Quote: Rogues Gallery "I'd just like to say how well Catalan played. They were crash hot and almost everything that they did came off. Yes, Wigan were poor but that shouldn't detract from the Catalan performance. Sometimes you get games like that and have to take it on the chin. What will be interesting is how the players (and coaching staff) react come Saturday.
If I was Wane I would call the senior players (O'Loughlin, Smith, Tomkins, McIlorum etc) into a meeting and just say to them, I'll give you a couple of hours with the rest of the team, then come back and tell me what you thought went wrong, and how you think it can be fixed.
Wane will have watched the video and no doubt have his own ideas, including his own team selection.
Once that's out of the way and they've all had their say, they can start planning for Leeds.'"
A large part of the fault lies with the senior players, in my view. On the whole they're an uninspiring bunch. Yes, they can all run white-hot on their day, but in potentially very tough fixtures where there isn't the kind of fanfare you get against Saints, Leeds etc - Cas away and Cats away are classic examples - there isn't even a hint of the lead-from-the-front heroics we used to see from the likes of Ellery Hanley, Andy Farrell, etc. I know that's comparing average-to-okay players with world class stars, so it may not be a fair analysis, but it seems to me that the likes of Joel, Mickey Mac, Matty Smith and now even Lockers, who is surely ready to retire, can be as underwhelming as everyone else when the chips are down. It's little wonder the junior players are intimidated in these fixtures when their so-called leaders offer so little.
As for Shaun Wane. He isn't the guy missing tackles and giving stupid penalties away, but the buck still stops with him and he now faces a big test, with three fixtures looming that will either make or break our season. I can't see the man upstairs acting to sack him quickly - realistically, who he does he replace him with at such short notice? But if we find ourselves out of the running for a trophy before the season even ends, I reckon action will be taken sooner rather than later.
And if I read one more post about Sarginson wanting to go to Rugby Union or Hampshire refusing to sign a contract, I'll blow my top. Sarge can go now for all the use he is in the defensive line, and Hampshire - who's shown no more than glimmers of the talent that had folk raving about him at junior level - has so much more to do to prove that he's even worthy of a Wigan shirt. I don't blame him totally - he's young and confidence will be a big issue for him. I wouldn't want to lose Hampshire, but the club can't be held to ransom by a kid whose ego is maybe larger than his ability.
