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.

I’ll just say I was joking



Seriously though, I’m pretty confident we can give it a crack. We haven’t become a bad side in three weeks and the players are clearly reeling from the Wane news. I’ve read a few comments about them not wanting to play for him anymore and I sense that couldn’t be further from the truth. I think the players want to play for him too much and are sulking at him leaving.

Things could get worse before they get better but they will get better and I’m backing the squad to give Wane the end to his Wigan career I think he deserves.

Haha. Hedging your bets again, NK?

Well spotted but I think I get his meaning!

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

A 17 games winless run

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.

I must admit I don’t understand the high regard Escare is held in,he’s at best a competent fullback and wouldn’t add much to the halves if he was put in there full time.

Whilst I see your point, it's also a damming assessment to pin point how many tackles a scrum half makes as his best point. If Powell was organising and creating, there wouldn't be a need to suggest playing Escare or anyone else there (for the record, Escare isn't the answer) .

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.