I agree pressure is off us and Stains pressure will keep on building especially anymore suspensions or injuries come their way and the best is we beat them in the semi with them having a full team.We can do it once we can do it again.

Interesting take . . . . young Davies and Simm will be pleased to hear they are first choice scrum half and wing respectively



Wigan have lots of momentum currently and we are struggling to build any momentum with injuries in key playmaking positions and suspensions.

That said in the last few weeks weve navigated that to push Catalans away with a fair few out (should have won it at the death and Catalans frustrations should really have been rewarded with two red cards as the following bans confirmed), then beat Wigan, then nilled Hudds with 12 men.

We're struggling to be at our best but with Walmsley/Grace now back, Percy/Tommy to come, Lomax looking far more comfortable with his arm injury and hopefully suspensions calming down a little I'm still confident.

I know this will sound arrogant but pre-season I thought injuries in the spine would be the thing that could stop us getting the 4 in a row. With Dodd gone and Hopoate seemingly gone, I think this is where we are vulnerable.

It looks like Roby might now be scrum half for the business end to allow Welsby to play FB, which weakens another area. An injury to either Welsby or Lomax would be game over IMO.

Shouldn't matter mate. Your 2nd choice back row is better than our first choice despite ours containing 2 current internationals and none of our props would get into your match day 17. With that sort of dominance you could play the tea lady in the spine let alone Welsby, Roby, Lussick and Lomax.*



*I know you slapped them down, but I couldn't resist

We should void the season due to the injuries that Saints are getting. Not fair that they should get injuries when nobody else does.

Not necessary, we will just win it with the injuries.

On a serious note, I'm also happy with where we are with all the disruptions. As FTV alludes to we have just come out of a really challenging 4 games (he also forgot to mention a full strength Leeds that we played that we comfortably dispatched) and the 12 men performance to nil Huddersfield has been massively underated.

We have beaten Wigan two times out of 3 this season so not sure where all the sudden confidence is coming from. If Wigan fans are looking to use the 12 men as an excuse at Magic then I give you Huddersfield where we played with 12 men for 64 mins and not 15 mins.

I've said before, this is not to have a pop at Wigan per se, they are building really well but if they get an injury to French or Field, you wonder where a lot of the strike will come from, they are heavily reliant on both.

Also I don't really feel the pressure is on Saints at all. We've won the last 4 out of 6 major trophies available. There's a reason why no side has ever done 4 in a row (in the salary capped era) and that is because it is extremely difficult to do. Throw in the injuries, constant chopping and changing particularly in the backline and spine and I think Saints fans would understand us not winning it again. It wouldn't take anything away from what Woolf has done as a coach.

Nah - keep the season going, 4 on the spin with disruption would force the "Saints are only good because they are lucky with injuries" crew to calm down a little.

Also good to see the level of enthusiasm from Wigan fans on this thread about how enjoyable and energising RL is - only seems like 5 minutes since the league was a pointless basket case and winning things was barely an achievement worth mentioning

I didnt start this thread

I get whilst this thread has started and I understand Wigan fans feeling frustrated at what they perceive to be Saints fans derailing their threads.

However in my defence I only responded on the Cooper thread today because Wigan fans were making reference to Saints- pressure on Saints etc, that is why I responded. Had Saints not been mentioned then I wouldn’t have commented.

It's been split from the Mike Cooper thread as there were 30 odd posts in a row off topic. No problem if you want to discuss the merits/shortcomings of Wigan and Sts relative to one another, but please confine it to here so other topics can be discussed elsewhere without descending into the usual.

which to be honest Stu that is what we want a honest debate and if you want to comment do so.
I seem to have lost a couple of posts regarding your last comment.

Yep a few disappeared when I split the topic. Sorry about that.

Having a Wigan and Saints thread is probably needed. Loads of threads are going back to that us vs them debate but it’s not surprising. Love it or hate it, we have to measure ourselves against them because they’ve been the best side for the past few seasons and realistically it feels like it’s only them stopping us having an amazing chance to do a double or even treble. So if we sign a player, it results in conversations about how that player will help close the gap to Saints, we discuss a game and it turns it to looking at positives and negatives around details that will help or hinder us closing the gap to Saints, a disciplinary debate turns in right comparisons between our incidents and there’s and so on and on and on.

I enjoy it tbh, I think it shows we’ve closed the gap somewhat that Saints fans feel the need to jump in and comment on certain points but I get why it becomes tedious to others. The rivalry lost some of its magic IMO around 2004/5 until recently because there have been long spells where one side has been dominant over the other and for the game as a whole, that’s not good. It feels like the fixture is getting in to a place now where there will be huge anticipation before fixtures and that’s great. It makes those Derby days the occasion they should be. We’ve work to do to go in to one as the favourite or an evens chance but we’re getting there.

Ok,some of my best work went

Speaking of things that level the playing field, looks like Woolf now all but confirmed as leaving for the Dolphins - assistant to Bennet for 2023 and 2024, head coach from 2025: https://twitter.com/9NewsQueensland/sta ... pmljjM03vQ No Woolf and no Roby is a big shift for us for next year.

