GOB is always mentioned as not quite ready, steady but needs to influence more, this seems to be a general theme I've picked up from most of the posts I've read over the weeks.

The trouble is he's compared to the Lee Briers of today, a guy who has honed his skills to perfection, surely a better indication of how GOB is developing is to at least compare him to the Lee of yesteryear.

So how do we think Gaz is doing now?


[sizeHopes for an actual positive thread[/size

The next two years as a Briers understudy for me, which is why we need Lee to stay for a while yet.

Why has Gareth O'Brien not signed a new contract yet?

Good player but not Briers. Unfortunately most players will have a problem stepping into his boots.

Briers was 20 in 1998....I think he was better than G'OB at a comparable age but then Richard Horne at 19/20 was better than Briers at a comparable age and ended up being nowhere near Briers when both were fully developed.

I would agree with that, Briers was more 'aggressive' with ball in hand looking for gaps, although his defence was not great. He made plenty of mistakes.

Why draw a comparison at all.

Briers is Briers.

O'Brien is O'Brien.

Briers cant go on forever, we will only discover whether GOB is a suitable replacement if and when he takes over.

Lets not burden GOB with the pressure of being the man to replace Briers just yet.

Do you ever wonder if Briers having such a big burden on his shoulders and having so much pap around him actually helped develop his talent?

Many people have said that Briers would have been a GB cert if he'd have been in a better side, but with less of a burden i always wonder if he'd have become the player he is.

GOB now is able to blend in to the side as there are many players that are able to take the game by the scruff of the neck, Briers for long periods was the only one capable of doing anything so probably experimented more which helped elevate him to the level he is, probably why he's a better than Horne.

I reckon O'Brien sticks to the game plan and what he has been told to do whilst I doubt we had a gameplan when Briers was 20.

O'Brien is barely a decade from being the wrong side of thirty. One more bad game from him and we really need to start looking at new blood.

Nothing against the lad, but we need to think about continuous improvement.

Do you think? I like your attitude to continuous improvement but i think you are being harsh if you think we need to start looking for a new player after one bad game, Maybe as he aproachs 30 we might start to think how long he's got left but not now surely?

Interesting question that. I remember when Scully left for Saints there was an interview in one of the papers, (I think it might have been Scully's Dad?), saying that he had to leave us because if he'd been having to carry Warrington on his own, his body would be shattered by his mid 20s. However Briers ended up doing that and he's still going strong whereas it was Scullys body that got bust sooner. I wonder if Briers had been playing all those extra Challenge Cup rounds and internationals that he might have done had he been at Saints, whether the clock would have started ticking sooner for Briers?

I think Briers had to figure a lot out for himself and the extra responsibility will have helped him get more consistent over time, he never left Warrington but his much talked about move to a top club effectively happened when Tony Smith joined us. I think it helped that he joined a top club aged 30 rather than 22 or so as he was already the finished article ready to take advantage of what was around him.

Most people have missed the fact that Briers is one of the seemingly dying breed (in the UK at least) of half-back. One of those that is quick enough in thought to play what's in front of him and create something out of nothing. That's something that has not changed at all in him. The only other creative player like that on our books is Monas.

Niether O'Brien, Ratchford, or Myler seem to have that - and it's not something that can be coached - but can be coached out of someone (usually at junior level unfortunatly)

So back to the inital question. Briers was light-years ahead at 20. O'Brien struggles to direct a team - Briers didn't

Briers is a unique player in the British game.
The topic of how to replace Briers seems to have been something that we have discussed for years now.
The reality is that we probably won't be able to replace him because I don't believe there is another Briers out there at the moment.
There is no point comparing O'Brien, Myler or anyone else to him as they may turn into great players in their own right but they are not Briers.

Having said that though, do we need to replace Briers?
We have become so reliant on him over the years and even now with a team filled with stars we were missing his creativity on Monday night against Catalan.
But surely that is just because we have Briers and so we play a certain way and when he is not there we will have to learn to play a new way.
Wigan, Saints, Bradford and Leeds have all won numerous grand finals without a Lee Briers so do we really need a new Lee Briers?

Sometimes when you have a player who you rely on so much, you find that other players step up to the mark once they have gone.
It is not fair to compare a player to Briers when they only come in for a few games here and there but the team he is playing in is still built around the style of Briers.
You might find that once Briers is gone and the attacking style of Warrington evolves, that certain players come into their own and take control.