Totally agree mate. Our set move is devastating most of the time but we do need to mix it up more and , as you say, we certainly have the players to do this.

to quote you... "At the risk of taking another cyber bashing...

Hardly a "Bashing", i asked for your views on how to improve things, and it took me three attempts. If i offended your delicate sensibilities, you need to get out more. Once again, thank you for your views.

Excuse me? Did I say this was a bashing? No. I was making reference to a previous thread. It's ok I get it, you are rude in your manner, regardless of such I provide a full detailed account of my views, you on the other hand come back with this, once again another pathetic attempt to insult "you need to get out more" I think you need to watch the game a little more.

Racking up high scores against the majority of SL teams doesn't make a good team, just emphasises the poor quality of opposition, which most fans can see.

In recent weeks we've been hammered by Wire, beat a terrible Salford side JUST got past KR. What would have happened if we lost to KR?

Wigan Peer-I'll ask you again, now I provided a summary of attacking structures what are your thoughts? This is the second time I've asked now. (Think I'll approach you in the same manner you spoke to me)

Tbh there really is a point here. Only occasionally do we really mix it up, we generally just rely on our players simply being better than the opposition by a decent margin, Hock, Sam etc breaking through. It wouldn't kill us to mix things up with the Melbourne/QLD standard ruck move, flatish to a half with a crash dummy on his outside and Tomkins tearing through the middle, his wiry strength would be great for that. Last night we almost bothered with the play we started using at the end of last year and rarely this season where a centre shifts side to create an overlap (move broke down before Goulding got it on the left). Instead of the pivots lining up always spread out, have the option of a shallower half and Sam deeper running against the play to make it unclear which will receive it like that beautiful Quins play not too long ago.

Our team is so consistent with the structures at the moment, just adding a bit of variation to it.

+: Last night our attack was much improved because our halves were engaging the defence before shifting it, and at speed. We've lacked that at times this year too.

In which case, you'd expect the other top teams to have scored record points too; they haven't.

I agree that the execution has been lacking recently, but that's not the fault of the tactics. It doesn't matter what the game plan is if you only achieve a 50% completion rate; you need possession in order to attack.

No I wouldn't actually. As when a poor team plays a poor team the contest will be more even, hence a less high scoring game.

Wigan's tactics are clearly good enough to beat the majority of teams, but not to beat the best.

Well as this thread is about your view, as you opened the thread, its only fair that we hear them. And i asked you to clarify them, which you did, eventually.

Our problem has not been the structures but the application which has gone to pot since TL has been injured. Its one thing wanting to have plays like team "a" and other plays like team "b", but we have to play with what we have. TL's absence has also seen the threat of Finch lessen, and Pat's absence has reduced attacking threat, and % of tries converted, and, i believe, affected Charnleys confidence. The plays were working well before TL was injured, just look at tries scored. If they are working fluidly we will score from them. In the major games we have lost the problem has not been the backs, its been in the forwards. To use a football analogy, everybody knew that Beckham could kick a dead ball, and get a half a yard to get a cross in, players knew, but could not stop it.

If you open a thread with the line "I expect a bashing" then expect one. Other people have opinions too, as equally valid and invalid as yours. Have a lovely evening.

The other glaring problem is our lack of a kicking game .We saw glimpses last night in the 2nd half when Finch was putting the kicks to the left hand corner,that was working turning stains around giving our forward a liitle respite but after 4 successive kicks it disappeared. We dont have a Sinfield or Briers even a Wilkin ,whose kicks can keep turning a team around throughout the match as our kicking game this season has been pants.

Wilkin? Did you watch the game last night?

But the point is, surely if some of the opposition is poor, as you say, you would expect a team like Warrington or Saints to rack up similar scores than us?

And the only team we have not beaten all year is Warrington, once when we beat ourselves due to poor discipline, and once because Wire played like it was their GF and subsequently lost the following week to one of the bottom 2 sides.

Or are you saying that every team apart from us is poor, at which point your argument about our attack becomes invalid, as we're the runaway best team in the comp?

Our attack isn't perfect, and has become disjointed with the injury to Tommy, who was one of our major pivots for most of the season. The attack is not broken, and to try and go with a completely different style of attack, than the one that has worked all year, so close to the end of the year, would be one big risk to take.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

So how about the cumulative points that we've scored against the supposed good sides in the table?

Saints - 88
Leeds - 70 (including a 50 point haul away from home with a 2nd string)
Catalans - 72
Hudds - 48 (including hammering the then league leaders away from home with no pack)

We lost by penalty kicks to Wire the first time, and lost the forward battle the second. We could have had 256789875787 moves that day and would have still lost because the ball was so slow as Wire marshalled us well. It happens. We've done it to sides several times.

If we had lost to HKR then we would have played a full strength side last night and imho won the game. We very nearly won it with 12 men for over an hour. The killer tries came off the back of a lucky bounce and a 5th tackle penalty giving them another 6 on our line with an extra man.


I've said for a while that I think Wire will win the GF, but should we play them and our pack get on top then they'll struggle to defend against our supposed one move just like everyone else. We get a quick PTB and the defence struggles to set in time leaving a gap somewhere be it where Finch can put Hock through, Sam can chime through, or Sam can put the winger or centre away. Don't panic.

I haven't read the whole thread as I got bored but most teams have one set planned move and variations of that. Saints when Long was there only had one move, but the dummy runners would sometimes get it also if defneders overread it the ball came out the back. It is the variations on the play that needs to be worked on.