Seen it on Wigan TV and I can't believe Brown is moaning about it. He's quite clearly just trying to plant a seed in referees and the RFL's minds.

Glad Walsh is ok after the accidental collision with his own man by the way.

Well if they view us that bad the next time a Saints player wants a testimonial against us just tell them to sod off, Wiganers paid good money for James Robys' day and good luck to him he deserves it the good player he is but the abuse our players get is just not worth it.

Glad he is ok, glad Roby got a well deserved testimonial match... Been worth it just for the bleating stains...

There is a genuine reason why Brown is bleating.

He took the team he coached last season down another place in the table. The "rookie" coach who took over from him at Huddersfield last year took almost the same players to league leaders..

He's under immense pressure at Saints, just as the likes of Millward and Noble were at Wigan.

He is just ting himself because he knows all hope of saints season rest on Luke Walsh. Personally I don't see the improvement everyone else sees in saints, the only decent signing they have made is Walsh and he could still be a flop

I have been saying this for weeks, apart from Walsh there other signings are hardly marquee.

Amor is a good signing and Masoe could be if his hearts in it. I'm not sure that they'll add enough to see them challenge for a trophy but they'll certainly be more of a threat then last year.

If Walsh stays fit all year and plays well they could come close IMO.

If they'd have brought in someone to play him with or had a good quality young half back coming through I'd think they would be right in the mix. None of Walsh/Turner, Walsh/Hohaia or Walsh/Wilkin are top quality half back pairings IMO (Walsh/Gaskell could have been!), though I may be wrong . They'll be much improved on 2013 anyway.

Kyle Amor will prove to be an excellent signing for us, and Masoe will give us the same impact that Pettybourne will provide for you.

I agree with you. But the difference being, we didn't need Pettybourne to win the GF. Yes we have lost Mossop, but I think most observers felt that he was far from being our best prop. I think that Friday proved we have six good props, with Hopkins and Burke to add who were not even selected. Our pack will be improved from last season when it was good enough to win the double. Wigan are not standing still.

I agree, and I never suggested otherwise. Is defensive always your default stance?

Haha I was only joking mate.

I'm not sure I'd agree that your squad is stronger this season. Sam Tomkins is a world-class player and in many ways is irreplaceable. Bowen is also class but I'm not sure he will have the same impact that Tomkins did. Hampshire is also potentially awesome but he is a year or two off that.

I also believe the experience of Richards will be hard to replace as well as his reliability with the boot. Charnley and Smith can both kick but they're a bit more hit and miss than Richards. You've also lost a steady, reliable, experienced player in Hansen and I don't think Clubb or Bateman are at that standard.

Having said all of that, I think Pettybourne and Sarginson will be great additions to your squad; I was impressed with both on Friday. I can also see Flower having another big year and emerge as one of the top props in the league, as long as he curbs those late hits on little half-backs.

Overall I think your squad is slightly weaker than last year, largely down to losing Tomkins. However it'll still be strong enough to be in the top 4 and challenging for both trophies, which hopefully will be the case for Saints too.

Agree with all of that.

I think the jury is still out when it comes to Brown, and that's probably the case for most Saints fans. I did have some sympathy for him last season because the injury list at times was ridiculous. I remember London away and Widnes at home in particular, I am sure we were in double figures for players missing. However he did also seem to tinker unnecessarily a few times as well. He is very impatient in terms of giving combinations time to develop, he chops and changes too hastily at times.

With regards to Smith, obviously with the benefit of hindsight it was a mistake letting him go. He is no world beater but he does exactly what is required of him. Good kicking game, good hands and can also spot a gap for himself now and then. I don't think he is what we need now we have Walsh, but over the last couple of years he would have been ideal. Obviously at the time we had Eastmond and he was looking like the best thing since sliced bread at one point. At the time nobody batted an eyelid at Smith leaving as we had Eastmond, so it'd be unfair to criticise the club too much on that decision.