He did for a short time but it soon became evident he had much more to offer with ball in hand. Whilst you're probably right on the face of it regarding playing at a lower club I think the same could be said of any player. The truth is that, on the whole, players find their level. The fact that he was at Wigan at that time says less about luck than the quality of the player. You don't become an All Black by being the sort of player who would languish at a lower level.

Interesting debate about carrying a kicker btw. It's something that's often spoken about but I can't remember many examples where this has been the case. Most great kickers have also been great players. Looking at Wigan, for example, our best have been the likes of Sullivan, Farrell, Botica and Richards. Hardly the sort of player that could be said to have been carried! I'm not even sure there is a position in the modern game where a player could be hidden anyway.

Yes it wasn’t a dig at Botica, he was a legendary sportsman. Just think that his talents wouldn’t have shone through if he’d made the transition in a club in the lower half of the table.

Look at this article on NRL.com from a couple of years ago

We won a challenge cup final with Ben Westwood kicking!

My feelings too. He's playing a bit like a man keeping out of trouble. Mind you I'd rather him do that if it keeps him playing.

Yep, he has more than enough influence on the attack even without him taking on the line. If the true reason is his leg, then can’t wait for him to be fully fit. And since his celebrations of try-scoring have been questioned previously, all we need to do is have him spend some time one-on-one with the legendary Richie Mathers and he’ll be back-slapping to a world-class level in no time...

Botica wasn’t wanted by Monie when he was signed but he became an integral part of that Wigan side. He certainly wasn’t just in for his goalkicking but I’m sure it helped. He played test rugby for New Zealand in both codes. Certainly good enough too.

I happen to think Offiah took Wigan to another level as he was easily better than Preston. The Miles and Offiah partnership was the best centre/wing combo I’ve seen in nearly 40 years.

I like Sally’s post about getting a kicking coach in and also the bit about scrummaging. It couldn’t do any harm and would bring a bit of variety to play which SL is sadly lacking to this outsiders point of view.

Have a good season Wire.

Wish the full match was available somewhere... ??

I can’t find it anywhere which is a shame. Wish it could be uploaded to YT.

Haven't we done that so many times with Andrew Johns?
Lee Briers would have be present at those training programmes. LB memory can't be that bad.

Didn't Dave Aldred (sp) used to appear from time to time?

I wouldn't think that briers kick percentages were much better (if at all better) than the players who have kicked most for us this season.

Perhaps but being a mentored by AJ must at least be in his memory bank?