
Roby
Graham
Soliola
Flannery
Wilkin

LMS
TP
Clough
Moore

Emmitt wouldn't have got a look in. With Royce playing a back on the bench, even less so.

He made a brave decision, and it's turned out to be the right one for him. Hanging around waiting for injuries and being dropped for big games is no match for playing a leading role as far as career progression is concerned IMO.

He's made a great fist of being a front line prop at Cas and he's got the game time and plaudits that he probably felt he could achieve given the opportunity. That opportunity was unlikely to be with Saints but for injuries.

I think that five main props is what you need, our success in 2006 was based on this being true for us. Next year we will have Laffranchi, Perry, LMS, Clough which probably does leave us one short.

Maggenis is a player that is being converted into a prop but is not physically up to it yet. Puletua has shown that he is best used as a loose forward but does add a lot of size. While Frodsham and Forster have spent most of the season injured.

I think that Saints probably see Forster as the fifth prop. He is a big strong runner who would have probably broken into the team this year had he been fit during our injury crisis. He played in the u20s the other day but I doubt he will be given a run out this year but you never know.

I think we have props on the brain as we have been lacking Clough all year and Perry has only played half his games. With both fit next year and hopefully Forster making his debut our front row should not seem such an issue.

I think you're right, but probably because they have been such a weapon for us over the past 5 years. As I said before, I think a couple of my suggestions were me getting giddy and overthinking.

Assuming the wheels have fallen of Frodsham, I beleive the club must think that someone in the reserves will be able to fill in next year if we need an extra prop. That, or we'll sign someone to fill a gap.

Forster, Magennis, Ashurst, Dixon and Hale all played in your U20 side at Wakefield over the weekend.

And we lost

Ashurst and Dixon aren't good enough and never will be. I still think Magennis could be a useful SL player with a bit more work.

Haven't seen enough of Hale/Forster to form an opinion.

Wigan, noticing they're struggling in a dept, sign a player as cover? Bloody hell, Saints should be looking at this revelatory approach.

But there's a few "fans" having a moan about it on the Wigan site!! Sometimes I wonder what goes on in their heads.

They will soon change there opinion if he has a good few months for you.