Agree with most of this so far. Hughes is a great prospect and I really hope he reaches his full potential. He could develop into a quality centre with the right coaching. Last season we saw numbers left blank for new signings. The absence of the blanks suggests this is it and we have to crack on with what we've got. On paper not as threatening as last season but as they say, RL is not played on paper. Bring on the season!!

I think Faz is just as comfortable at second row as he is at loose forward. He's shown himself to be effective in both positions he just needs to improve his consistency which is nothing unusual for young forwards.

I think Farrell is pretty much nailed on to be ahead of Hughes in the pecking order. Hughes has had some good moments and was excellent against Catalans in France but he's had some ineffectual games too.

The player he was most likely to put pressure on is Tuson but there's no chance that Wane will drop him from his weekly 10 minute spell.

Still, playing in a different position isn't necessarily going to hinder a player. In some cases it can help them. I think in this country we're a little too obsessed with putting players in their places and insisting they never play anywhere else. For Hughes working on his speed and handling should benefit him when playing in the second row. I really don't expect it to be a permanent switch though unless he ends up doing incredibly well there. I think Thornley is still expected to be the long term replacement.

As it stands though Tomkins does seem like our only real attacking threat. Blake Green needs to have a very good year along with Matty Smith because the vast majority of the good things we did in attack last year were down to the organisation and structures involving the halfbacks.

The pack could still be fairly strong in theory but for me it requires Prescott to be fully fit and capable of playing alongside Mossop without one of them getting injured. If Taylor, Dudson and Flower show improvement and Lauaki puts in good performances every week rather than being ridiculously inconsistent then there's still a bit of hope.

I'm not expecting a top four finish though.

Some odd choices, but I guess they're only numbers. I also want to know what happened to Murphy? ETA: Or have they just listed our top 25 on the SC?

Seems a bit harsh on Prescott who imo is still our 2nd best prop after Mossop if everyone is on form, for him to be out of the 17 is silly


Again, Hock has had a great year, and as long as nothing goes wrong (I have no idea what is going on there) he should be starting at 12... he had a much better year than Farrell


Not really convinced on Lauaki as number 8... not sure he was good enough to 'overtake' Precott or Dudson, not even close.
As for Hughes... well I guess if they hadn't put someone in the number 4 there would have been mass speculation that we were signing someone... but I do hope that one of Thornley/Gelling to make that position his own in the season, they are much more natural in the centre position.

Not a bad squad by any means but some big players gone and on paper replaced by lesser players, but there may be players who supprise people

VERY weak squad. What on earth has happened to the cap money?

Actually, I know it's odd but even though I knew what personnel we had (and more importantly "hadn't") I am actually feeling depressed about next year.

Not only is the competition a joke and 75% of games pointless, the quality of the players at Wigan RL is at a 5 year low. Maybe they will "gel" as a team and surprise us, but looking at the half back pairing (let alone cover there) I am not holding my breath.

Mediocrity. Sadly that's not good enough for Wigan RL imo and I would be happy to debate this with IL.

Young squad, looks good enough to belt most of the teams in the league to me as well as challenge wire & leeds for trophies. Think there's some overreaction here to not seeing any "big signings" when we don't really know how a lot of the new signings & youngsters will get on.

Hughes in the at least to start with works for me. When you hear about how the impact of tackles in Super League is similar to a car crash it puts in to perspective why young forwards can struggle when first coming in. Let him get some regular game time at , then perhaps move him to 2nd row, unless he really impresses out wide.

but if gets skinned every week by more agile centres does that make it ok as he isnt getting hurt at centre...its crazy. We have 2 more natural centres who we are paying money for yet we are playing a second rower at centre. (providing he does)

Some odd choices from Mr Wane, he wants rid of Hock because of his stupidity but loves Mickey M who is equally as stupid, the favourites problem seems to be resurfacing ala Mr Noble.

Lauaki No 8

Average front rower at best..

Must admit i'm concerned, long term we look good if we can keep hold of the player we produce (which i doubt)

Hoping for at least one decent signing but it's still a big step down in class team wise from the past few seasons..

I don't think he played that badly at all when he did slip in there last year tbh. Apparently Marsh got the better of him in a generally poor team performance (can't really comment, wasn't there) and Lulia gave him a lot of trouble in the league game at our place, which isn't too shameful. On the flipside I remember him collaring Hardaker and bundling him in to touch against Leeds to top off a fine first game at . The kids just need game time.

Maybe they're going to work at it in the off season and see how he goes? Maybe he's impressed Wane more than Gelling & Thornley in that position already.

Hock at 14? Albeit he's a liability, but he's still one of the best second rowers in the competition. Odd, odd decision (if he is to stay with Wigan).

Shaun Wane does appear to be going for size.
Some big men in the pack. Mossop, Prescott, Dudson, Taylor & Hock are all 6'3" or more. Then there's Lauaki, Lockers & H who whilst not as tall still have a great presence in the middle of the game. The smaller guys are Micky Mac, Tuson & Faz. Both MM & Tuson tackle far above their weight and Faz is an excellent pack man.
The pack is the fulcrum from where all actions stem, they could be formidable next season with that amount of size, skill and pace.
Our halves are the uncertain factor. Smith has never really been convincing nor did he have a really poor game. Green has looked pacey and dangerous with good hands too the few times I've seen him. Behind a good pack they could do very well indeed.
As for the backs, four of the five were with us last season although Pat missed a sizeable number of games.
With George gone Wane has a choice of some big men, Hughes ain't small whereas Gelling and Thornley are around 6'4" which is some size for a centre.

We have a young squad but plenty of experience especially in the pack. The halves are not newcomers either.
I'm pretty optimistic to be honest. Teams with physically big forwards and pacey halves and backs usually do well.
Can't see us dropping out of the top four, the squad appears too good for that. Though only time will tell.