Pretty sure he started at saints away as well. Seem to remember him putting the almighty walmsley on his backside with the first run of the match.

Could go either way this move. It either gives your pack a boost early doors and you get on top in games. Or the opposition matches your opening salvo and you are left very exposed as it leaves you with a weak bench. The sapping first stint could well take the energy and impact away from Philbin and there's not much left after that.

I wanted another experienced mainstay prop to complement Cooper and Mulhern, allowing Phibin to continue from the bench. However, Cas fans probably felt the same about Powell not replacing Daryl Clark when he left for Warrington. They wanted a decent established hooker and got McShane instead. Didn't work out too badly in the end though.

I'm prepared to give Powell a year to prove Philbn as a starting prop if that is indeed his plan. I gave Price 3 years to prove he could fix our attack, so I'm a hypocrite if I start judging Powell before a ball is kicked!

[*


I'm wondering/hoping that bullock will be a pleasant surprise.

While he's not played much this year, that's probably down to Adrian lam being bat crazy and insisting on playing the young props, and not his senior shirt holders for whatever reason.

I'm sure he'd done alright in 2019 and 2020 previously.

He ain't gonna be chilly, but he might be a lot better than we expect

Hopefully Rob Butler might start to recreate some of his London form too

INOUT
I think Bullock will hit top Form under Powell, and yeah if we can get Butler back to fitness and form i think we're looking good in the forwards, just prop depth isn't great.

Bullock seems to have all the attributes to be a quality prop; size, good footwork, strength and power, he just seems to lack the belief and aggression from what I've seen.

Some of my Wigan relatives have said the same

Unless they've kayfabe'd his stats, apparently he's the same height and a bit lighter than walmsley.

The eyeball test wouldn't support that, him not running his size would also support that.

I think he’ll go well under Powell. He seems the type who needs a coach to put an arm round him and build his confidence, rather than a coach who couldn’t get the best out of anyone and was just happy to pick props who’ll try hard, even if it meant sticking a full pack of juniors in the 17.

There’s no doubt he lacks aggression and seems to lack a bit of confidence/belief but in terms of physical attributes, he’s got everything you’d want really. I can’t think there would be many props quicker than Bullock and he’s a huge bloke, so when you combine that, it’s an impressive base. I’m not sure he will ever have the personality/mindset to be be as good as he should be but I still think under the right coach he’ll be extremely handy.

I always like Nickys posts.
I don't always agree - as you'd expect - but I do find them thought provoking and insightful.
Respect.

Just going back to my point on the other page, how did he go 2019 and 2020? I was thinking he had done a part year under wane, but he's always been under lam,