I think you'd be arguing in purely hypotheticals to be honest. Isa covered centre, but who knows what would have happened if Escare would have been on the bench. Who knows what would have happened if another player was injured. It's all hypothetical. My belief that Escare adds something to our team starting from the bench remains.
Isa to 13? No, that would be Hamlin, who's always been a middle.

Sammut starting both games? Possibly yes, which for me is madness. Roll back several months when he was at London and we were going unbeaten in the playoffs and then won the GF with Williams and Tommy. Who then in their right mind would have suggested Sammut should/would replace anyone in our 17.

To get Escare on to the bench we’d need to get Tony Clubb fitter or leave him out looking at last night. He looked knackered after 5 minutes of both his spells and if we’re to then bring Escare in for another forward like Navarette or Isa we’d need to see a real increase in minutes from the other forwards. I think Clubb did a total of around 20-25 mins last night which isn’t enough from a senior forward.

I do seem to recall Clubb taking a few weeks to get going in other seasons, so hopefully it’s just a case of finding his match fitness.

Honestly think Clubb is past it.

As I recall, you were amongst many of us who were very critical of our halves and their lack of creativity throughout last season and agreed with me that we needed to prioritise signing a scrum half. We improved when we switched TL and Powell for the Super 8s but I’d still argue that TL is better as a 9 than a 7 and he’s definitely a better 9 than Powell.
We brought in a scrum half, albeit not one we might have wanted but we have to try him. I’d say Sammut and Williams need to be given 8 to 10 games together to see how they go and TL goes to 9. If he can do 80 mins, great and if not, Powell should have a bench spot. By no means a scapegoat but Powell should not be in the 17 if everyone is available.

I thought he had a really good season last year in fairness but this new interchange set up and the various ways of speeding the game up will test forwards in different ways. So far we’ve seen mobile, fit forwards like Flower and Bullock thrive but Clubb struggled.

You're right, I was all for signing a new creative half, as we looked flat, lifeless and void of ideas at times last season. But, who am I or anyone for that matter to drop a 6 and 7 that led the team to an unbeaten run in the playoffs and then to win a GF? In the last god knows how many games we've only lost 1 with Tommy and Williams in the halves, that's all, 1 game v Saints away at the start of the season. What would be the logic in changing a winning team to accommodate Sammut?

In that 10 game spell it was our defence which was the main reason for winning the GF. Only Saints away and Cas at home (8s) can I recall us attacking with any fluidity

Does anyone know the attendance? Leeds' following was pitiful, and I've never seen the Boston stand so empty. Sky showing it on the free to view sports channel may have put a few off too.

11,200

Thanks. Lowest crowd for a regular season Wigan v Leeds game since September 2002.

Get your own house in order , only 10,000 home fans for the Champions first home game of the season !

The quality of the opposition often dictates the size of the crowd. I'm not sure whether to be disappointed that only 11200 wanted to watch Wigan v Leeds, or be pleased that 11200 wanted to watch Wigan take on a side that narrowly avoided relegation last season, and will probably be in the bottom half this season.

Let's see if I can catch me a Rhino fish....

Nonsense. Yes the D was good. But to disregard the halves in such a run of games and the final is just ridiculous.

I’m not disregarding them but they weren’t exactly that good that it can’t be changed up for the bettter. It’s clear to everyone man and his dog that Tommy is a 9 not a 7

The crowd was very disappointing - was hoping for 13k at least. But I think there is a slight mitigating factor with the WCC being played next week. A lot of the 'pay on the day' fans may have decided to give it a miss as they'll be paying out for more expensive tickets the week after. A points deduction and a loss against Saints will hardly have helped to stir up enthusiasm as well.