you obviously know jack about rugby league

I... um.. what?

My only hope is that you don't watch many live games and you've based your whole post off stats on the SL website. And even that is unbelievably stupid.

just a few points - where did i say lockers wouldnt be a loss ? ive stated that his form this season hasnt been SPECIAL. he's been solid, reliable and does all the things we expect of him (but he's been making more mistakes than normal), and I honestly wouldnt say he has been as inspirational as he has been in the last couple of years. i wouldnt be at all surpised if hes not been 100% fit all season. because of this, i believe that the team will benefit at the end of the year by having him rested and fully fit.
greg burke's form has been such that he is a capable deputy that he has been NEARLY AS GOOD AS lockers this season. (hence the statement that the team will NOT BE MUCH WEAKER)

as for the captaincy statement, ive watched the team enough to see that the player who gives us the lift/energy/motivation when we look jaded has been Sam. therefore, so long as he is in the team, we can cope without lockers (as we have done in the 4 games he has missed this year). Lets face it, Sam is far and away the best player in the league.

please point out where i said that lockers was poor ? i have said that this season, the quality of the other players in the team has meant that lockers really isnt head and shoulders above the rest of the pack, as has been the case in recent seasons. in the last couple of season lockers would have been in the running for MoS. This year, I would say he's not even in our top 4 players (sam, green, faz, micky). That doesnt mean he is a bad player - just not at the heights he has previously scaled.

please dont read things into my posts that are not there.

Err....what game do you watch? Lockers has been consistently mentioned as a Man of Steel candidate throughout the year by both fans and pundits alike. Most recently, just prior to his injury, on the Superleague show where Ian Millward lauded him as one of the most complete players in Superleague and the man who makes Wigan tick. It was, interestingly enough, in relation to one of your 'top four' picks, Faz, where he pointed out that, as well as Faz was playing, he wasn't as important to the then rampant Wigan team as SOL. He then went on to say that he is undoubtedly a front runner for this years Man of Steel. That was a couple of weeks ago. Talk about short/selective memory!

I understand that some people (and I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt by including yourself in this) can't see 'past the flash' and don't always understand true worth. However, in this instance, that's not really an excuse. SOL has quite simply been the cornerstone of this team this season. Even posters like BK and DaveO, not normally known for their unequivocal support of Lockers, have made comment on that this season. Frankly you'd have to be an idiot (apologies for the implied insult) not to see that. With all due respect to Greg Burke, and as good a player/prospect as I believe him to be, to say that a newly promoted squad player making his way in he game is ''NEARLY AS GOOD AS'' England and Great Britain international, club captain and universally regarded MOS candidate Sean O'Loughlin shows, in my opinion, the level of your insight here.

Oh, and for the record, I'm not reading things into your post. Your opinion was set out for all to see and comment on. I merely did exactly that.

Jeff Lima was asked who was the best player he had ever played with. His answer was "Sean O'Loughlin"