James let no-one down at Cas - probably sensible to judge him on his actaul performance than any preconceived ideas.

id like to see pettybourne in the second row, hes looked good at prop, but with clubb impressing there too and looking naff in the second row, perhaps their roles can be switched.

They're hardly pre-conceived ideas, they are based on his abilities as a player over a number of years and I don't think he would get anywhere near the Wigan pack of the last few years.

He's a 100% for sure, but a couple of classes below what should be running out for Wigan IMO.

Is he playing prop? I'd be a bit miffed if I was Greg Burke and James is making the squad but maybe I'm wrong about him.

i think the basis of his inclusion in the squad for the season is so that people can be rested/rotated. i dont expect him to play more than 10 games, which would cover lauaki and powells inclusion last year, and those games to occur against 'lesser' opposition or in dire injury straits. barring some disaster in which 4 of our props are out, i dont expect him to be near any big games. hes there to do a job, to fill in for others. not to pound people into the ground or win games single handedly for us.

Id be even more miffed if I was Greg Burke and i was being made to play with a dislocated shoulder

Picked up before he went on loan?

burke vs james, i think wane sees it as important burke gets game time so is happy to send him where he is needed, whereas james would have been unlikely to ply vs cas had oloughlin not been injured and flower had to play loose. although i guess it could be argued burke could play at loose to avoid moving flower all together.

6 props in there (7 if you include Clubb) so James isn't necessarily playing. I wouldn't be too surprised to see Clubb, Flower or Pettybourne utilised at SR, Personally I'd go:

FB 1 Bowen,
RW 2 Charnley
RC 3 Goulding
LC 4 Thornley (I prefer Gelling but he's not in the 19)
LW 32 Burgess
SO 6 Green
SH 7 Smith
P 8 Taylor
H 15 Tomkins
P 24 Clubb
SR 10 Flower
SR 12 Farrell
LF 13 O'Loughlin

S 16 Dudson
S 17 Crosby
S 22 Pettybourne (Used at SR)
S 27 Williams (Used at H)

I was impressed with James vs cas, would pick him before Crosby/Dudson

Burke shouldn't really be playing prop anyway as he's not that effective there - he's a loose forward or second row and that's generally where he features for Wigan.

James is there to add depth to allow younger players to go out on loan and gain some experience, such as Greenwood (who need to be playing more regularly and don't qualify for the U19's) and to avoid having to rely on props from the under 19's, who might be very promising but can't be expected to play week after week.
Had someone like Greenwood remained at the club he'd have been on dual reg most weeks when he really needs to be playing at Super League level.

For props there's a big gap between U19's and actually being ready to play week in week out in Super League so it makes sense to have some experienced bodies in the side who can go out there and do a job without having to risk any youngsters.

Since Lauaki and Powell have left (no great losses really) there's a need for a bit more depth. Wigan ended up with a prop forward on the coaching staff and decided it was worth giving him a contract to allow better squad rotation, whether that's at the beginning, middle or back end of the season.

Since James won't be playing week in week out he might be able to give a little more when he does play.

Plus he scored against Saints on Good Friday at Knowsley Road, he can't be all that bad.

Spot on.

But just to add, and this may not go down well. I'm not sure if Greg Burke will ever make a top class forward. I don't think he has enough pace for any of the back three positions, so it'll have to be as prop if he is going to do it. I know he has a lot of admirers at Wigan but I'm not convinced at all. Hope I'm wrong btw.

I would have to agree - I look at Burke and think of Bryn Hargreaves to be honest. But that's right now and I've enough experience watching the game to know that the development of young players can sky rocket out of nowhere in a year or two - some players just reach their potential later than others.

James' stats against Cas were very good. To be honest, based on that performance I'd have him in the squad above Crosby and Dudson.

I agree. I just can't see where he fits into a quality back 3. He lacks mobility footwork hands of that yard of oace that takes him from a steady player to a top one.

I have been wondering for a while who our replacement for Locky is long term because I don't see it in Burke.

Bateman looks far more comfortable as a 13, although I would prefer him to concentrate on second row, leaving us with 2 years to find a long term successor to Locky.


Burke for me if he is to make it at Wigan will do so as a Flower style Prop.
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