could you tell me please if any other team could give saints a game with so many key players out. also 4 players took the field who should not have done. they put there hand up to play. sw lost the dressing room in your dreams.

Quote: Ziggy Stardust "I agree but would also like to add, that Maguire left Wane a team that could have dominated the comp due to the end of an era for Saints and Leeds. I remeber a lot of people posting back at the end of 2011 and in 2012 that we could enter a period dominance like Leeds and Saints enjoyed due to our failure under the Whelan Lindsay years. Yes the change is happening at last, and the Wane v Wane has got boring but it is still going on as he is still the head coach, so it's still relevant. One thing for sure is that I will be 110% behind the new coach like i was for years with Wane because I trust Lenners 110% to get the right man.'" Sorry mate but, at the risk of starting up another conversation, you're wrong again. Here is the last Maguire team: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Wi ... ors_season How many of those were there for the long haul. We had absolutely zero chance of keeping that team together. The Melbourne players were kicking their heels until they could get back to the NRL, several were on the cusp of retirement and some simply weren't good enough to dominate a competition anyway! This squad was the antithesis of the Leeds 'Golden Generation'. Let's be honest here; this 'team that could have dominated the competition' didn't even make the Grand Final... and that, under a superior coach according to you! I'm no Wane die hard but, come on, let's not rewrite history! As for the point about spending more due to having 2 marquee players; how is this a reason why we should have achieved more as you claim? The 2 marquee rule was only came into effect this season (voted through April 2017 to come into effect the following season). How is this even relevant to your argument?

Quote: Ziggy Stardust "I agree but would also like to add, that Maguire left Wane a team that could have dominated the comp due to the end of an era for Saints and Leeds. I remeber a lot of people posting back at the end of 2011 and in 2012 that we could enter a period dominance like Leeds and Saints enjoyed due to our failure under the Whelan Lindsay years. Yes the change is happening at last, and the Wane v Wane has got boring but it is still going on as he is still the head coach, so it's still relevant. One thing for sure is that I will be 110% behind the new coach like i was for years with Wane because I trust Lenners 110% to get the right man.'" Sorry mate but, at the risk of starting up another conversation, you're wrong again. Here is the last Maguire team: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Wi ... ors_season How many of those were there for the long haul. We had absolutely zero chance of keeping that team together. The Melbourne players were kicking their heels until they could get back to the NRL, several were on the cusp of retirement and some simply weren't good enough to dominate a competition anyway! This squad was the antithesis of the Leeds 'Golden Generation'. Let's be honest here; this 'team that could have dominated the competition' didn't even make the Grand Final... and that, under a superior coach according to you! I'm no Wane die hard but, come on, let's not rewrite history! As for the point about spending more due to having 2 marquee players; how is this a reason why we should have achieved more as you claim? The 2 marquee rule was only came into effect this season (voted through April 2017 to come into effect the following season). How is this even relevant to your argument?

The 2011 side got broke up a touch but the 2012 team should’ve cleaned up but blew it in both semi finals. We played some sensational rugby that year lead by Tomkins and Hock linking up to terrorise teams at points. We then won the double in 2013, had a player cost us a Grand Final win in 2014 and then cost ourselves a Grand Final win in 2015 by playing negative rugby and going for two points when we were 2 points in front and letting Leeds come down the other end and score a soft try. We then won the 2016 Grand Final out of nowhere really.

If we’d just got one of those two final defeats in the bag I think we could’ve called it a period of dominance but as it stands it probably goes down as a good period in the clubs history that actuallly could have been better.

I suspect it's difficult to view the Maguire/early Wane period as a period of dominance because we, more than anyone, know what a real period of dominance is like.

Until the memory of the best domestic RL team in British history finally fades, that spectre will linger on. Even now, I'm sure that's the reason why there is a section of the Wigan crowd who are barely ever satisfied with new signings, new coaching appointments, occasional trophy wins etc, because they always unconsciously compare it with that golden age.

Whatever happens in the remainder of 2018 - and I have to say, I'm not optimistic - I think it will only be fair if Shaun Wane is looked back on as one of our better coaches of recent times.

I know the last couple of years have been disappointing, which have suggested that his shelf-life is finally over. But I cannot agree with some of the scathing criticism that's being directed at him. Yes, he's had at least as much money to spend as anyone else. Yes, he's had state-of-the-art facilities to work in. But we can't assume that means he should win everything. Unlike the late 80s /
early 90s, there are several other very well run, very well financed clubs in this competition. It's just not possible to have things all our own way. Even Madge didn't, and many view him as the modern benchmark.

Hey Wigan, hope this post is relevant, after our shellacking at Wakey, we’ve had rumours of everything from “sources” an earlier poster nailed it, Show more courage and name the player, otherwise it’s just smoke and mirrors.

For what it’s worth, playing against Waneys side at Doncaster in a fantastic CCup semi, a GF semi at Wigan, and a touch and go CCup final last year, three fantastic games which will stick with me, and it may have changed now, all things do, but Waneys sides have been probably the most dogged and difficult side to beat, especially in the big ones, he’s been a great coach for you, and his teams never new when they were beat.
You will struggle to replace him, no offence intended.

Did he though? We kept Lima and Finch into 2012 but both were never going to stay and left at the end of 2012. Sam Tomkins also left from the 2011 squad, as did Fielden, Coley, Deacon, J Tomkins, and Carmont.

That's a lot of change to what Maguire left behind, losing 8 of the first 13 either through retirement or movements for more money. Not something any coach can control and there's no way we would see the likes of Finch, Lima and Hoffman roll into the club like they did with Maguire, he was very lucky with the problems at Melbourne which made this happen.