3 different coaches have continued to pick Ian Kirke to 5 GF winning rings. That's probably more of a testament, but I wouldn't have picked him in any of those teams. Or in the England team.

All SL squads have to make compromises due to the salary cap. If there was no salary cap I'm not sure McIlorum would be the starting hooker at Wigan.

I bet he would swap him in an instant though if he had a chance of having Roby. Nobody in their right mind would take McIllorum over Roby in a straight option deal.

And this New Zeland side is far bigger, stronger, and much superior to the injury ravaged side that toured back then.

Burrow is a few years older, and a more known quantity, which makes him easier to handle than back then.

McIlorum played against Lunt in the play offs and played the 80 mins. Lunt was off the field from 15 mins to 65th minute. Hudds pack were overpowered and out played.
Against Leeds in the play off game McIlorum played the 80. Burrow who played at 9 and the Leeds pack were over powered and out played.
Grand Final, Wire played Monaghan and Higham against McIlorum who played the 80 mins. The Wire 9s were anonymous and McIlorum was in consideration for MOM.
It is obvious that McIlorum fits very well into Wigan's well structured and disciplined game plan with Green/Smith at first receiver. He obviously doesn't fit so well into McNamara's shambles of a team.
McIlorum will be in the England set up long after McNamara has gone.

Another buffoon who believes that just because a team won it therefore means that each individual outplayed their opposite number.

I'm surprised you didn't mention the 2010 Grand Final when McIlorum "owned" Roby.

Wigan fans really are a different breed.

GF that Wigan were so dominate in, Wire winning first half, and had the most unfortunate list of injuries in that first half that they simply couldn't carry into the next 40 minutes.

Besides if a player say, received MoM in all 27 rounds and then had a bad playoff, would that mean he was garbage?

Should we have had Goulding, Thornley and Smith in the team because they played in GF winning side?

If Dudson had received MoM should we look to stealing him off Wales to replace one of the Burgess lads?

Yed, I think you have hit the nail on the head. There's quite a few very, very good but not truly outstanding players there but add them together and work to their strengths as well as a controlled game plan and you have an excellent Wigan side. Played to the strength of the sum of the parts within and they dominated the game last year with all the silverware.

FWIW I agree with the Wigan poster that McNamara has a big part in this. He hasn't got the best out of the players as his plan is what he has come up with and they can't adapt to it in which case McNamara needs to look at what he has got and evolve the team to get the best out of the sum of the parts (doesn't help having no true half backs though and whilst I admire Sinfield greatly I don't believe for a minute he is an international class half back and the less said about the random hothead lunatic at six the better).

Burrow should have played number 7 all through the tournament. Personally I would have picked partnerships that play together for there respected club sides. Id have picked Maguire and Burrow 6 and 7, Goulding and Charnley together, and even Watkins and Hall although they play opposite sides for Leeds, they would still have a good understanding of eachother.

The hooker debate, im biased, but personally I see what McIlorum does for us every week, for the last 3 seasons he has been outstanding, he's a hard worker and very underrated as rugby player, people dont realise just how much he contributes to Wigans attack, not just the defensive side of the game. Id start him with Roby off the bench, and Burrow at 7.

I'm one of McGuires biggest fans but to suggest he should be England's starting 6 is crazy, he's only just come back from a broken leg and still only looked half fit when he returned.

My mistake, I had genuinely forgot he had been injured.

I still stand by the other 2 partnerships and Burrow at 7.

The defensive side of the his game where he is 2nd highest in the list of missed tackles?

Strange how many underrated players save all their best games for private viewings of their own fans when the cameras aren't there.

If your playing hooker for 80 minutes and most weeks are in the top 3 tackle makers, your bound to miss some, if your so big on stats have a look at his tackles to missed tackles percentage. He makes a huge amount of tackles every week.

Get over it, you really hate the bloke dont you? Or is it Wigan's very shiny trophy cabinet still keeping you up at night in cold sweats that is upsetting you?

Mainly final's ours actually. Hardly a private viewing