I agree we should let williams and powell have a go if smith isnt fit. But i dont understand this talk of not caring whether we beat leeds or not. I think this year leeds have overtaken warrington as the team i want to beat the most. And before the leeds lot come over, it is because you beat us twice last year and because you are our biggest competitor at the moment. Ill be there on sunday believing that we can win and hoping that we can set a marker demonstrating that even should we have key players missing we can win. So far expectations have been exceeded, lets keep its going.

I never said I didn't care, I just said in terms of trying to win SL the result is largely irrelevant as both teams will comfortably be in the top 4

i am not the biggest wigan fan admittedly but i am big enough to admit that there are some very promising junior progressions going on at the club at present, i admire what your mob are trying to achieve and i really hope that it bears fruit.......i'm off to be sick now as i shouldn't be doing this sort of adulation

I think 13 of our 17 at the London game were academy products... "promising"

Keep taking the medicine

As has been said, Matty Smith will be available v Leeds.

For me, Leeds seem to have been the only side last year to really deal with Sam Tomkins. They've closed him down quickly and we were too slow to come up with a plan b. Either we've learned from it or we should maybe try something different given the opportunity and play Sam at halfback. Or bugger it and throw the kids in and see how it goes. That would be exciting, but Leeds are no London. Glad I'm not making the decision.

We need someone with a long kicking game at half back.
Leeds play a rushed defence with the fb close up to offset the grubber kick through. They leave it late to get the fb back so a long kicking game early in the set can pay off.
Matty Smith did this well at Shedingly which kept Leeds at distance when opur forwards were not making the yards.
Interesting to see how Leeds go v Saints without Delaney and Peacock their two best forwards this year. Leeds to win but the margin and the manner of the win will be the thing.

As you say, peacock and delaney are missing and wigans props are really going for it at the moment. I expect the forward battle to be a lot more of a contest this time.

Wane has note recently that he hates shuffling players around out of position, so it would only be in an extreme emergency that Sam would revert to the Halves. Williams & Powell showed enough on Saturday to prove they are comfortable enough to run the team. We're so well drilled, especially in the halves, I feel Powell and Williams would be our best options. Williams did nothing at the weekend to deserve to be dropped. It will be a real test against a much more competitive team than London, though. I think the lads are up for it, and I think we have enough to beat Leeds.

From reading academy reports and the opinions of people on here I was under the impression that Hampshire was the better of the two young halfbacks. Anybody know the reasoning behind Williams getting the shot first? Better defence maybe?