What can we expect of Fielden next season?

Imo out of all of the players in our squad Fielden is the one we need more than any to shine & move forward under the new regime. Leeds, Saints and even Wire have shown what a true world class prop can do for a team and we need Stu to lead us from the front next season.

There are a lot of factors coming together for Fielden next season which could potentially see him regain some of his previous form;

1-First season away from Noble
2-His contract is up at the end of the season
3-New conditioner and coach who want to see players bulked up
4-Shaun Wane is now coaching the forwards. Shaun seems to be not only a excellent motivator but also the kind of guy that players want to play for.

The one thing that we can all agree on with Fielden is that he’s an ultimate professional with the way he looks after himself off the field and the training he puts in. It’s one of the main reasons why I think if there is going to be anyone in the squad who will come good under our new coaches it’s Fielden.

We now have top coaches and a quality conditioner at the club meaning that if the players follow the individual plans set out for them and put the effort in they should see results to match the effort. We’ve brought people like Bitcon in as he’s supposedly one of the best people in his field of expertise so players like Fielden should now be getting the best advice and plans out there.

It’s all up to the players to put the effort in as the club has given them the best assistance out there. IMO as I said before effort has never been an issue with Fielden so for those reasons and without going OTT I’m optimistic about his performance levels next season.

The problem with Fielden is, we have all thought at numerous times, he was turning corners, coming back etc. I just dont believe anything can motivate him or make it happen anymore.

The sooner we can release him the better.

You always seem to find when a player is playing for a new contract he ups his game, even D Vaealiki starting playing well to the end of his contract.

C'mon Stuart lets see some of that old Bradford form

I think the problem is that he can't do it on his own. Wire, Leeds and Saints as you say all have world class props and more than decent back up to go with it but we just have average props across the board. Unfortunately we have gone for quantity over quality (much like most areas of our squad) and I can't see us reaping any benefits of the new coaching regime until this is sorted.

As far as I'm concerned everyone starts with a clean slate this season. Forget about past performances and just concentrate on how they fare under the new regime.

Inevitably, some players won't change but most will and I hope Fielden is in the latter category rather than the former.

Come on Stu!

I just feel he is finished and it saddens me to say that.

Fielden has been in a lot of tough games for Bradford, Great Britain and Wigan but he has never really lived up to expectations whilst in the cherry & white.

His body language is often one of a player who knows that his best days are long gone and he looks frustrated that he can not reach the high levels of performence that he showed in the past.

I think he will be replaced at the at the end of the season if not before then.

Yeah me an all. New regime, new start. I'll be writing my first match preview of the year soon and it'll be on a theme of the fans needing to get behind the team more.

That imo is something I totally disagree with’;

Putting Peacock and Fielden aside if you compare our other three starting props with the champions then it’s not as bad as what people say imo.

Coley vs Leuluai---Imo Coley was better than Kyle last season
Feka vs Bailey---- I’d again take Feka over Ryan Bailey
Prescott vs Burgess----- Burgess is probably the better prop but it’s not a clear gap between the two.

So what is the major difference in the two front rows?

Fielden & Peacock

IMO it’s fair to compare the two as Fielden was signed to be our 1 top prop. When Fielden was signed he was the best prop in the country by mile but his form has gone way off the chart from those days. But that still doesn’t hide the fact that Stuart was signed to be the be our star forward.

I’d say it’s more fair to look at the likes of Prescott and Coley and say they don’t get the reps or praise the likes of Pauleta, Bailey, Carvel or Leuluai do as they aren’t playing behind a true top class prop.

This is a major issue with our club IMO - we're all guilty of being too critical and writing off players (such as Karl Pryce) before we've even seen them play under Maguire.

I hope your preview goes a long way into rectifying this.

Well he's got this year to either sink or swim. He couldn't now be in a better environment in which to discover good form, do well and he may be rewarded with a new contract (on dramatically reduced terms may I add).

Perform poorly and he may as well forget about a new contract. Either way he's got this year to prove himself.

I think the players will be of the same opinion as well , its also the first time that Stuart fielden as not been under BN instructions in both training and game plan.

Our only hope of a really vintage Fielden season is that he's been taking us for mugs for the last few years and really is only here for the money. If that was the case he'll have a huge year because he'll want a big contract for 2011 either here or at another club and he'll only get that with some big preformences.

In truth though it comes down to more then money. He's just lost that aura he had and teams don't fear him like they used to. I think that came from a couple of factors with the main one being the death of his mother. It must have been a tough time and it seemed to really set him back. He may well have recovered from that but then the Mason thing happened and people just weren't scared by him anymore and teams would target him at every opportunity.

I think what maybe we'be got to realise is the old Fielden won't come back but he's still a good prop forward and is an important part of the team. He had a shocking spell during the middle of last season but in the main he was pretty good and as i've said before he's still one of the better props in superleague. He used to be in and amougst guys like Graham, Peacock and Morley in terms of class but he isn't anymore and it's very doubtful he ever will be again.

I'd settle for a really solid seasons worth of preformences in the mould of how he finished last year. If he does that i'll be happy enough.

Has to go at the end of next season imo whether he has put in a barnstorming performance of if he's been kack, on too much money for the mediocre performances he has put in, let him go and replace him with a top quality prop from down under preferably a huge islander

The problem of Fielden preforming better next year is a double edged sword for him either way he is going to get stick .
If the new regime at the club get him to perform better and to be a physically more dominant player how much will be attributed to that in a positive way rather than he is only doing it for the money way .
If he does not improve he will get stick off the fans due to performances in his time at wigan and if does improve he will just get less stick i suppose .
I have been a critic of his in the past but i hope he puts that right next season so i will give him the benefit of the doubt .
Maybe i've found the scapegoat the pemps posted about .

I think his body language is more of someone that is frustrated by the amount of stick he receives from his own "supporters". He's said it numerous times in the past year, that one thing that doesn't motivate players, is your own fans getting on your back. And in a few RL magazines and interviews he's mentioned this.

Like Bilko said, this year its not just the club that needs to change, its the fans as well. We need to get behind all the players and encourage them more, not slate them everytime they do something wrong.

I think with Fielden when he was at Bradford he fought a lot more, and when he was fired up he put in his better performances. Since he's been at Wigan he's matured, but I think he's lost a bit of that fight. He always plays better when he's up for a bit of a battle with another prop. Hopefully with Wane coaching him, it'll help to get him motivated for the battle, without needing him to get in a fight to get the adrenalin going!