I don't see what all the fuss is about yesterday's team selection. If we'd won, nobody would have batted an eyelid and we'd all be banging on about how great our youngsters are. Fact is we let an 18 point lead go and i'd be more concerned about that, not the players we had out on the park. They were obviously good enough to to give Widnes a game, but not close it out...

He has said we had a couple of injuries [iand[/i he needed to see how some young players go. No he didn't. A sensible coach would have used the opportunity of a couple of injuries to try a couple of young players. Not put more than he needed to in the side which already out of necessity included the inexperienced Hughes. There was simply no actual [ineed[/i to do what he did at all. A couple of young players v Widnes and a couple of different ones v London would have told him far more than the rather pointless exercise of replacing half the team.

He screwed up and that is all there is too it.



You seem to have a very short memory of how we approached the regular season in 2010 and 2011. Given the "full steam ahead approach" is exactly what Madge did I would say you are completely wrong here. We won the GF when we won the league and won the CC when we finished second. We had a coach who didn't adopt the "full steam ahead approach" in Brian Noble. He was always telling us the competition started in August and we won nothing under him. It seems it is you who have not moved with the times and prefer the Noble approach rather than the one Madge used that brought is success.

Wigan moved with the times by appointing Madge who clearly set out to win every game by picking teams that could do so. Wane's contention that this is what he did v Widnes is a joke. Madge never once risked a loss by deliberately resting as many senior pros as Wane did v Widnes.

We also fell at the last hurdle last year because Maguire failed to rotate the squad well enough and had absolutely no plan B, particularly when it came to replacing Deacon which needed to be done much earlier, as opposed to the last couple of games.

Wane can't go in with the mentality of picking the best squad every week because Madge made that impossible. We don't know enough about how the young players will cope so Wane will have to give as many young players as possible as many chances as possible this year otherwise we're screwed next year.

He was a few senior players short against Widnes and he will know that, but he said the players on the pitch had the ability to win the game and they did. A lot of those players underperformed and he was wrong to think that a team good enough to beat Widnes would necessarily do so when asked to. I'd be very surprised if he made so many changes again but I'm glad he pushed his luck on this occasion, rather than doing it further down the line.

MM mistake last season was not to rest players before the very last game of the regular season just after the CC final. That was August we are now in early March and resting now will have no effect for August. The season before we did not rest so many players at any time of the season and finished top and won the Grand Final. And that GF wining season MM blooded a few young players every so often and that worked well.

People trying to draw any sort of comfort by the direct comparison as what happened last season and now are greatly mistaken. How are we screwed next year Apart from TL, maybe Finch, Carmont none of the players leaving have not got a direct replacement ready in that position. Lockers will stay Fielden is replaced by Mossop and Macilorum will stay as well. Roberts, Fielden, Marsh, Tuson are not guranteed first team spots even if fully fit. Apart from TL, Finch and Carmont the side will be almost the same as this season.

Given that game was a good game apparently to blood some young players i take it that most would be very happy to see the same side out on Sunday against the Broncos given they are on the same points and Widnes and are just as poor. So its an ideal opportunity to have them have another game in SL as after all points are meaningless and the comp starts in September. So how many would be happy to lose to Broncos this weeked with the same side out as yesterday. Given what people post on here i bet some would be happy if SW did the samething again. After all we are guranteed top 4 arent we.

We will know if SW thinks he has made an error yesterday if he plays the best side he can. Or if he thinks he is right he will play the same side again.

Playing just a couple of youngsters would of been very easy for them with all our stars carrying them. You need to let these lads stand on their own two feet and let them show what they are capable of. I have no doubt they were good enough to beat Widnes but they didnt play well enough and let Wane down.

When we won the GF we got knocked out of the challenge cup and had rest time. We also had a new system and suprised a lot of teams and blew teams away early and took the rest of the game easy, once people cottoned on it wasnt as easy. We have to plan for going all the way in both competitions and rotating the squad will help this. Last season come the play offs we looked dead on our feet.

The theory is good, we all need to know how the younger players will be able to perform in SL, it's just in this case the practice didn't work out after 80 minutes....who honestly thought that would be the case with 20 minutes to go, and a 3 score lead?

I've always been of the viewpoint that you try to finish as high in the table as possible, thereby, in theory again, making it less stressful to win through to the GF. Although Leeds bucked that theory last season, how many honestly think that will become a regular happening?

We always fell short under Brian Noble because we were having to do it the hard way every time.

The only reason this debate about disrespect has come up is because Wigan lost.

Raper did this against Saints picking four 17 year olds in an Easter derby but nobody said that was disrespecting the game because Wigan won, it was hailed as a great sign for Wigan's youth system.

I also seem to remember in our worst season of 2002 when David Plange had just taken over a coach we went to Wigan and got smashed by 50 points against a Wigan team with about 9 first teamers out because Wigan had the Challenge Cup the next week...nobody said that was disrespect either!

Correct, had we of won yesterday there would of been no talk about taking Widnes lightly or disrespecting them as some are suggesting.

I wasn't able to attend the game yesterday but was receiving updates whilst at work. To be quite honest although disappointed with the loss, receiving messages that the younger players had actually played pretty well seems as though Wane did the right thing, it shouldn't really be taken away from the defeat because of the players that was missing. Maybe Widnes should be getting some credit as well for their part in coming from behind twice?

Not quite correct Raper had no choice with the side he had major injuries whilst SW had a choice.

Correct. Our first team backs were decimated that day.

Radlinski, Carney, Dallas all missing through injury.

Not the same whatsoever.

Because finishing top no longer matters, clubs will risk losing 2 points to blood a few youngsters incase they are needed in the 'real' games - the playoffs.

27 regular season matches now barely matter, and its us fans who pay the price. £250 pound plus to watch 13 semi-meaningful games that are effectively pre-season friendlies until the season really starts in September. If you had to finish top to be Champions, every minute of every game is important. So its me and 3,500 Wiganers who paid and travelled to the match who suffers. Eventually regular season crowds will suffer. Even the team at Sky Sports on Friday night were saying Wire wouldn't be that bothered about losing - Eddie even asked Brian McDermott was he bothered about where he finished in the league!!!!

Thank you RFL and Sky Sports for ruining our game and brainwashing the masses.

o'brien had several run outs for the wire last season until he broke his leg, he's getting a little match time in now, i admit it's only against wigan but hey you can't have everything!

Whether Wigan actually disrespected Widnes or not is a matter of opinion.

For sure Wane overdid it, but young players need to be blooded, and better to do it against a side at the bottom of the table than one near the top.

But did he actually 'disrespect' Widnes.

The side he selected ran into big leads on two occasions. It doesn't seem totally unreasonable that he felt they had it in them to win. Losing an 18-point lead in the second half can't be 100% laid at Wane's door. He wasn't out there missing tackles. The fact that Widnes won by only one point hardly indicates that the team sent out to meet them was some kind of insult.

Can we keep Marsh?

Rumour has it that he may be heading to Saints next season.