Feka's size and shape sends a message to all current and prospective players about the level of professionalism demanded by the club.

So his performances mean nothing?

If his size and shape was such a negative issue than I'd doubt he'd be one of, if not the most popular player at the club.

Players coming through the ranks aren't naive nor thick enough not to understand Feka, his physique and the fact his presence within the first team largely (excuse the pun) down to his physical size.

Come on get real!! Feka's size and fitness has very little to do with what is going on at Wigan. He has been one of our best players and consistently makes an impact when he comes on.

The message it sends out is that you need to be the size, shape and level of fitness to make the greatest impact on the field.

If you were going to bag any of the props then it has to be Fielden - and that has been done to death.

It's strange how Saints fans have a go at the size of Feka, and conveniently forget how big Barry Ward was, and how much of a hero he was to many Saints fans.

Feka is 10 times the player Ward ever was.

Sorry but for once I agree with Mugwump (Despite the signature to his posts - "Celtic Nobodies" is an offensive way to describe a new team in SL and speaks volumes of the attitude of Saints fans these days...)

Feka is grossly overweight for a pro RL player. I've made the point previously that when Tuigamala - a big star in world rugby union at the time - was signed by Wigan he was forced to lose his excess weight. Sadly standards have slipped massively at Wigan. The backroom staff should follow Noble out of the door when he leaves. Which will hopefully be soon.

Fair comment but I revert back to one of my earlier postsIMO, Feka is doing his job with the tools best suited to him. There is no point in moulding him into a style of prop that he isn't built to be. I think the question is; Is Feka the style of player that we want within the squad?
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Ward wasn't a hero, he was sh*t and the only reason people warmed to him is because her came across as a pub player living the dream.

Feka is more than 10 times the player Ward was too, more like 1000. Doesn't stop him being out of shape though.

To answer your and ABP's points, I don't think the extra "weight" (i.e. fat) that Feka is carrying helps him very much. He's put lots of extra weight on this season but he doesn't seem to be more effective to me and if anything his game time seems even shorter than before.

If he converted some of that fat to muscle he would do even more damage than he does now. I gave Tuigamala as an example because his power and ability to break tackles increased when he slimmed down. He gained muscle bulk (and he was a strong guy to begin with) and was able to hit the line quicker and more often break tackles than when he was fat, even though overall he was lighter.

Even if Feka didn't build muscle bulk but lost weight and was only 90% as effective in breaking the line, if he was fit enough to do that for 40 mins instead of 25-30 as a result of losing the weight just think of the difference that would make to our team.

Sorry but I remain unconvinced that SL has room for any overweight players.

As for Fielden, there is another example of a player who isn't all he should be under the fitness and conditioning regime at Wigan. He's just too small physically to offer any real threat to a decent SL pack.

No. But they don't mean everything, either.

Give over, we were taking the mick.

He was lauded when he kicked a touchline conversion against NZ in a friendly, that's the only notable thing he ever did bar keep the profits of The Crispy Cod high.

Feka showed how good he could be when he lost a load of weight after being done for assault, I thought all this talk about him being more effective would have been put to bed after he actually got somewhere near fitness.

Obviously not.

That's a wind up, yes? If not, you are off your head. We were held to one try at Brewery Field so my guess is that most Saints fans know all too well the ability of the Crusaders to make life difficult for teams, especially when they stroll down there thinking all they have to do is turn up (which I suspect was Wigan's attitude). My guess is Mugwump was having a go at Wigan, not the Crusaders. Just in case you didn't get it.

Ive slated Feka on here a few times this season but i agree that he played well on Saturday. He was our best player imo.

However, he still isn't getting the best out of himself. He could be a lot better! Get in shape FFS!!