This is a problem we have had for over three years. It has improved periodically but basically we have no decent tactical kicking game. I am getting fed up waiting for this problem to be fixed. Tommy and Finch are clueless. They have no tactical sense when it comes to kicking. They aim at the winger or full back which is crazy. Sam sometimes does little better. Unless they get this fixed up the season will be a long a frustrating one.

Our kicking game would embarrass a pub team. Hudds deserved their win today, but in tight games like this you're playing with one arm tied behind your back if you've got nothing in the tactical kicking department. Unless it improves dramatically we're going to lose a lot of points because of a lack of quality kicking options. I can only think of one time Brough didn't find the ground today with his kick. It was the other way around with ours.

Looks like Deacon was our kicking game.

Think we should reserve judgement for a few games yet, saying we will nothing might be a bit premature.
Kicking not great today, but we will improve.

Could this be why it was rumoured you where looking at Wheeler?

I do agree with what Wane said post match in that it wasn't necessarily the kickers doing badly but the team failing to set up for the kick on the fifth tackle.
Sam Powell has shown a good kicking game at academy level but even he seemed to struggle a little when playing in the first team.
We've already seen many times that Tomkins is a strong kicker when given space and the same goes for Finch.
It seems that on the fifth tackle someone just drives the ball in as normal and then the ball goes out to the kicker with little thought about position on the field or what type of kick would be best.

Kicking poor, some good moves that did not come off in 3/4's. Hudds played well, but neither team were fluid at all. I don't normally complain about refereeing team, but they were rusty too. Room for improvement all around. Did Finch look injured to anyone else, he did not look to be moving freely to me.

ooops, All running slowly..

Well, there are two points of view here. Either the team were rusty and didn't set up for the last tackle (the coach's view) or Deacon was our kicking game and we're screwed until we find a replacement. Time will tell I suppose. If Wane is right, we'll improve. If we've f***ed up by not replacing Deacon, we won't and what we saw today will be the story of our season.

Even with Deacon though, our kicking game was woeful quite regularly.

Agreed.

I know it was against lesser opposition but Mellor put in some good kicks vs Leigh last week - the best i've seen from anyone in a Wigan shirt for a while anyway. We need to get him in the team, its make or break time, I see no reason what-so-ever for him not to be in the 17.

Anyone know what Bill Ashurst is doing ?

Get McIlorum on the kicking, put in a belter in the 2nd half.

The difference between the two kicking games was shocking. How many times did we actually turn them around? I only remember the once. Huddersfield, on the other hand, seemed to manage it with ease, and when they didn't turn us around they had us running cross field to gather the ball from the ground. I couldn't help thinking during the game that Sam seemed way out of position at times which made their kicking game seem even better than it was.

They need to learn to drill it hard and low like Danny Brough was doing, most of our problems came from the fact all our long kicks up field were looped and so gave the winger or fullback time to get to them and catch them on the full.

Leuluai's kicking looks like a psychological thing. I remember a cricket coach telling me that when you come out to bat, if you look around to see where the fielders are, you end up hitting the ball straight at them - the trick is to look at the gaps instead. Sometimes when Leuluai kicks I think "if I tried that kick 20 times, *trying* to find their fullback/winger so accurately, I couldn't do it".

Got to find/create a consistent kicker asap or we'll win nowt.