hmm, clearly i have too..

H is a quality player stepping up and taking his opportunity, yes he had a bit of a whinge at some of the support after the Hudds home game 08 but hey, give him his dues, he's taking his chance now that Hock's out of the fray.

An all round quality guy really.. (and as for that opportunist try on friday gone)

glynola, wot point are you trying to make? the point in his thread is that the team are confident and united, no more, he aint blowing his own trumpet as you seem to think, he,s talkin on behalf of OUR TEAM.

What was the point you trying to make then, I found nothing in that article to take umbridge at or anything in there that I could even envisage someone else having issues with.

Hansens mistake last time was it was after we had just battered Hull, who were in challenge cup mode, we then lost after this and he looked utterly stupid after trying to stick it to the fans who hammered them after the Huddersfield embarrassment.

This time we and Hansen are both in good form, its not really the same thing at all.

Well said hansen, and i know some think not, but I rate him as a top player.

Hopefully Rouges is right and he is going to bulk up to prop next season.

Put a stone or 2 on this guy and he will be a menace to the other sides next year.

Perhaps we don't need to buy a prop!!

OK yes we do, but he will be useful.

My point is that I have no issues with Hansen as a player

But I do have an issue with his comments he makes to the media. To say we are now 'dark horses' after five wins (3 of which were against teams towards the bottom of the table) is very premature.

We need to show we can beat the big teams (especially away from home) before we can be considered as such.

The guy is a 100% club man and is always a trier... He may not be a "Star", but we would be a weaker squad without him. Some people here are always looking for something to moan about... FFS get behind them don't just pick at words you don't like..... Jeez!! And you can bet your life that the people who do the most KB moaning would be the last to say ANYTHING to these guys faces...

Are you serious?

H will have had a standard interview. At some point in the interview it will have gone something like this:

WEP: So having won 5 games on the bounce and beaten the champions do you think some people could consider Wigan to be the dark horses this year?
H: Errrr....yeah.

No interview is ever presented as per the transcript. Each sentence is a sound bite, nothing more. These are often presented in short, unstructured sentences, as per the quote you are chastising H for.

Purely from a performances perspective;

He's doing fine but I'd just like to see an extra dimension to his game.

I'd like to see more awareness when it comes to taking on the defence opposed to receiving the ball and just running direct & straight. I'd like to see more footwork, offloads and an overall more threatening approach to his attacking game.

His defence is fantastic and his ability to hit a gap near the oppositions tryline is too, but I'm not sure it's enough to hold his place when there is a queue of some very good back rowers snapping at his heels.

Agree with that but considering the Hock situation I can see that being a bit a lifeline for him and probably see him here for a good while longer.

Is there a proper time to declare a team "dark horses" ? We're hitting a bit of form, getting into the better league positions. We've beaten Leeds and, given the injuries they've incurred in the last few weeks, there will rarely be a better time to play Saints at KR (though beating them is easier said than done). Dark Horses is all we are at this stage, as HH said.

If we were any better placed, surely we'd be contenders rather than dark horses. I really can't see what you're getting at, all he's said is that we are still in with a chance, something you wouldn't necessarily have said six weeks ago.

Absolutely right. I've been "quoted" in the local press and not one single word of the quote passed my lips. No point reading too much into this sort of thing...not that I think he's "said" too much wrong anyway!