Agree re Briers, it was very noticeable his influence in his short time at Wigan, and his time in Oz will only have helped is development as a coach

O Carroll has gone under the radar with me but i think the noises of disappointment that have come out of Bradford in the last week or so are telling, so looks like another promising signing as assistant coach

re props i'd posted on the Leeds forum a few weeks back as they were rumoured to be interested in Liam Byrne. I'd said at the time, with Leeds and yourselves potentially looking for props, it would be interesting to see who either of you signed, and it the market would become slightly inflated. I know we laughed at ourselves last year signing a prop / week, but its proven to have been good business this year and enabled us to maintain intensity for the full 80 minutes

If Murphy regains his fitness I think he will be a good signing. Feldt has always been a class winger however, for me, the jury is out on Sailor. I know he has not played many games in the NRL and given he is 26 years old that is a surprise but on the few times I have seen him he has blown hot and cold. Offensively he seems fine but defensively, and under the high ball, he has been vulnerable. Whether Saints can push for silverware depends on how their forwards perform. Will they recover from injury and find their previous form or will age be against them. Certainly, as proved in the playoff match at Wire they are capable of competing with the best in a one off match but can that form be sustained over the season? It would appear to me that, Saints have taken their eye off the ball when it comes to forward planning. They need a centre and that can only be Hurrell or a non-federation player as there is no one available in SL who fits the bill. That means, unless more non-federation players are released then they will have to find some home grown talent to replace Matautia who, in my view, was outstanding for Saints. Maybe there will be swan songs for Lomax, Paasi, Walmsley & Co. But given their injury records, form and age it may be too much of an ask. Briers and O’Carroll will definitely bring something different to the party and that will be of benefit to some of the young players coming through the ranks. I’ve a funny feeling that they may well be relying on Robertson, Whitby, Stephens and Vaughan to step up. Regarding player investment I expect that Saints will spend up to the salary cap (circa £2.1m) but it will be interesting to see how far beyond that amount they are willing to go. It looks, from an outsider looking in, that they may be trying to cut their cloth. 2025 promises to be an interesting year for our friends over Billinge Hill.

Saints have given new contracts to Davies and Bennison. They have signed a winger in his mid 30s and another who has been injured for 2 years. Not learning are they? They will bomb out again next season.

Saints' winger signings are fine but they're clearly missing a centre and their key forwards are ageing. Also - who's going to kick the ball for them now Dodd has gone? I don't think Lomax has ever really excelled in that area.

Certainly feels like more signings are needed but it's difficult to get anything done so late, with quota spots in short supply. Multiple clubs seem like they'd still like to do business.

We'll just have to sit here, with our completed squad, that has cover in all areas and polish our trophies for a few months

I had to laugh when someone posted on Red Vee that Wigan have not strengthened, why would we need to buy players? Our young squad will continue to develop next season which should make us even harder to beat. Plus we will have Isa and O’Neill back in the fold.

Don’t say that! According to redvee saints will be challenging wigan next season!! Lmao

There are some whoppers on Red Vee but you’ve been extremely selective here.

The vast majority admit that Wigan are the benchmark and praise them for the succession planning in assembling a young squad with key players tied down on long term contracts.

Others like me fear that they are going to dominate for a long time given the money of Danson and the Academy which has always produced quality players.

The rest of SL may be playing for 2nd place which is great if you are a Wigan fan but not good for the sport.

We still have to work within the salary cap just like anyone else...

I suppose what this would allow us to do is offer very high salaries to our 3 marquee players?

Other than that, what are you referring to?

Yes you do but the investment Danson is making into the scholarship/Academy- means that an already strong youth set up will get infinitely stronger.

If the likes of Nathan Cleary decides that he does want a couple of years in the UK to be near his girlfriend then really there is only Wigan that can compete. Even Warrington may struggle.

When we had our 4 in a row we only won one CC whereas Wigan have won is it the last 6 trophies available?

The only issues Wigan may have is the younger players wanting to be paid commensurate with their trophies and then you will have SC issues. We had similar with the likes of Knowles and Lees becoming important players and wanting the big wage rises

Danson's wealth means that there will be minimal NRL clubs that can compete with him. It's a whole other level to anyone in SL.

Just to add by the way I'm not saying that Danson's wealth is the sole reason Wigan are the top dogs at the moment.

Matty Peet has proved a masterstroke and Radlinski has grown into his CEO role and is doing a fantastic job of running the club really well.

When you add the wealth of the owner and his willingness to invest into the above then its going to be really difficult for the rest of SL to catch up.

Wigan's success may in part be due to Danson but a lot of it is down to Ian Lenagan surely? He laid the foundation for the success we now have. His recruitment of McGuire in 2010 was a masterstroke. He also placed his faith in Kris Radlinski who over time has created a club ethos and culture which all seem to have bought in to.

Although it is 10 years since we were beaten by the Roosters in Sydney when we put our defeat down to the pack being too small compared to theirs. It has taken time but we now have a huge set of forwards. We've gone from Singleton, Isa, Faz & Lockers to Havard, Thompson, Nsemba, Faz, Walters and Ellis. Collectively they are huge.That is some transition. It has taken time but wow!