Speaking of things that level the playing field, looks like Woolf now all but confirmed as leaving for the Dolphins - assistant to Bennet for 2023 and 2024, head coach from 2025: https://twitter.com/9NewsQueensland/sta ... pmljjM03vQ No Woolf and no Roby is a big shift for us for next year.

Quote ="FearTheVee"Speaking of things that level the playing field, looks like Woolf now all but confirmed as leaving for the Dolphins - assistant to Bennet for 2023 and 2024, head coach from 2025: https://twitter.com/9NewsQueensland/sta ... pmljjM03vQ No Woolf and no Roby is a big shift for us for next year.'" I wouldn't be surprised if Roby does a Tommy and stays for an extra year to help out the new coach. I also wouldn't be shocked if this was the reason Watson recently signed a new deal at Hudds. He seems like the standout option from SL. I kinda like the idea of Watson and Peet battling it out over the next decade or so too.

Quote ="FearTheVee"Speaking of things that level the playing field, looks like Woolf now all but confirmed as leaving for the Dolphins - assistant to Bennet for 2023 and 2024, head coach from 2025: https://twitter.com/9NewsQueensland/sta ... pmljjM03vQ No Woolf and no Roby is a big shift for us for next year.'" I wouldn't be surprised if Roby does a Tommy and stays for an extra year to help out the new coach. I also wouldn't be shocked if this was the reason Watson recently signed a new deal at Hudds. He seems like the standout option from SL. I kinda like the idea of Watson and Peet battling it out over the next decade or so too.

Quote ="FearTheVee"Speaking of things that level the playing field, looks like Woolf now all but confirmed as leaving for the Dolphins - assistant to Bennet for 2023 and 2024, head coach from 2025: https://twitter.com/9NewsQueensland/sta ... pmljjM03vQ No Woolf and no Roby is a big shift for us for next year.'" That’s some turnaround from earlier this morning when the suggestions floating about seemed to be that he was staying. I’d expect if he goes, Roby will do the extra year to steady things and help make Wellens job a bit easier (presuming Wellens gets the job there mind).

Quote ="FearTheVee"Speaking of things that level the playing field, looks like Woolf now all but confirmed as leaving for the Dolphins - assistant to Bennet for 2023 and 2024, head coach from 2025: https://twitter.com/9NewsQueensland/sta ... pmljjM03vQ No Woolf and no Roby is a big shift for us for next year.'" That’s some turnaround from earlier this morning when the suggestions floating about seemed to be that he was staying. I’d expect if he goes, Roby will do the extra year to steady things and help make Wellens job a bit easier (presuming Wellens gets the job there mind).

You'd have to be a complete numpty not to get a title challenge out of the squad St Helens have - I certainly don't think there would be a Cunningham esque meltdown if Wellens took over.

Roby is doing another year.

Quote ="FearTheVee"Speaking of things that level the playing field, looks like Woolf now all but confirmed as leaving for the Dolphins - assistant to Bennet for 2023 and 2024, head coach from 2025: https://twitter.com/9NewsQueensland/sta ... pmljjM03vQ No Woolf and no Roby is a big shift for us for next year.'" Rats leaving a sinking ship

Quote ="FearTheVee"Speaking of things that level the playing field, looks like Woolf now all but confirmed as leaving for the Dolphins - assistant to Bennet for 2023 and 2024, head coach from 2025: https://twitter.com/9NewsQueensland/sta ... pmljjM03vQ No Woolf and no Roby is a big shift for us for next year.'" Rats leaving a sinking ship

Correct. It's the reason we pulled out of the verbal agreement we had with Dwyer.

As for Woolf, it'll be sad to see him go but it's also exciting to see Wellens take the job on. There'll always be the fear of another Cunningham scenario happening but I feel like Wellens is more prepared and has a bigger and better standing within the game than Cunningham had.

Someone mentioned Peet and Watson battling it out but what about Peet and Wellens. Two locals lads head to head coaching their boyhood clubs at the top. Can't ask for better than that as far as the derby goes.

He’s also got a far far better side than the one Cunningham took on. I’m not sure the worst coach in the league could fail to make you extremely competitive. Guys like Roby, Lomax, Makinson and Knowles won’t let standards slip. He’s really lucky in that regard Wellens.

I bet Adrian Lam could...

I’d love to see it!

So difficult to judge what type of job Lam has done at Leigh. I think anybody on here could throw that group of players out in the championship and get similar results.

I'm a little bit biased here as one of my best mates was involved working for Wigan with Lam and despite the banter we had and continue to have, I still stick up for him.

What I will say is that Lam was without French and Field for all of last season and if you look at the number of tries scored and the assists from both this season then if you take them out of the current Wigan team, you wouldn't have won the CC or sit 2nd in the league. In 2020 you were inches away from winning the Grand Final having finished top of the league. Lam had a hell of a lot of bad luck despite everything and I know a lot of what went on behind the scenes trust me.

As good as Wigan have been in parts you were less than 4 mins away from losing that CC Final. Things could look very different had that not gone your way.

I obviously hope there is another KC scenario, but you're right. It would be brilliant for the derby and there is always that little something extra about the sport as a whole when we are the top two.

Winning trophies is great. Beating Saints to win trophies is even better.