I’ve just watched the Loch Lomond Legends evening with Rads and Wane on Wigan TV and I’d encourage anybody who doubts what he can bring to the place to give it a watch. I feel absolutely confident we’ll be on the right path next season with Waney back around to drive standards. It may not be an overnight thing but I have no doubt it will be an upward curve.

Some interesting lines from the night were-

-The Bevan French situation. I’d say to anyone who thinks he should be back here ASAP to listen to it. His mother is gravely ill and it sounds like they’re out in the sticks and rehab has been difficult. I thought Wane struck a great balance between showing how understanding they’ve been but he also pointed out that he’s had a zoom meeting with French where he’s laid it on the line that he needs to be all over zoom calls with the physios and he has to find a way to get it right. It sounded like French was very receptive and Wane pointed out he can’t come back and then spend months getting fit.

-He wasn’t exactly thrilled with how last season had gone, saying how he was gutted watching it and how he could see that senior players were really annoyed with the situation. He pointed out that standards have slipped around the place and the culture has been eroded and players haven’t been driven hard enough to improve. He says Peet will change that straight away.

-He is convinced Harry Smith will be really good next year. He said he just needs direction from the coaching staff and will get it.

-When asked if there was any player he was looking forward to pushing and driving improvement from, he answered without a seconds thought ‘Liam Byrne’ and said if he was watching “I’m coming for you” He said he needs to push himself far harder and to put more intensity in to everything he does. I didn’t take that as a criticism as such but I sensed he really liked him but knows there’s more in there.


There was plenty more said regards England and his past at the club but they’re the main parts I took from it regards next season.

This all sounds very positive.

For that reason it won’t get many comments.

I’ve huge doubts about Smith and that for me is the biggest challenge of all, I hope he succeeds.

The rest is man management which seems to have been a bit lacking the last few years.

I was lucky enough to attend he didn’t hold back on last season that’s for sure I’ve haven’t seen the tv version yet but he was honest as he could be which is what you want frankly,yes I came away from the evening far more confident than I had been before about the new set up,I’ll go as far as to say they’ll be there about next season.

Just watched it on Wigan tv

I think we may see a different Liam Byrne next season.
I hope so. Somewhere within that lad is a really good prop. Waney will sort him or kill him.

A really enjoyable hour.

This isn't necessarily aimed at you, but I'm really confused by the apathy that gets directed towards Byrne by some of our fans?

Being a good prop is not somewhere in the lad. He's a good prop now.

He's 22 and has played more games, at his age, than other more established props had at the same point in their careers. I look at Walmsley, the best prop in a league, and when you compare the two at the age Byrne is - Byrne is well ahead of him in regards to SL games played and what they've achieved.

I'd pick Byrne over any of the youngsters in our squad. He'll improve massively, just like guys like Dudson, Mossop and Mulhern did but he's still a good option (for his age) now.

Perhaps, if Smith had been playing behind the St Helens pack, he might have been able to show his true potential like Fages and Dodd did!

Let’s face it, The whole league needs to see an improvement to try and catch and push Saints and Catalans, otherwise it’s just a race to the bottom.

Anybody who thinks Wane shouting “SmashUmUp” in training is going to make huge improvements is living in the past. In 2018 (not that long ago……) Wane somehow inspired a team to punch so far above their weight it was untrue, and winning that GF was an amazing achievement but it’s not likely to be repeated with the diminished team left at the DW, and are you Wigan fans not worried that Wane might undermine a new coaching setup who have the opportunity to build something new?

He’s had a good career with that one phrase in fairness.

I always sense most people like Byrne bar the odd one or two. The sort who loved ripping in to him after the Hull cup game last season for one poor performance, even though for the first couple of months of the season he’d been probably our best prop.

I do agree with Wane here though. I watch Byrne and sometimes I just wish he’d let the handbrake go and really push himself to the limit. It’s not a criticism but more of a compliment, that whilst he’s still a good player as is, I think he’s got so much more in him. It’s all about mentality for these lads like Byrne and Havard. They have advantages physically that somebody like Partington doesn’t but do they have the drive and the fire to push on? One thing is for sure, Wane and Peet will do their upmost to drag it from them.

Perhaps I chose my words badly.
Maybe I should have said a much better player resides inside him.

Like yourself, of the current crop of youngsters I think that Byrne could be the best of them. I’ve only seen Nicholson once but wouldn’t be surprised if he ultimately could be the best youngster we’ve brought through the ranks in a generation.

I said in a previous post I think SW is probably using a bit of reverse psychology with Byrne. After watching the interview I’m even more convinced there is a few mind games going on.

Yip
What a career he's had with no coaching/man management skills

Anyone who thinks Wane is nothing more than a shouts at players bully really hasn't got a clue.

I'm a big Liam Byrne fan, any prop that can play open age at sixteen years of age has something about him. The first time I really saw him was in the Capital Challenge game down in London. His first carry was manic.

As others have said we forget how young he still is especially for a prop forward, he along with a few others probably had to play too much without having a couple of old heads in the pack, I do wish we'd have signed Chrill Hill for a season or two.

Going to watch the Wane interview now, should be fun.

Just finished watching that Wane interview, you get the impression that he wasn't happy with the discipline around the dressing room last season, timekeeping was continually referenced.

Bevan obviously should stay home as long as necessary - some things more important than throwing a rugby ball about. Sounds like his mum might be receiving end of life care so not sure how anyone would expect him to be back in those circumstances. I'm sure he'll be back in a Wigan shirt at some point.