I don’t think I’ve posted on the Wigan board for a very long time,
When I did, it was to point out that Zak Hardaker was a risk - within days this was proven true with his drink driving incident.
I also think I commented that Mitch Clark was very poor - I notice he has moved to Gateshead today, so that’s pretty much proven to be correct too.
To be honest, I just speak the truth. In this case, having watched them every week, you’ve signed a bang average centre and a good but injury-prone back-rower. Both of whom will be seen as Powell’s favourites and his spies in the camp,

Quite content with these signings, been very much what we anticipated after the last couple months of speculation to be joining ‘Powelly’

Holmes for me will be a better running forward then Hughes, my preference would be him and Currie as our starting second rowers with Hughes/Philbin fighting it out for 13. He will give us abit more grunt and go forward on the edge, can’t say I’m the biggest fan of Hughes at second rower as he doesn’t do much going forward and just defends his off like any solid second rower should… still not convinced he’s captain material from what I’ve seen so far.

Mamo for Mata’utia is a tricky one, we will get more of a ball handling threat and a better defender then Mamo, Charnley should be getting more of the ball too. But Mamo has surprised me how good he’s gone this year at centre, his pace off the mark and willingness to try to take people on the outside has caused a lot of issues for opposition defence.

Another point to consider is that Mamo covers the wing spot pretty well, if we are losing Mamo & Lineham next year we will be light on wingers. Thewlis, Ashton and Charnley to cover the wing spots leaves us with one serious injury away from being in the mire…

You must have been watching a different Mata’utia to me this season.
Poor in defence, especially against Hull KR, Leeds and Hull FC.
He also has no ball-handling threat. He takes some decent carries and he’s pretty strong so wins collisions, but I can count on one hand the number of passes he’s made all season.

Oliver Holmes i'm buzzing with, he's been brilliant for a few seasons now, he's like Westwood in his prime. He hits like a truck in defence and attack, plays 80mins, accelerates in to a tackle and is aggressive. Exactly what we've been missing.
Mata'utia is solid and dependable with a kicking game, i've got no issue at all with him slotting in to right centre. Mamo has speed on Mata'utia and that's about it. He's not flashy but i'm happy with his signing

‘You must be watching a different’ Mamo as he hasn’t been great in defence this year either, him & Austin have been at fault for a few soft tries down our right edge this year. I’ve watch Mata’utia against us and he defend well from what I saw & one or two other games I’ve seen him play he looked solid on that right side.

Yeah he takes decent carries and runs the ball in hard which you expect from most good centres. As Mata’utia has played at half-back and full back previously on a consistent basis, he’s bound to have a better pair of hands when you compare the two when weighing up the Pros & Cons. Mamo has blistering pace, good step on him and offers a lot of enthusiasm …if you could blend the two players into one you’d have a hell of a player..

MAMA’UTIA

I reckon I’ve watched almost every Castleford game Pete Mata’utia has played in, and I can’t remember him kicking the ball once.

I wasn’t commenting on Mamo. I’ve not seen him often enough at centre to have my own opinion.
I’ve seen plenty of Mata’utia.

Well I’m comparing the two of them as right centre players. Since one is a direct replacement for the other, rather than assessing mata’utia objectively I’m simply forming a comparative between the two.

If we judge someone like a peak Inglis or Jonathan Davies as world class centres & the likes of Keith Senior or Allan Bateman as 'good' centres, then is there anyone in SL right now who isn't above the level of bang average?

I'd reckon not, so if Matautia is bang average then he'll probably be fine in the grand scheme of things.

I wouldn't know if Matautia is a better centre than Mamo, because I've only seen Mamo play at right centre a couple of times so am therefore unable to compare them.
Similarly, you didn't see Matautia's performances against Hull KR, Leeds and Hull FC this season. If you had, your comparison may be very different!

Good point - we are hardly blessed with quality players in that position across SL.
It's a shame, because there's nothing better than a destructive centre with pace, strength and the ability to create tries for the winger.