Classic mate

I have to admit I’m am a bit bemused by that one. I think he got a yellow as a result of the uproar from the tackle the Hull player made a few weeks back. If the powers that be determine that a legal challenge (and by that I mean not high/not a shoulder charge etc) but on a player who never got the ball is a sin bin offence then i don’t have a problem with that however Fifita should have got the same. In fact Fifita was far worse as the ball was nowhere near Bateman, Tommy just took the little dummy.

And if it doesn't?
Sometimes a good sense of humour is all that's left. Seriously, we are still in a strong second place with plenty to play for. We have obvious problems but the club has to find a way to take pressure off the players. There's no slump like a Wigan slump.

On a positive note (and to try and put some balance in) I thought Mullen showed up well - certainly didn't let anyone down.

Very well I thought and it’s sadly been lost a little due to the result. He looks very very confident and I’d love to see him in a more involved position to see what he’s made of.

I'll say this to those who say, play Escaré at 7: how many tackles does Sam Powell make each game, and do you think 'Grab-an-arm Escaré' would make them successfully?

Don;t mind giving him 20 mins in the halves, but play him there permanently and opposing side will target him mercilessly.

Well I'm not convinced that Escaré is any better at "organising and creating" than Powell. He's a greater running threat, yes, but that's only one facet of the game.

I wasn't particularly 'making an assessment' of Powell, either, just saying that half-backs always tend to be targetted in the defensive line, for good reasons, and Escaré, even allowing for his size, seems a worse defender than average to me.

We are probably making different points to be honest. I was more referring to the fact that if Powell was a quality half back performing well, there wouldn't even be a discussion about Escare playing half back. The fact he is limited opens up all kinds of discussion. I said on anither thread, it's not his fault that's he's been given the 7 shirt, it's the coaches. I said at the start of the season that despite his willingness to work, his attitude and defensive attributes, he's just not a quality scrum half.

I don't personally think either Escare or Powell are the answer to who should play 7 for us. Escare, good cover when needed, can slot in to 1, 6/7 and wing. Powell can cover 7 and 9. Neither should be first choice starter in any position in our first 13.