Wane might be right to swallow his pride if it was a Joey Johns we were talking about, but Jackson Hastings? The injuries are unfortunate. Williams on current form surely doesn't merit selection, and Gale is surely past it.Maybe we would be as well playing ST in the halves, we have a few half-decent full-backs. And Jake Connor.

I'm not sure what the viable alternatives are. I'm sure Wane will be hoping Williams/Lomax are fit and in form come October but outside of that I don't know who he turns to without looking like a laughing stock. Will Pryce?

Think Wane will go with Williams in the knowledge that he will have some forwards to play behind.

If there's any coach who isn't fooled by undeserved reputations, It's Shaun Wane.

I never rated Williams. To be blunt, in a couple of years after he hangs his boots up . Almost no one will remember him. He's certainly no Edwards or Gregory.

I called it on here after that first Salford game and was shouted down. He wasn't commited to the club. He's an excellent player and a competitor so you will always get something from him. But we got a different version of Hastings from the one that Salford got and the one he's showing now at Wests in his preferred NRL gig.

On the field he tried his nuts off and as you say that was down to the competitive nature of him and it’s tough to put my finger on what it was but I just sensed Wigan was a bit of a second choice for him. It was weird times with Covid and there not being supporters at grounds, so maybe it was just the lack of opportunities to build relations with the fans but he certainly didn’t seem all in on Wigan as a club like he was at Salford or now is at Wests.

This would be what would concern me for England. He's an Aussie through and through. As much as he credits his time in England for turning his career round, it was always a stepping stone to a return to the NRL. I think he was always coming back in his last season with us but his reluctance to leave Australia and his desire to get back were clear as day. He would try his best for England, no doubt, as he did for us. Whether that would be the same Hastings as the fully committed version you got at Salford and now Wests or the 'trying hard but never quite gelling' version you got with us would be the big question.

I don’t think we’ll have to worry anyway, there’s no way Wane will pick him or any other non British born players anyway. Even if Lomax is badly injured, Dodds is out and even if a few more followed them on to the sidelines, I think he’d cobble together something from what’s left.

You're no doubt right. The only thing to change that with Waney is his desire to beat the Aussies. Would anything stand in his way of that? If Hastings rips it up in the NRL and becomes the stand out half, would that be enough to change his mind?

He is going over for the NRL Magic round and has said he’ll be keeping an eye on Hastings, so you never know but I still can’t see it. On talent alone he’s worth a place in the squad is Hastings.

Can I just say I don't think he has been that amazing for Wests? They are such a rabble this season, so anyone who can bring a semblance of order, and also, crucially, take some of the pressure off Brooks, is very welcome. Wests fans may be happy for now, but for how long?

Agreed.

He just isn’t that creative, managing games and setting plays up.

He’s very involved & gives 100%, but it’s quality over quantity imo. All he did yesterday was lots of catch and pass without much creativity, creating gaps, linking up with his 1 or 6.

Absolutely. I thought watching him, it's the same old, same old with Hastings. Plenty of effort and involvement, but not much creativity. Or much pace, which matters in the NRL.