If you are going to be a side that challenges, you will have to get used to that. Look at the players we lose to the NRL every season. We are just higher up the food chain than Huddersfield, the NRL uses Wigan as it's hunting ground.

The usual criticism of a signing before he even pulls on a shirt I see. Have we found our scapegoat for 2023? Nobody has any idea how he will go for us and there are plenty of examples in history where you think one thing will happen with a signing and it's the absolute opposite.

The loan deal is strange in that it's not done often, but if Wire want him out and we feel he may do well then why would we not be in for him? I don't see him playing for Wire again unless major changes happen there and I suspect we will have the first chance at signing him permanent after this loan. Clubs don't let players rot away in a SC sport.

Rather than look at why we would take a player from Warrington on loan and send him back a better player etc...why would they send a player on loan to Wigan and possibly improve Wigan? They thought highly enough of him to offer him a mega deal and suddenly he's off to the horrible club down the road on loan. More to that than some are seeing definitely.

*Removes cherry and white specs and changes out of WRL pyjamas.

I didn’t realise until today Wire shifted King from his natural side on the right to the left side at the start of the 21 season
. Prior to that he had predominantly been a right sided player only very occasionally playing on the left usually covering for injuries.

It’s interesting to note the criticism of his impact started in 21, which coincided with his move out of his natural position and just after he signed this big contract that seems to be attributed to some for his loss of form.

I have no issue with players moving on- it’s a short career- but they can at least do us the service of seeing out their current contract first without crying they aren’t getting picked! Wardle didn’t play for over two years, other clubs would have dumped an academy player in that situation, we didn’t, we gave him a contract whilst he was injured to enable him to continue his rehab, and then another at the end.
The reason he hasn’t played much this season is because he got injured (yet again) and someone else took the shirt. He was given the chance to shine in another position and didn’t take it. If what you say is true about the fall out then that’s down to him and his attitude so again poor form.
Contrast to pryce who has been the name on everyone’s lips, hasn’t been getting picked, including missing out on the final etc and has had offers but is doing the decent thing by seeing out his contract next season before moving on.

He wasn’t an academy player though. He was a first team player at the age of 18 and anyone that had seen him as a junior knew the potential he had.

Let’s not pretend Huddersfield we’re giving a kid a contract out of the goodness of their heart. They were signing him up despite injury because of his undoubted potential and in the knowledge if they didn’t and let him go someone else would sign him if he became available.

I know the reason as to why he has fallen out with Watson, but I’m shocked it has lead to his departure from the club. Maybe it’s Watson trying to set an example in the same way Powell has at Wire which have resulted in some departures.

I appreciate what Jools is saying. Loyalty works both ways, but we as fans don't know what gets said behind closed doors and for all we know he has been told he isn't wanted for one reason or another.

Always rumours when players leave that fans didn't expect to go and there is always the "he's rubbish" or "he's a bad egg" nonsense spouted.

RG has been a big advocate for us signing Wardle for a while but it was one I never expected to happen. If things have gone on at Hudds and he isn't welcome then hopefully it is us that benefit from that and it'll be another great piece of work from the club.

when I heard this I was a bit "meh".

But, after a bit of thinking.....
- an improvement on Bibby, so its going in the right direction.
- he's only young and up until this season I really rated him, big and strong English centre who's a real threat in the air
- dont know where this puts us with regards signing of other centres ie. Wardle, Leutele, retaining Thorniley, ???

That’s very interesting, I hadn’t realised that either.

Wire board are saying he is a natural left centre but I’m sure he played mainly on the right pre 21.

He did play a little on the left.

If you look at his highlights on YouTube and his top 10 tries all except one come from him playing in the right centre.

He was definitely right centre for Huddersfield v Cas last week and went well IMO.

He was definitely an academy player- his two year lay off occurred before he had ever played a first team game. The club took a massive gamble as potentially those problems could have come back to haunt him again and again.
He has had other injuries resulting in less lengthy layoffs since then too- which is perhaps what you are thinking of.

Jools, I give you Gareth Hock, Zak Hardaker, Sam Tomkins and many others who have left or wanted to leave before their contracts were up. It happens all the time at Wigan. We currently have KPP angling for a move to the NRL mid contract.

Its not, jonh's trying to get reality to fit his narrative, when reality shows his beat form has come when he's played at left centre, in 2020 and 21, till he did his mcl at saints, and for some reason when he came back from injury, we stopped kicking bombs for him to pluck out the sky with ease, which he had been doing at thr start of the season.

That and widdop king and lineham were pretty fire for most of that 18 months(when lineham wasn't suspended)

I’m going off his highlights reel and what I have seen.

Turns out he did say he prefers the left which I was surprised to see given he seems to have played better on the right.

There is no way Wardle will sign for us to play on the right side.

As I said before I’m 100% confident Wardle was a done deal and certainly was the case up to 2 weeks ago. The only way I can see that having changed is IF Wigan and Warrington have come to an agreement over this move but I’d be stunned if that was the case.

Stranger things have happened. I know of one club who has signed an out of contract player from another club. They are now offering his current the opportunity to sign him back for £60k without him officially as yet in real terms actually leaving.

I think King is a good signing however I’d much prefer Wardle.

I hope we have not entered into a situation where we have taken a financial incentive to come to an arrangement that sees us take King and allow Wire to keep Wardle. I’d be very surprised if that were the case.

Come on Rouges, give us a hint on Wardle. We all know that you know, you know