The Wigan players are doing a great job for Wigan and I wouldn’t swap many at all (not like you’d be given the choice) but I suspect their fans would say that about a lot of their guys as well. You’d probably need to ask a neutral to pick a combined side and I think it would be closer than any of our teams in terms of the number of Wigan players to Saints.

Many Saints fans used to say none of our lads would add anything to them and maybe that was their point as well (although a lot of them genuinely believed they just weren’t good enough) but clearly guys like Bateman, Faz, French etc would’ve walked in their side.

We’re happy with our lot, I get that and Saints are our biggest rivals. We’ve turned the tide and I think we’re a better side than them now and we have a better squad but I do still have massive respect for how good they are and I still think they’re a massive threat to the chances of further success for us.

Last point on Welsby, he’d get in our side comfortably. I’m not sure where but he’s versatile and could play anywhere. Controversial maybe but give me the option and I probably go Field at fulllback, Welsby at stand off and play French on the wing.

I don't see a single one of those currently displacing their Wigan counterpart in the Wigan side except for the 2nd row option and I think even that is misleading. Despite squad numbers I think Walters is the expected 2nd row regular when fit so it should be Sironen/Farrell or Walters/Matautia which is a far more interesting debate.

Makinson historically would walk that but he hasn't seemed the same player so far this season (or last for mine). Percival on ability but not on durability. It should also be Clarke/O'Neil as they are both the starting hookers and I wouldn't swap O'Neil for anyone in Superleague if we're talking 'for Wigan'.

Ellis for me but then I'm not a Knowles fan so I can accept others might see it differently.

Edit: just realised it should be Knowles/Thompson or Dupree as he's playing prop with Bell at loose, isn't he? Might be wrong on that though.

I think those match ups highlight how a neutral would probably give a different opinion to a Wigan or Saints fan. Ask a Wigan fan about those and I think loads would pick all of ours bar Isa but I think more neutrals would pick Knowles over Ellis, Clark over Leeming, Percival over Keighran etc.

It’s all make believe but if I wrote down a combined team, I think I’d have around 6 to 8 Saints players in it. What I would say is I think Saints have a far bigger drop off in quality terms from their best 10-12 players to the rest of the team than we do. Guys like Bennison, Hurrell, Blake, Mbye etc are pretty poor players. I don’t think we have too many of those (if any).

Just seen how Cust failed his hia, reckon Knowles might be sat down again, looked a far worse incident than the Percival red card

Another interesting point here is those options are not like for like.

It should be Welsby/Field for fullback or French/Lomax for Stand Off.

Leeming/Mbye for interchange hooker or Clark/O'Neil for starting hooker.

Percival/Wardle for left centre.

I've already mentioned the 2nd row pairings and Knowles/Thompson or Dupree for prop.

We seem to be taking Saints best and putting them up against Wigan's lesser option. Make it like for like and the picture is far clearer. Marshall/Bennison for example.

The elbow when he was already down warrants 3 games. He is a cheap shot merchant

Nope have read all the comments still dont think any Saints player would make Wigan a better team at the min.
Doesnt mean they can't beat us but as a squad we have now we have a great chance for more trophies.

Marshy-Bennison -yep thats a good one Phuzzy.

I think that's the point. I still don't think there's much between our starting XIIIs on paper, all things being equal with fitness and form. You can definitely argue that a good number of their players get in our team, and they have every chance of beating us on Good Friday.

But where our depth is outstanding, theirs doesn't look anything like strong enough to manage through the full season without a massive slice of luck on the injury front.

Put another way, yesterday we put 60 past a team away from home in the league missing nine players who are give or take certainties to get into our first seventeen. Yes it was London and I'm not saying that Saints need to be able to have [ithat[/i amount of depth, but I'd say they're only ever three or four injuries away from a really substantial drop off in quality.

Winning at Saints is never easy, it wasn’t in the 80’s and 90’s and it won’t be in 2024.

Both Walters and Nsembe dwarf Joel. Junior is 6’5” and 17st 5lbs and Walters is bigger. Happy days

That was a good spot mate.

in regards to who would you choose from each side, sometimes you have to admit that players are different / have a different skillset and perhaps fit or dont fit a style of play

Roby is undoubtedly one of the best hookers (if not the best) of the SL era. However, at the point we had McIllorum i wouldnt have swopped them but that is more because they are different players and both suited the styles of Saints and Wigan respectively at that point in time. Roby was very much about getting Saints on the front foot with ball in hand, off the back of Graham / Walmsley etc getting a quick play of the ball, however, McIllorum was our defensive lead, taking the game to the opposition physicall and aggressively in defence. So 2 very different players, but one that both Wigan and Saints fans would argue they wouldnt swop

onto current teams and i like Isa as an example, but you would look at Sironen, Batchelor and Whitely and could argue that all 3 are better players, and you'd be kidding yourself if you chose to say that they werent. However, again Isa fits our current 2nd row model of grafting for 80mins with nowt flashy. There's no coincidence he's still here despite what Wigan or other clubs fans think about him

Isa has been an amazing signing for Wigan and he has been so valuable to us over the years. I still think he is but it's probably more now in a role of leading the culture and setting standards away from the field. I think as the season goes on he may well be on the outer, with Walters and Nsemba being two physical freaks, who I think we'll have to find places in the 17. Whatever happens though you know Isa will just keep working hard and helping the squad and he's probably been getting written out of peoples first choice teams since day one, yet he's rarely been anything other than a first 17 player. It's a testament to his fitness, injury record and determination.

He has, and not many of us would have thought he'd still be in the starting 17. It seems that many fans, including Wiganers havent or didnt really rate him, but as i alluded to there's no coincidence that he is still at Wigan and in the starting 17 week in, week out.

it will be interesting to see if / how he is phased out from the starting 17 if Nsemba and Walters are both fully fit. The competition will be good from a Wigan perspective and hopefully drive the 2 young ones on to deliver what we all feel they can do. Attack wise i think they will both add a different dimension to Isa, but equally the defensive prowess of Isa cannot be under-estimated and its evident how different our defence is when he is playing