Where Danson may come in is that we could afford NRL players under the marquee rules. Also offer the best young UK talent terms to join Wigan which few can compete with.

As a Wigan supporter I want the club to go from success to greater success. Other clubs can and will compete and the RFL/SL just never ever do themselves any favours in managing the sport. The IMG gradings just announced are absolutely bewildering to average fans like me. Cas & Wakey grade A when Hudds and HullFC grade B. Are facilities for the paying customer not taken into account? Hull & Giants have excellent facilities for the paying customer. Castleford's and Wakefield's grounds are an insult to those who pay to watch Rugby League. Absurdity it its finest!

The end of term report for Wigan, Wire, Saints Leigh is excellent. The same report for the RFL/SL/IMG should read "Massive Improvement required"

Super League's club scene is improving and will continue to do so. The sport's management needs to improve.

I don’t disagree that the majority have the same view as you hence I did say someone. That someone is one of the main posters by the way. However, the vast majority of posters also believe that Wigan’s success is down to SL being very poor. It’s funny how they think it was so competitive during 2019-2022 but now it seems to have fallen off a cliff

You're always going to get that

A few Wigan fans said that our 4 in a row was due to Covid and a poor quality SL

No doubt it is now top quality

The general quality of superleague is pretty poor compared to some other eras but you can only beat what's in front of you and you can only spend what you can spend under the cap. Some Saints fans always had an issue with people pointing that out but I've no issues with stating that it's still the case now, just as it was during the 4 in a row for Saints.


It might not go down well with Stu and the like but I do think the quality has been a little better in the last couple of years than the previous 4 or 5, with an improved Wigan, Wire, HKR, Leigh etc but it's still short of the late 90's through to around 2015 IMO. It really started to dip after that but there are some signs of recovery. Look at Salford and a poor Leeds team making GF's against Saints. We also made one and were so far off our current level.

HKR and Warrington I'll give you but you can also argue that the Catalan of 21-23 were much stronger and really dropped off this year. That 2021 Catalan side that we beat in the GF was a good one and we only just won that game.

That's true enough. Generally I think the standard of the sides has been pretty poor for a while. Saints had that period of domination and nobody could put a regular challenge together year in, year out. We've had a couple of years now and I do think we've been pushed a bit harder in general but again there isn't a stand out side that you're unsure if Wigan can get over the top of at their very best.

What the league could do with us 3 or 4 sides to hit that level Saints reached or Wigan have hit over a sustained period, to then build those rivalries that are fierce and where you genuinely have no idea who the favourites are in the biggest games. I'm not sure we've had a Grand Final where you hand on heart couldn't call it for years now. Any team can always lose a game on the day but you've known who the favourites are. As I say, I do think there some signs of improvement via HKR, Warrington and Catalans again look strong for 2025. You'd also imagine there will be some improvement in Saints and they'll always be there or thereabouts. Leeds look to be really trying to change things up as well and Arthur will have them well drilled and Salford and Leigh are making decent moves, so it won't be straightforward. Hopefully for the games sake, a few sides really kick on and make it a free for all come the end of the season.

You can only beat what is in front of you.

I'm curious what Saints fans see as their best wins from the 4 in a row era, outside of beating Penrith. There really didn't seem to be that much competition.

For me the best win under Pete is beating Saints in the cup semi.

The closest I can think for them is winning the 2020 Grand Final. Difference being they were still on their run while we were in the middle of a transition.

The other one is when they annihilated us in the 2019 play offs, not a good game but an amazing performance.

2020 they scrapped passed a side that was starting Brad Singleton and Joe Bullock at prop, with a very young Oli Partington at loose forward.

2019 against us late in the season was their best performance, we couldn’t get out of our own 20

The Catalan team was a good one in 23,the HKR was a good one in 24,so now we have beat 2 very good ones.

Now that Wigan are winning it isnt down just to the coach and players we must factor in our owner and his cash even though Lenaghan started it,is there a cap still in place and other teams have brought in new players etc to hopefully win a trophy or 2.

What we have is a culture created by Radders and Peet that has got the feeling of togetherness between the team and fans not seen for a few years,its really good to be a Wigan fan or player at the min.If we go on to win more trophies it will be down to those factors not just down to cash as some people want to imply.
Other clubs have money upto the cap how they spend it is down to them to spend it wisely or not.

A culture created by radders? Lmao he’s been in charge for like 20 years. He’s finally got it right after years of failure and you think he’s some kind of bill gates lol

20 years ago Radders said the culture was wrong then and through time it has changed with him and Peet and to be honest Lenaghan as well so yes my little fellow Kris has been a part of this culture revolution.

So in all of those years of 'failure' we still won plenty of trophies. Now he is getting it right 'in your words Steph' we look pretty formidable. We have a succession plan for players in all positions and only the best make it through. We have the best young coach in the game and the wealthiest owner who is investing in improving the already top notch facilities (which is something any owner could do if they wanted to) We already have by far the best side in the league and it's young. Any team that could topple us would be well deserved. It won't be Saints, not for a while yet, It won't be Hull KR and it wont be Catalans. Warrington look the main dangers but Leeds are recruiting well and could be back next season.

Wild Saturday nights in again for Robert.