You know, that's one of those things people say all the time, but it's not really true, is it? The mark of a good half-back is that he doesn't just do it when he gets a "could have been wearing a dinner-jacket" carpet-ride. Class will show, even in a defeated side.

How else can you expect the bottom clubs, especially Leigh to play better when they know they are not going to be relegated?

Surely, it would be better for the bottom club this season to be relegated and the top three clubs in the Championship to be promoted.

After all, it is only for one season before two Super League Divisions, each of ten clubs.

Just looking at the superleague site and Harry Smith is up to 7th on the assists charts with 11. There’s some big names, at high scoring clubs who sit below him now (Fages, Gale, Reynolds, Maloney, Widdop, Coote, Sneyd, Austin and plenty more), so whilst his season has been very mixed up until Sunday, he is showing that there’s a real player in there and given the right pack to play on the back of and with his confidence built up, I think he can really kick on. It’ll take patience and that better pack (and a new coach) but he’ll get there.

This is an interesting thread to look back on now, isn't it? It just shows the level of criticism that some youngsters can face early in their career, even those that go on to be Golden Boot contenders. Credit to Wigan for believing in Smith and sticking by him.

It also really highlights how bad things got for a period of time under Lam. I'd forgotten about Hastings playing at FB, players being signed and not used whilst others being dragged out of position to cover. All pretty bad wasn't it.

Was worried what I would have posted but glad I came away unscathed.

Nobody dig up any posts where I thought Josh Woods would be a great Wigan half back though

It looks like my post was the last one on the subject before it gathered dust and it looks to be one of the few things I post that works out well- ‘Patience, a better pack and a new coach will see him gain confidence and will help him get there’ and he’s got there! He is a shining example of not writing young players off too soon, without taking in to account numerous factors. I must admit I probably didn’t think then that he’d end up playing this well, this soon, but it’s fantastic to see.

Another proved wrong and happy to admit it

Yep, interesting reading this back.

Happily proven wrong.

Had a quick look, don't think I commented at the time
I'll tell you honestly what I thought/said to mates at the time

I would have said :-

I'm not sure on him, he does lots of good things, but does a lot of awful things at terrible times is games
But I'm not going to judge him at this point under this coach and at the club the way it is at this time with a young beaten pack, and older pack members who are either rubbish or not playing for various reasons

Now
From early 2022 he's been very good 8 or 9/10 90% of the time and his last 4/5 months from around mid July to the end of the regular season and the internationals he's been 9/10 virtually every week
As I said on another thread previously when he was getting pelters at times, Field/French may be better players, but Harry Smith is without a doubt our most important and influential

Don't think I posted much on this thread but if anyone was having a moan about anything in 2021 I wouldn't blame them - that season drained the life out of everything Wigan RL.