not quite

Was alot of talk on here pre season that with Hoffman and Lima coming nobody would have the strength that Wigan had and you could cope with anything is that not the case?

Alot of hopes being pinned on Hock it could take weeks for him to get upto speed of the game.

The point is Wigan have not yet had their full strength pack playing this season. With the return of Fielden, we can perm any 4 props from Coley, Mossop, Prescott, Lima and Fielden. With the return of Hock we have a mouthwatering back row of Hoffman, Hock and Lockers, with back up from Hansen, Farrell and maybe Joel or Tuson. Even with a couple of injuries the pack is going to be so much stronger than it has been so far this season.

Hopefully just starting to really hit their straps on 23rd July.....!

No props, no pots.

Your not wrong mate.

Here's an interesting point, when Hock returns will he be instructed by Madge to tone down the offloads? We all know Madge likes to play as risk free rugby as possible, and Hock and the word risk free don't really go together.

It will be nice to have Gareth back. His aggression when tackling and taking the ball up will be welcome addition, and hopefully can rub off on his team mates. We all see the huge positive effect Westwood's aggression has on his team mates.

Have you got a key on your keyboard that says "No props, no pots"?

By the way, I agree with you an extra prop today and we would probably have won.

Any news yet on where Hock's going to play?

Mossop and Prescott have earned their places this year, and the experience on Fielden and Coley is invaluable. For me, Hock should stick to the back row. I have no doubts he'll still be as mobile as he was, and if he's bigger then so be it, nothing wrong with effectively playing 5 props!

A choice of forwards from of Fielden, Coley, Prescott, Mossop, Hock, Hansen, O'Loughlin, Hoffman and Farrell is frightening.

McIlorum certainly shouldn't have played. He's been out on his feet for a good few weeks now. He could really do with a break. Problem is Saints up next, so he'll want Micky Mac to play. My concern is that McIorum could do more harm than good. He's offering very little in attack, and it's only a matter of time before the fatigue he's suffering begins to effect his defense as well.

All this for me boils down to Madge not rotating the squad when possible to keep everyone fresh. He instead picks his best side each week, which IMO is the wrong thing to do in a 30+ game season.

We have not been able to field three really good experienced props for several seasons which is what I think you need. Fielden was doing twice the work he should have had to do from 2007 on and needed a back up. Feka didn't give it and while Coley shone later on that was just those two.

We sign Lima and Fielden gets injured 4.72900390625:5