Tbh it seems like we extended his contract so that we wouldn't lose him for nothing, I suppose we'll find out though.

I'd like to see him back at Wigan as cover for wing with Tierney going on loan somewhere.

If he's happy to fight for a place as a utility player then great but if it's still an attitude of playing halfback or nothing then it's tough to see how he fits in.

Whilst I think people who said he was over-rated have been proved right, I do still think it would be a real shame to see him leave.

I doubt we would pay a fee for him.
He has had a couple of good games on the wing. However, his kick returns are quite weak and he is struggling to retain the ball in contact at times. Defensively, he has been sucked into no-man's land a few times, but playing outside Ben Crooks doesn't help.
It might be a case of him wanting to leave Wigan and Wigan wanting space on the salary cap. If that is the case and there is no fee involved I think he might move. If Wigan want a fee I think he'll be going elsewhere, but he's not exactly hit property after this year.

I hope this year has served as a bit of a wake up call to him. It was widely reported that he was unhappy about being selected at FB and only wanted to play in the halves which I always thought was a shocking attitude of a 19/20 year old who should've been happy playing anywhere. He hasn't developed as a SL halfback during this season on loan at Cas and if anything it has reinforced the opinions of those who didn't think he was a halfback. I'd have no problem with him coming back in the Sarginson-type utility back role but I think it's fairly clear he'll be way down the pecking order for a HB position, even if as rumoured Smith does move on.

The stupidity of it all is that had he stayed put, and been willing to fight for his place, he would have played plenty of games for Wigan in the halves this season. Williams has missed 10 games this season (plus his first game back gregson played in the halves).Shorrocks has played a further 5 games from the bench. That is 16 games he would have featured for Wigan in the halves in. And another 4 games at the start of the season when Sam was injured, but Williams and Smith played would have been 4 games at FB.

20 games. Imagine if the guy just had a bit of fight in him!

Bad news for him is he has fallen behind Shorrocks in the pecking order.

He is not a halfback, as much as he wants to think he is. There is no way he would have survived 20 games in the halves as he's just not got it there I'm afraid and Wane wouldn't have let him stop there. We have 2 halfbacks on our coaching staff, which tells its own story that they have played a prop and a hooker there and left Hampshire on the sidelines as they haven't seen anything in him to suggest he has a future as a half. His best games have been on the wing lately, but his positional play in defence needs some working on, and his kick returns are nothing to shout about. The same goes for fullback. I only see a future in SL for him if he resigns himself to the 'utility back' roll within a squad as he has no position that he is good enough at to truly make his own, but he does have good speed and footwork and can follow the ball to back up well and sniff out an opportunity. Whether anybody can convince him of this is a different matter altogether. If he still is insistent that he wants to play in the halves then the Championship is where he will be doing it I think. I would keep him at Cas for his utility value, but not if a fee was involved. Would you consider a player swap for Joel Monaghan?!!

I wonder, with the right conditioning if he could make a decent centre.

I'm sure he could. He has the skill set to be the ideal utility player. Whether that's what he wants to be long term I doubt it. I suppose it's a bit like the Ratchford situation at Warrington where fans can't make their mind up where he actually fits in the side. Some actually think that Russell is a better fullback, which is certainly not my opinion.

www.wigantoday.net/sport/wigan-w ... -1-8059381 That's a shift away from the "definitely keeping him" that we were hearing earlier this season...

www.wigantoday.net/sport/wigan-w ... -1-8059381 That's a shift away from the "definitely keeping him" that we were hearing earlier this season...

Well, this is it; do we need him? As others have said, only as third or fourth choice wing/utility cover at best.

Rogues> But given a choice between Hampshire and Ratchford, who would you choose? Ratchford, surely.

I wouldn't read to much into that. When a player is out on loan for a season I'm sure it's fairly standard to review it when he gets back.

True. Assuming that we aren't going to sell him, though, he does need to be loaned to a club where he's likely to get a lot more game time than he has at Cas. I don't really see him as having developed his game where he is, which is pretty much the point of the loan system.