Wot he said ^^^

Langer
M.Monaghan
Hodgson

are the best 3, seriously I've been comparing them for the whole day.

M Monaghan
Hodgson
Langer
King
J Monaghan
Hicks
Kohe-Love
Nutley
Fa'fili
Farrah
Vagana
Waterhouse
Nikau
L Anderson
Gee

Pretty much in that order

How can anyone rate Johns as one of our best signings? He played a few games and we didn't even win them all. He comes up time and time again for people listing our best signings.

Biggest name, maybe. Best signing. Never in a million years.

I always really liked Nathan Wood.

Christ Hicks was great for us.

Matt King was immense for a couple of years at centre.

But Mighael Monaghan has been a fantastic player for us and he's be my number one.

So, two others from the first three as well as MMonaghan.

I assume your alluding to me.
Where did I say he was our "best" signing?

The title thread says top signings....
I based my selection not strictly to playing ability as many have, but on impact of the question which specifically says top signing.

So to expand.
Langer and Johns raised our profile in the international realm of rugby league. News crews from all around the world were suddenly interested in a towns rugby team from a place they had very likely never even heard of. A time when Australia probably only knew the name Wigan.

Tony Smith because during his reign Warrington Wolves have become a force domestically when many people around the country thought Warrington was in either Liverpool or Manchester.

There haven't been too many signings ever in our club or that have made that much impact off the field as opposed to what goes on it.

Tony Smith
Mighael Monaghan
Matt King

Rauhihi
Lima
Leikvoll

Perhaps fitting company for Roy ?

This is really really tough to narrow down some cracking players of past and present.
Mine would be in no particular order would be...

1, Joe Joe Joe Joe Joe Joe Monaghan
2, MICHAEL!! MICHAEL!!! Monaghan
3, Nat Wood.

What was wrong with leikvoll apart from being slow?? He played far more good games for us than nikau ever did. Bar one semi nikau was abysmal. Farrar also vastly overrated during his time at wire. I like Christ hicks...he deserves the title!

Really tough.

Langer was superb and would have been utter untouchable in the wires teams of the last few years
Vagana was also fantastic - I remember him dismantling Wigan on his own at Wilderspool.
Nutley, utterly dependable - a westwood-esque machine in a team of lightweights
Henare was probably the fastest player I've seen, possibly except Drummond - shame he was a lunatic

Still, in terms of contribution, value for money and entertainment I'll go with :

M.Monas
A.Langer
M.King

1. Spider
2.Nutley
3. Henare

Everyone of those had me screaming until i was ho. SO exciting to watch.

Does anyone remember that Saints game at Wilderspool where Darren Albert and Henare basically had a try-fest, and both seemed to be trying to outdo each other for long-range. spectacular wing-play?

We lost (twas Saints, pre TS after all) but god, it was a wonderful match, a thrilling night and there was some brilliant tries. I think Jon Roper also had a blinder, but I might be wrong in that.

My clearest memory is watching his belt someone from bradford in slow mo on the big screen. Not unlike the fight last night.

I think nostalgia is playing tricks with you a bit, Darren Albert was still at Newcastle Knights back then, you may be confusing him with Danny Arnold.

That was the day I left school. Had to miss a leavers party because of it but it was well worth it. We lost by a point, but there were some superb tries on show. This was only about 4 months after we'd got beat 80-0 by them so it felt reassuring (although a false dawn!) that we actually could match Saints. Toa Kohe-Love scored a great try and Henare went the length of the field from a scrum on our own line. If I remember right, Henare went the length twice that day, but the other time, Prescott cut him off and took him into the corner. Roper got a length of the field try as well. Saints had been attacking our line at the Railway end and Roper picked off an interception and went on a diagonal to the opposite corner. On the TV you could see he had blood running down off his nose.

Although we had lost I remember at the time the mood at Warrington was quite positive, that we had a golden generation of the best young players in SL: Harris, Sculthorpe, Kohe-Love, Roper and Penny. Plus Henare for those brief few months in summer 1996 was untouchable, a complete headcase but he had genuine explosive pace and power. The next year he was just not as fit and never as quick again.