Wane in his press conference said he's confident of top 4..............

I am even worried about Wells who has got progressively slower the more bulk he has put on. He was dominated in every collision and did not look able to make anyone's shoulder to receive the ball.

Considering the success we've enjoyed during IL's tenure, doesn't that show that such a prop is, at best, a luxury we can manage without? Also, I would add "plays at least 40 mins per game" to the desired talents, ruling out the likes of Feka.

I would say that is a minimum requirement. Having to use 6 interchanges rotating the props robs us of giving other players a spell on the sidelines. I would expect the starting props to give a good 25 mins, the interchanges 15 mins and then another 15-20 mins after half time, leaving the two starters to come back after almost an hour's rest for the final 20 mins.

He looked huge on Thursday versus Wire but as you say it was his most ineffective game so far.
Earlier in the season he looked like a lad with some potential for the second row and at last add some bulk in the role that we have missed for sometime.

Wells has always seen as a prospective prop since signing at about 15 years of age.

Wells is very young and it may just take some time for him to get to a weight he feels comfortable with. He's huge at the minute but if he feels he's struggling carrying it then they may get him to shed some size for next year.

I don't think his size is anything that can be held against the coaching and conditioning staff though. We can't complain we lack size in one breath and then complain about players bulking up too much in the other. I really like the look of Wells and once he gets to grips with everything o think we'll have a fine player on our hands.

The team has had hardly any time to train together this year and people expect them to play like the Globetrotters.

So many players whose careers were nearly ended and fans expect them to be Billy Slaters terminator cousin in a month.

Williams has a few poor games and despite dragging the team through half the season he needs to be dropped.. oh but wane is naff for dropping other young players and ruining their confidence.

We have had nearly 2 years of constant disruptions and in that time have won the final and the wcc yet the coach responsible for bringing through 3/4 of the team and getting them to run through walls for him needs to go as we have had a bad run. Though nothing to do with half the squad being out as he managed that miracle last year... but doesn't get credit for it.

Dom, Gilly, Burgess, Willliams, Sutton, Powell, Davies, Shorrocks, Marshall. All thanks to Wane.

Yes I miss seeing the length of the field tries and yes current performances are frustrating but some perspective is needed. Someone even suggested getting rid of Powell! Where would be without him last year?

If after a full season with the normal amount of injuries we are 7th then yes, questions must be asked but for now please have some perspective.

It's nothing to do with playing like globetrotters, I'll settle for not playing like a team of strangers, at the moment they look like they've met in the car park and decided whose plying where. At the end of the day, they are pro players, their entire week is structured around those 80 mins at the weekend.

We can all see the basics of a decent team there, but the lack of leadership and craft rather than graft is worrying. Williams needs options, we are clueless in attack watching Williams run along a static line waiting for a runner is heartbreaking.

Almost agree but if you can show me 2 back rowers in SL that run better lines at pace and strength that Faz and Bateman I'll eat my hat! We're off the pace because we're coughing up far too much possession. Dropped ball and penalties are what's killing us. Sort that out, have our share of the ball and I'm pretty sure our form will turn. As for leadership I wouldn't want any other captain to lead our team. To be specific, we lose intensity when Lockers goes off. Find a way to plug that gap and we'll be fine. I'm not sure how we can fill that gap though?

Jack Wells is 19 years of age , he's been playing in a team in the middle of an injury crisis . Do you expect him to play like a 30 year old Kevin Ward. He shouldn't even be playing first team yet

Do not worry about the lad , he is going to be one hell of a player

I cant help but feel young Wells has a big future ahead of him.

You are missing my point. I do not expect him to play like a thirty year old and I do not expect him to be as big as he will be then either. Jack Wells is a 19 year old who has been bulked up to the point that he cannot play his natural game. I agree that he would not normally be playing so many First Team games at this point in his career, but he would be better served by speed, not bulk at this time. His first try for the First Team was a ball back inside supporting a break. He would be unlikely to do that now. I cannot help thinking that Callum Field would be more suited to the style of play being forced upon young Jack.

How do you know it's being forced on him? I'm presuming you think the coaching staff have asked him to get as big as he is? That would surprise me to be honest because we seem a club intent on having smaller, more mobile forwards. The coaching staff have been hammered by our fans at times for not having big enough forwards but then on the other hand they get questioned because Wells has got too big.

It just doesn't add up for me. He just looks like a naturally big lad who's had a growth spurt. It may take another pre season for them to get him a bit fitter and more used to carrying the weight or they may get him to slim down. It's very early days for him but he's clearly got a lot about him.

Possibly, but I am more familiar with the growth spurt being upwards rather than outwards. Given that professional players generally have their diet specially produced for them, and that a player not sticking to their diet would suffer the wrath of the coaching staff, it would seem more likely that this is part of the plan. My worry is that he is being set up to fail by being brought up to size too quickly.
You are right that we tend to go with smaller forwards but as a whole players are getting more massive. This is partly because South Sea Islanders are seen as perfect body types for the game, unfortunately Wigan is not far enough South and we produce a lot of short stocky forwards. This is possibly Darwinian as those too tall were unable to work down the mine and therefore were too weak to breed. This could explain why the Northern Union decided to get rid of line outs.