Your right there pal. Broughy is injured and hasnt played this season

Briers is the enigma. We won't win anything with him, but we won't win anything without him.

We have 2 main problems over the last 2 games. Crap defence on the left, and the inability to score second half (except for blah blah).

Move briers back to the right & re-establish the link with gleeson. For a couple of years now it's been our best weapon. Gleeson's in the shop window fror the NRL next year. He'd love to be knocking in tries for fun again & sticking his winger in for a bucketful.

Put your best defending half on the side where the defence is weak.

Failing that sack Monas, King & Gleeson off at the end of the year & pay through the nose for Yeaman, Deacon & a top Aussie centre.

i can't work lee briers out. sometimes he is pure genius, and he carried the club through some very depressing times almost single handedly. his defence has oft been lamented. he can tackle, but he needs some help. i don't know whether trainers have worked on his defence, i asume they have but some just haven't got the knack of defending. it does take some balls to tackle a james graham one on one when you are half the size. however, his ball in hand play used to be what he was all about. his 40/20's. his drop goals when games are tight. he is a match winner, and a game breaker.
i think relieving him of the captaincy was a logical move. it gave him a chance to concentrate on his play. this isn't what has happened though. it now appears he has been relieved of most of the reponsibility he's gained over 8 years. hicks kicks. mona's (occasionally) directs operations. i think he feels he's under used. perhaps he used to thrive on the responsibility. he took an awful lot of pressure on his shoulders, and now he has virtually nothing.
for a player who's given the vast majority of his career to us, i have never gottten that feeling of love from the fans that they had for some other players. he is as somone quite rightly stated an enigma. he's a so very nearly man. he could have been one of the best, but i fear he will be remembered for what could have been, as he has no medals or individual honours to look back on. he'll look at the world cup semi, the leeds play off game etc, and say "there could have been so much more, but....." and for this reason, i think this has to be his last season with us. he's tried his best, in some seasons given his all, but i don't think his heart is in it anymore, and as good a player as he can be, i think its best for all if he has one final hurrah else where.

........and if he does, i am in no doubt he will produce the sort of game we know he can and come back to haunt us.

This thread has inspired me to dig out my 2005 away jersey to wear on Friday (if it still fits). In a desperate juvenille act, in some feint hope of recapturing my childhood, I had it printed 'Briers 6', like all the cool kids with their 'Nat Wood 7', or the girls and their 'Bad Boy Bridgey 25', etc etc. It was - and remains - the only time in my life I have ever had a Rugby shirt printed with a player's name and number.

We have never replaced Nat Wood (for all his detractors on here). Pretty much responsible for a large number of the best moments at the HJ.

Johns' debut aside, I can't think of any.

All the Wigan @ home games, first game against Wakefield, Hull at home.

I'm still waiting for paratroopers to drop into the stadium with pizza

Yeah, you're forgetting all the comedy, GDMM.
Cheer up, you old bugger.