Fielden is and always has been in his time at Wigan a very good prop forward but he's never been the Fielden of old and never will be again. He's having a very good season though and we should be looking to keep him on for next season on reduced terms.

He continued his good season yesterday and along with Coley has really got our front row looking solid.

Whilst agreeing with some of what you say to say he's been ok one week then rubbish the Next is way off the mark!

The only game he dropped Balls Galore was the Leeds game on Sky, Every other game his Ball retention has been far better than previous seasons. In fact his error count is averaging less than 1 a game, his penalties against is less than 1 a game & his missed tackles are about 1 every 2 games.
In Fact I think htere were 5 errors in the Leeds game alone (3 of which could have been penalties to him not errors) meaning he's made 4 errors in the 12 other games!

All this and his metres per carry & Tackle busts etc are up there with some of the Top Props in SL.

He's been FAR BETTER than previous season's with only the Leeds game for me a Blot on his record this season.

75% of what he was? Yeah about right, but that shouldn't blind people as to what he is doing over what he isn't.

tbh as good a season as coley is having i think i would prefer to keep stu. he offers so much defensively and although he isn't busting holes in the defensive line he nearly always gets over the advantage line and will never stop hitting it up. on the right contract i would keep him. im not sure how long coley could keep this form up. hes not the youngest and only time would tell if he could perform like this for the rest of the season. Coley was always a solid average player whose form has been the best of his career recently, and i think this is why he stands out more. Fielden has always been good for wigan but because at bradford he was the best forward in the world he is seen to have been a failure. we would miss fielden more than coley imo. alot of the work he does goes un-noticed and alot fans would see this if he wasn't in the team.

I would look at keeping both of them . Coley is only 31, Fielden 30 , there is a good year if not two left in him. IMO I think Coley brings more to the team than Fielden but I recognise that Fielden is a solid player for us too. The pack is just getting settled - dont see the need to disturb it too much. Just one prop brought in from another club would be enough.

some interesting thoughts on both SF and AC here , personally i also , would look at retaining both

the pack needs to work as a unit , they needto have a good understanding of how the others work , and i think ours is doing that this season

JT has not been poor , but in the last couple of games hasnt been as effective as he was in the earlier rounds , maybe he has a knock ? , but the others have stepped up around him

SF is a bit like lockers , when he is on he gets the criticism , but when he doesnt play there is a noticable difference

i would rather keep the 2 props we have now , rather than take a big name on and lose both

theres are an awful lot of assumptions on here about what wages SF and Feka would be happy to play for.
I think everyone has beenimpressed by their improvements this year, and most peopl are saying something along the lines of "keep them on reduced wages".

However - how much does SF want to stay here (hes criticised the fans in the past remember) ? whilst hes always given his best in the game, hes never really come over as a anything other than an honest pro. its very presumptuous to assume that he would accept a reduced fee to stay, depending on what other offers he has.

The same goes for Feka. Granted he seems to love the Club, but if his contract is up and he gets a better offer from somewhere else, would he stay ?? There is also the question of where Madge sees him in his idea of a perfect front row - does his high impact, low gametime style fit in with the long term plans ?

Coley has been good, and deserves another 1 year deal, as I dont think hes the type of player to get lots of counter offers.

What a prop he was though! Pure class, it's a shame he didn't continue his form from a england point of view. I wasn't his greatest fan of the him as a person until i saw few interviews he did the other year about his very poor form, he was so honest about how he was playing and couldn't put the finger on why, his honsty made me think a lot more of him.

What do you guys think the reason he couldn't play as he did at bulls?

I can't believe anyone would keep Fielden over Coley? What does Coley have to do to prove how good he is.

He honestly beats Fielden in every aspect of the game imo.

I think losing his mum had a massive impact, coupled with a total change of environment and apart from that first half season, a big lack of help in the pack around him.

Coley has been great this year to and I really think that's helped Stu as well.

They have been extremely comparable and complimentary this season, and tbh i'd keep both of them on the right deals for next season.

I think this will be the key, but I suspect the power will be in our corner when it comes to negotiations.

Stu knows he'll get nothing like the deal he got from Maurice anywhere in the competition now and, given that he seems to be a guy who likes to be settled, it may be the easiest thing for him to take the inevitable pay-cut and stay with us.

31 for a prop is nothing..easily 2-3 years left in Coley

so get him signed up i say.

as for Stu we all know its his wage thats the problem..stu himself knows he wont make that again anywhere..so no reason why he wont sign a new deal with us.

i cant agree with you on this. coley is having a massive season, better than hes ever played throughout his career but is he over performing. can a player continue to over perform year in year out.

when fielden is off the field it is noticable just through his sheer defensive workrate. we are a much more vunerable team when he is on the bench. Coley is a solid prop, and i really rate him this year but to say coley beats him in every department is rubbish. for me they have both earned a new deal but Fielden is the backbone of our pack and we are a much weaker side without him, more so than coley.

When Fielden was at his best he had Joe Vagana, Brian McDermott & Paul Anderson alongside. All 6'5" and around 17-18st. They also had Richard Moore & Rob Parker as back up.
If Wigan had three other props 6'5" and 17st I'm sure Fielden would have played a whole lot better. Wigan hadn't and he didn't!
We have four props Fielden, Feka, Prescott & O'Carroll. If MM wants to bring in an overseas prop bearing in mind salary and quota/kolpac restrictions who is most vulnerable? Not Fielden me thinks!
I do think Fielden & Coley will stay as well as Prescott. O'Carroll is OOC 2011.
Pity but if MM wants players more suited to his style then someone will make way.

I dont understand why anybody is talking about letting Fielden or Coley leave. We are playing the best we have done for ages and these two have played almost every game. It makes no sense whatsoever