I hope he is 19th man and personally I would send him out on loan to SWales for the rest of the season. Personally I tink Wire got the better 31 year old.

www.scorpionsrl.com/News/Article/29858

www.scorpionsrl.com/News/Article/29858

I really don't know how you can say that until at least the end of next season. Asotasi may do well or he could be a Josh Perry/ Ben Cross.
Powell may prove to be a very shrewd buy or a dud.

Nobody knows at this stage.

Because some people like to criticise the club for everything they do. Even if Powell does turn out to be a decent signing it'll still be the same people who "don't rate him." If we had have signed Asotasi it would have been the same people stating how he has been poor the last few seasons and would be comparing them to Perry/Cross etc.

FWIW I don't think Andy Powell is going to single-handedly win us the GF this season, but I'm willing to give him a chance. He looked off the pace on Friday but so did the other 16. Ideally now he'll get 4 or 5 games with the Scorpions and Leigh before we see him in the first team again. He's not going to be in the first-choice 17 if we've got Taylor, Dudson, Flower, Mossop, Lauaki and Crosby fit but he may provide decent backup for the end of this season. The time to judge him is after a full pre-season, not now.

How dare you bring common sense to the debate. Grab a pitchfork and join the anti-Wane/IL masses immediately!

He won't get any game time at Leigh as the deal is under 23 for DR

On the face of it you can Rogues. I think I would have substituted Davico FOR Cross. Cross did a very good job for us when forwards were given a proper role under MADGE. One only has to look at Mossop's form under Madge compared to WANE. Lateral excessive passing in your own half is a nightmare for hard running forwards.

There are more examples of ageing Kiwi forwards being successful in British RL than ageing Welsh RU Forward Converts. UNTIL either proves it one way or another Wire have on paper been far shrewder. I think most RL fans would argue that Wire have got the better signing.

Better not ponder how any new signings for any club may go eh?

It's a forum and to post suggesting a proven RL forward may prove better than an ex-RU one given their ages is not exactly controversial is it?

What about their respective value "pound for pound"?
No-one knows I assume (unless someone has insider knowledge) how much it's costing their respective clubs.

A 9/10 player who takes up a large chunk of the salary cap has to prove his worth week in week out as their wont be much left for the others.
If it comes off fantastic, if a lot of time is spent in the stands or his form dips then maybe not so.

If an unproven player comes in and is costing next to nothing whilst the club still have 4 other props doing the business to me it's a low risk gamble and if said player gets up to 7/8 out of 10 performances, plays a squad role and pleasantly surprises people and all the while large chunks of the salary cap are being spent elsewhere then fantastic.

We'll have to wait and see I suppose but I'm not going to make my mind up and then stick to that view just to prove I'm right. As long as we don't take lots of gambles and have others lined up for those spots in case it backfires I'm ok with it.
I'm prepared to say "time will tell".

...what?
jeff lima was significantly better in 2012 than 2011. andy coley was significantly worse in 2011 than 2010. prescott was awesome the first half of last year. crosby and flower have really impressed this season. i dont know how you can say that mossops decline is wanes fault, and that wane is using props incorrectly which is affecting development. players go in and out of form.

Wigan's go forward is worse under Wane than it was under Madge. By his own admission Wane wanted to play differently to the way Madge had the team playing. The Wane way reminds of Wire 3/4 years ago when they would destroy rubbish in meaningless matches and look amazing BUT come to big games particularly as the nights closed in and wet, cold weather took hold they bombed. Under Madge the team played finals football in every game. Finals football is very different from the silly season which is why Leeds do well come finals time.

We had a formula that won major competitions. The squad was getting stronger and yet our coach has been critical of the Madge way, openly/publically admitted he is not a good assistant coach and rather than adhere to the continuity ticket many presumed was the reason for him being promoted Wane openly want to create a new way. A way that thus far breaks down when it comes to the biggest games. We have gone from being a club that won either the GF or CC each season to one that hails the hubcap as a sign of progress. Forget what you, I or any fan thinks they know; Do you not find it odd that seasoned pros like Paul Deacon say they learned more in a season under Madge than their whole career in successful teams / highly regarded coaches elsewhere. The Madge philosophy is seeing Souths make progress unheralded since the early 70's. It just strikes me the man best placed to learn from Madge never did for whatever reason(s) and our club went from one winning major competitions with a fantastic long term culture seemingly ready to continue winning at least one major competition every season (N.B The hubcap is not a major competition)

Too many passes particularly in your own half and far too many 2nd man plays in your own half, lateral/lateral/lateral has seen Wigan go from a team that destroyed teams clinically in the first 20 minutes and then strangle those teams for the duration to one that is far more hit and miss, has failed to score in the first 40 minutes for 2 consecutive games and rarely enjoys control of matches for the duration. When a team is physically dominant particularly in the tackle / POTB IMO you see less injuries suffered by your own players and far more by opposing players. We are the Wire of old who could be sublime or stupidly silly.

I do hope we get one of our blowing hot days when it matters but I know I had far more faith in the Madge Way than the Wane Way. We should be enjoying a fantastic period of dominance in a SL competition that is getting poorer and poorer season after season.

What evidence do you have re Lima and Coley?

Here's a crazy theory, maybe Madge is a better coach than Wane. Maybe he's better than most coaches in the entire sport.

Futhermore I find it absolutely disgraceful that Wane has wanted to coach the team his way, rather than routinely following Madge's methods by the book. He should be ashamed of finishing top of the league in his only year in charge. No, really.

Ever considered that when something is going fantastic and is proven to work that it does not need tampering with. I believe thinking he could do it better and a desire to change what was proven to work led to the downfall of John Dorahay and many, many fans perceive him very negatively despite winning far more and better competitions in his first season as the Wigan coach. Based upon your view Orrell Lad you must think the way John Dorahay was treated by our club was a disgrace and that the likes of Shaun Edwards and Dean Bell were wrong to stand up and stop a new coach wanting to do things his way rather than in your words routinely follow what was already successful. What say you Orrell Lad?

I think it is human nature that people will always look for ways to improve how their predecessor operated. It's not always a guarantee for success, but then you're extremely naive if you think ANY coach in world RL would replicate their predecessor's methods. But you've clearly got a negative agenda as far as Wane is concerned, so go for it.

Dorahy!

It's clear there was a major conflict of opinion between him and the team at the time. I'll get back to you when the entire current Wigan squad turn their back on Wane and his coaching methods.

Would anyone lie to post the ridiculous comments SW made about ripping Madges structures etc. when he took over?
Just so we can analyse what he actually said rather than what some people say he said.