Matty Smith back to Wigan apparently announced at Saints awards evening.

Correct. Taking over the Academy.

Eamon O’Carroll coming to Saints as Assistant Coach.

Surprised at that I thought O Carroll was doing well in a director of rugby role signing players. To go back on the coaching side shocked me

He was first team coach at Bradford Bulls.

He's just left Bradford as head coach.

Pretty much all of these should benefit Wigan. https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/sport/ru ... s-30180365

Pretty much all of these should benefit Wigan. https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/sport/ru ... s-30180365

There needs to be more allowance for club trained players. We need to get more juniors playing the game at every club.

IMG should be insisting that to get a Super League licence a club should have a scholarship, academy and reserve team to complete a pathway structure to the first team.

It's so obvious, and fans have been saying it since Day One. But do they listen?

Regarding injuries from foul play and the salary cap respite, what are clubs supposed to do with the money, sign a player short term? I don’t think that will work!

Great idea in principle but where are all the players going to come from?

I think I'm right in saying some clubs are prevented from running fully fledged academys/scholarship teams. To be honest I'm not sure that even in an ideal world everyone should have one anyway. There are a lot of players running round in reserves at some clubs who very obviously are never going to be Super League quality. They just chuck them in there because they are obliged to run a reserves. Meanwhile those players pour their efforts into an unobtainable dream instead of getting a normal job, qualifications etc, then they don't return to the amateur game when it all falls apart. It doesn't really get talked about but I do think there's a level of responsibility from the pro game to not irresponsibly get lads involved who have no real chance of making it.

It would take some smart management but I'd sooner see closer links between NCL sides and reserves so that players who mature later or take up the game later still have opportunities, and those who don't make it still return to the amateur game.

Clubs need to be coaching in schools. Unfortunately, PE teachers and rugby are scarce on the ground.

Unless we get more juniors in the game we are never going to compete with the Aussies. Penrith has more juniors than the whole of the teams in our country.

Bit left field but who remembers Gabe Hamlin? Was a solid forward for us and currently only 27. Did he get banned for awhile for drugs?