Maybe one season it doesn't happen but the last couple of years have been a mirror image of how this one is going in terms of league form. That doesn't guarantee we turn it again and there is no doubt that this HKR provide the stiffest challenge of the last 3 seasons now but I think that will (eventually) excite these players. You obviously pretty much agree, given Wigan would be your charity bet but it's no given.

What puts me at ease with this team is the amount of big game players in it. The last thing guys like French and Smith could be called is flat track bullies. They're going through the motions at the minute. French barely looks interested and Smith can't concentrate for toffee in these spells but when the big games come and stress is applied, they absolutely love it. I don't think they've been as far off the mark in this spell as those two but I'd put Field, Wardle, Marshall, O'Neill, Thompson, Farrell and especially Ellis in that bracket as well. 


HKR are playing like Cas in 2017, where they're riding the crest of a wave and fair play to them. They've worked hard and built over these last few seasons. In all honesty though, I think what they're doing at the minute and the praise they're getting (rightfully) plays in to Wigans hands. A team winning two on the bounce could become complacent in the big games but after the Hull cup loss and having a few months of watching KR play like this and listen to all that noise from the media, there is absolutely zero chance of that happening. 

The run of home games towards the back end will be key - if we can build some form and momentum in those games then assuming we're 2nd we'll be tough to beat in a home semi final. 

One area our attack was breaking down consistently on Friday was around Kaide Ellis. Not blaming him as such but it was an obvious tactic by Wakefield to crowd him.


The Cas 2017 comparison entered my mind as well. They dominated the league but fell flat in the final. Ultimately if we end up in the final and we're close to full strength then Id fancy us.

Interesting POV but a bit unfair, maybe consider that statement could be applied to ALL teams at times? and that the "better" teams are better at limiting the number and timing of those games?
Are Wigan more professional or less professional?


I've been reading the debate about Wakefield rise, as a fan of the game I'd love to see it, Having a successful team in as many cities/big towns as possible is good for the game. Wakefield and Wigan are about the same size so hey, why not?

There are no certainties but I still feel confident that we will start to build for the back end of the season.   We have been here before, even in the middle of last years clean sweep we were soundly beaten in a few games.

Of course I'd like to win everything, and I'm sure the players would too, but as we've heard from Peet in the past the focus in training will be very different now to the last 2 months of the season.    


French is an interesting case, and has been joked about in the past likes his time off in the off season, and imo this is one of the reasons he probably wouldn't be in such demand back in the NRL as he comes across as too casual at times.  He certainly seems to have been playing at 3/4 capacity this season, but again he's a player who if managed the right way can do things other players can't get near.        


Re teh Wakey game, hats off to them, they've been great since the start of the season which is no mean feat on their first season back in the SL.   They are playing some great rugby and have a committed attitude across the park making them hard to beat.   Easily the better team last weekend.  

Jai Field was on Sky Sports News with Jenna Brooks and Jon Wilkin a few months ago and I thought his jokey comments about French were a bit revealing. They asked something like if things got competitive between them for most trys in the season or who was the fastest (something along those lines) and Field laughed and said the team have a job on to get French to be competitive in matches, let alone with things like that. Ultimately the lad can do as he pleases, as long as he turns up when it matters and he will do that and has done that in spades. He's quite comfortably the most talented player in the league and if he did have that week to week competitive edge, he likely wouldn't be here and would be in the NRL (as you suggest). 

Not that you're saying there is, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with that IMO. Everyone is different and a truly top coach will find the right buttons to press.  If I was French, I'd struggle for a game at some backwater hole too. 

Going back a bit, but it's apparently still a lesson not learnt - this issue was one of Madge's biggest coaching flaws. He struggles with anyone who isn't 100% in, all of the time. Safe to say, he'd have probably have had a run in with French 

The point on French is well made - one of the straws that broke the camel's back in the NRL was a game where he had a total of one carry throughout the entire 80 minutes. He's clearly not the best trainer and there are clearly games which he coasts through. I guess opinions will vary on that. Some would say as a professional sportsman its your job to be giving 100% every game, others might say that as long as he performs in the bigger games then does it matter too much. Maybe there are others in the team who fall into this category - those who struggle with the week to week because they believe they will finish in the top 2 regardless or perhaps there's a lack of motivation given what was achieved last year and all of the big games that came with that. 

Regardless, its no mystery as to why French's best games this year have been Vegas and Hull KR away. He needs something to inspire him and I can sympathise that in SL you don't always get that every week.

Yup, says more about the league imo than it does of French. I'm a paying customer and it can be hugely frustrating - I get it tho. 

MOM in the WCC, CC Final, Grand Final and Vegas. 


I just wish the rest of the league understood it. Consecutive games in Dewsbury, Wakey and Cas aren't good for anyone (unless you hate Wigan). 

Fully agree, there is nothing wrong with it at all when you're that talented (guys going through the motions who aren't good enough to do that is a problem). He still is coming up with moments in run of the mills league fixtures and it's not like he's been poor by any stretch and he has proven beyond any doubt that when the big games come, he'll be as competitive as anyone and there's a fair chance he'll be the best player on the pitch. He got a bit of stick after Friday but we also can't forget rust would play a part and the lad hadn't played a game in a few weeks. 

You're point about managing different characters in different ways is spot on and something a genius like Sir Alex Ferguson is lauded for. The lads in the media from his best sides laugh about how Cantona was allowed to do as he pleased but then others would be hammered for the same thing. Some lads will need a boot, some will need an arm around them, some will need pushing along through the season and some will just need to be left to work things out for themselves and shown trust that they'll produce when it really matters. I think we have quite a few who fall in to that last bracket. I have a debate with a mate of mine who thinks Harry Smith is rubbish. Harry Smith is exceptional 'when it matters' but he can switch off and have rubbish games. Again, that is absolutely fine because when we need him the most, he is probably our most important player and he's been the same for England. 

Jesus fella, give it a rest!Wigan are a product of the same social background and play in the same competitions as the rest of the clubs and were in the 2nd division themselves when I was a kid. 
Central Park was a great stadium but was antiquated and limited just like Cas and Wakefield. You got lucky with the four owners who took Wigan to new heights, just like Wakefield have got lucky now with Matt Ellis but it takes time just as it did for Wigan. You also got lucky when needing a new stadium in partnership with Tesco and the football club so your sense of superiority and belittling of other clubs just makes you a hypocrite.


Regards your derogatory comments about Wakefield, I’m not getting into comparing appendage size, suffice to say you need to remember you’re from Wigan not New York

I suppose the risk is that we don't manage to turn it back on again, as in the Challenge Cup.

I think the club are well aware when they need to peak. If anyone has Wigan TV, go and watch the Kaide Ellis Cas preview. He mentions peaking a few times at the right time. Now, I'm not saying they're purposely losing games, but we seem to have this debate every June/July. The last two times we've been to Catalans in August, I've walked away from both games over there convinced that they were starting to gear up for the business end.


Other teams are also building nicely. Whisper it quietly but I think Saints and Leeds are more than capable in a one off game by the time September comes round. It's not going to be a KR procession.