So TL and Powell cant do the same tackle count between them??
What are your thoughts on TL's & GW's kicking capabilities?

What's your thoughts on changing a winning team? Dropping players who are consistently winning in high profile games? (playoffs/GF?)

If it helps the balance on what is a pretty significant change in line up then yes if you consider moving to the bench as being dropped. Isn't the game now about the 17 rather the 13?
By the way I am not particularly anti Powell or pro Sammut I just don't see the point in signing Sammut unless the club intend playing him. By the way if Powell had a half decent kicking game I wouldn't propose Sammut in the halves however, his kicking game is on a par with TL & GW which in my opinion is poor to pretty much non existent.
What about TL's and GW's kicking game? I assume that TL & Powell together cannot match Powell on his own in terms of tackles?

I'm pro-winning. I'm pro rewarding players who consistently play their part in a winning team. I want Sammut to be a success at Wigan, but like I said in my original post which kicked all this off, he should earn his place, not leapfrogging players who are part of a winning side. If we weren't winning I'd suggest experimenting with our squad to generate winning performances, be we have that.
You keep trying to bring up kicking, like it's a justification for including Sammut, when it's so basic, such a surface level comment, when you look a little deeper there's a number of factors to why a player is selected, and currently we're selecting a winning team.

Imagine if I'd have asked 6 months of we're all in favour of signing Sammut and playing him in our halves, what do you think the response would have been?

I think we need to get Sammut in the side tbh but I wouldn’t be doing it this week as I just don’t think we can afford to start changing round combinations that look rusty as it is (certainly in defence). We need a long kicking game and currently we don’t have one, resulting in us giving it to Hardaker and getting him to lump it up in the air.

It probably sounds very negative but I just can’t see anything other then a comfortable victory for the Roosters on Sunday regardless of us having a solid kicking game or not. It’s with that in mind I’d keep Williams, Leuluai and Powell in their current positions before giving Sammut a run against Hull.

I think Sammut will naturally get his chance. They'll be a dip in form, injuries, or suspensions which will see him feature. Competition for places is a good thing. I'm actually looking forward to seeing him play at some stage, but as I've discussed there's a bigger picture, we have a winning team who turn up in big games, that's our best bet at success wouldn't be logical or fair to go with anything else.

Sammut will indeed get a chance but he’ll need more than 1 or 2 games before he’s hung drawn and quartered.
Escare also played his part in the championship winning 17 but hasn’t featured this season yet. What are your thoughts on that? Tautai has been left out in favour of a lad from Barrow but no mention of it.

Hung drawn on quartered? I'm guessing your missing the point again. I have no issue with Sammut, and hope he plays his part, but he shouldn't be leapfrogging the GF winning halfbacks that is all.

I don't think you really want my thoughts on Escare and or Bullock. You're just trying to argue and pull it back it your favour. I'm guessing you want to catch me out? i.e state how Bullock is in the same boat as Sammut no doubt. Haha!

You're a good debater Bigred, albeit a little transparent.

I didn’t mean hung drawn and quartered by you personally, just in general. He’ll need a good few games to get into it.

You’re spot on though in relation to the comparison. Bullock and Sammut are in exactly the same position in that they have come up from a lower division. The difference is you’re happy to see Bullock given his chance ahead of a player who played his part in last season’s success (Tautai) but not offer the same courtesy to Sammut with Powell. I’d like to know what you see as the difference.

Please don't put words in my mouth. I never said that now did I? Read my last post Mr Predictable

I don't think Sammutt was signed for an immediate start. More like he will be picked according to the opposition and the rate of introduction the club are looking for.

I do think he has been signed for the transition between 2019/20 and 2020/21. This could be the last season for both Lockers and Tommy and if the both go then they are big gaps to fill. We will need an experienced pivot then as George may stay beyond 2019 there again may be not, who knows right now.

That was always the reason to me why Hastings on a one year deal was no good. Two years was a minimum.

The club's planning will depend on conversations they have with the the three players. I trust there will be
talks before the end of April as changes of this magnitude will take some handling

You're dying for me to go back and forth with you on this aren't you...

Are you saying that last season Tautai contributed as much as Tommy, Powell and Williams to our success? I'm merely sticking to you comparisons for clarity. You seem to look at things on a very surface level basis, without looking at the details of the discussion.
It seems, as you previously posted you think the Bullock/Sammut situation is exactly the same, when it's really not.

PS you did miss my point... and once again you tried to put words in my mouth.... shocking Bigred

His kicking capabilities and hopefully his organisational skills are exactly why I think when fit that Sammut will start on a regular basis unless his form indicates that he isn't up to SL level.

As a club and the game in general kicking from hand seems to have little focus or emphasis in period when territorial advantage is a major prerequisite of being able to dominate a game. If I could pick any player in world rugby today without a shadow of a doubt it would be Owen Farrell who in my opinion could transform the sport as we know I particularly in SL.

Last year's successful team had Sam Tomkins in and without him our balance has totally changed hence why I think we have signed Sammut because non of current halves has a reasonable kicking game in his nal. I hope that Harry Smith will develop quickly and that Sammut is very much a stop gap.