Just shows how far Wigan have fallen from grace when a loss pleases their coach so much.

The post is clearly to get a few bites from Wire fans but we've got to be sensible about it. Where and how would you fit Harrison and Laithwaite in your side? You'd have to be telling me you're dropping two of Currie, Hughes, Westwood or Westerman and you clearly ain't doing that. If you're saying you could put Harrison at prop then you'd be selecting him ahead of Hill, Simms or Cox and again that won't be happening.

If everyone was available for Wire Dwyer would have been in possibly for Ratchford (or for Evans with Ratchford at centre) and Dodds would probably be in for King. Tell me anything else and you're telling porky pies!

As for the in game injuries, I blame the RFL for Sandows. We also lost the our best player who's our captain and the England captain. Swings and roundabouts on that score.

As I've already posted there's far bigger and better games to come which should give a more realistic gage of where both teams are at.

Full squad
Dodds for King
Dwyer rotating with Clarke
Ratch on the bench .

Finally a fair enough summary.

Struggling to see how Dwyer and Ratchford fit on your bench unless you're dropping a back rower but it's the closest I've seen.

Our strongest team would be-

Tomkins
Manfredi Gelling Gildart Charnley
Williams Smith
Flower McIlorum Clubb
Tomkins Bateman Lockers

Tautai Farrell Powell plus one of Crosby/Mossop/Sutton.

A definite 6 missing last night and a potential 7 if Crosby were to be selected.

I thought that the plan was to move Lockers to prop this year and Bateman to loose? If so, you are wrong about our strongest team.

May well be.

We'd still be missing 6 or 7 from our strongest side either way.

Because Ratch plays every position except 8 and 10, sometimes Currie is shifted to centre to accommodate more forwards on the pitch then switches into the pack during the game.

But the story it doesn't tell is although we have on paper our strongest side, they're playing week in week out because they can't be rotated, so on paper they look strong but they are going into games with knocks and niggles.

You're playing out your skin if that there is no doubt. We were lucky last night that Sandow went off or else it could have got out of hand. It was a strange game because both sides have come away pretty happy with it which is unusual in such a big game when one side has won reasonably comfortably.

The next Wigan and Wire game should be a belter.

Frankly I agree with Pacific.

The quality of this league is dire at the moment and has been sliding that way for a few years.

We're missing far too many quality, experienced players to complain about that performance last night. With the salary cap / our business plan what it is, you can't miss 6 starters and expect a result.

I don't remember much sympathy from the Wigan fans for us in the grand final a couple of years ago when we lost key players in controversial circumstances and ended up with briers on the wing.