New deals spell the end of higham???

[lucky 13]

Riddel is on the field for a good stint dont think he is bad in defense and with us he would be spelled with Macolrum , Think because he is a big lad people often think he is either slow or un athletic and therefore a weak link when tired , I think he is the complete opposite it's his natural talent that allows him to play at the highest level despite his conditioning in the same way KC as been the best hooker over here for years ,the lads a good ball player and what he lacks in pace he makes up for in nouce , guess we will have to disagree on this one CP

[cpwigan]

Joel Tomkins signed an extension at the start of the season. He's contracted until 2009.

[lucky 13]

Tomkins signed a re negotiated contract when IL took over ,apparently less money but a extra year sure it runs till end of next season ,thats the rite kind of attitude , I think as I stated earlier the lads got all the ingredients in his game to be the pick of the bunch , size decent hands athletic and seems to have a good rugby brain all he needs is a bit of luck and a good run in the team.

[pedro]

I think Ridell will come on more than Higham...I do not know but have a feeling. Why are we going to spend money on a hooker when we have a good one when we have a poor scrum half and this is the missing link as he at the moment isnt linking the play together (or ever has done)

Id rather pay more for a good aussie scrum half than get rid of a good british hooker

[cpwigan]

Might be worth signing a scrum half/hooker from the NRL. Monaghan at Warrington played hooker in the NRL.

[Matthew]

We have been linked with
Phelps.
Cooper.
Riddell.
Lockyer. So potentially 4 Aussies in. Is this what we want or is it the Aussies using the mighty name of Wigan to get better deals at there respected clubs? :doz:

I'd be quite happy (as I have said elsewhere) for Aussies to use Wigan's name to get a better deal at another SL club. The more money they can get at stains, wire, leeds and bradford - the more money that is taken out of that club's salary cap.

I think that King is a good player - however I am glad that it wasn't us paying ridiculous money for him. And whilst he has been good for wire; I wouldn't consider him the best player in the competition - yet he's probably the best paid!

[josie andrews]

Should have known Mickey Higham would be leaving. Whoever does that spread in the Evening Post always ends up leaving the club ie: Terry O'Connor, Terry Newton its a death wish to do it. So if any of the other players are offered it ... refuse its a sure way to leave

How can i get Lockers to do it

I'll give your bottom a good smack .... leave my Lockers alone your only jealous of his hair

[josie andrews]

Should have known Mickey Higham would be leaving. Whoever does that spread in the Evening Post always ends up leaving the club ie: Terry O'Connor, Terry Newton its a death wish to do it. So if any of the other players are offered it ... refuse its a sure way to leave

you can add wagga to that list didnt he do waynes world in the post 4 a year then let the club.

Your right Mike forgot about him sorry

[DaveO]

We are better when Higham plays from the bench , someone mentioned Millard ,well we played our best rugby last year when he started and Micky came off the bench .

We only looked better in the sense Millard was so poor Higham improved the team when he came on IMO.

I think and it seems Nobby does as well that he does not get us round the field .
As regards of Riddel he is a good player! along the lines of a KC or Newton he has a good rugby brain on him and offers a lot of what we have been lacking , he may be a big lad but often plays 60 minutes in the hardest club comp , he also takes the ball up well , no problems for me if he comes over to us , think he would offer much more than Higham for a similar contract .

With McIllorum not being the impact hooker Higham is, how does Riddle fit into the jigsaw? Riddle apparently plays virtually an entire game so where does that leave McIllorum? Riddle isn't an impact hooker, McIllorum isn't either so would we see a big change in style of play with those two operating at hooker when they interchange? I am not convinced.

Dave

[DaveO]

I think these are excellent moves.
As I understand it there are now only 2 players off contract (why did we sign Bailey for 3 years - I hope he's on peanuts as we have as good youngsters to play second row than him) - Calderwood and Higham.
The key question in this day and age is do these players represent value for money? While only guessing that they are well paid (I read a suggestion from Lenagan that Higham was very well paid, which makes sense given that his chum Millward signed him), if that is so they are over-paid.

Jinkin Jimmy has posted on rlfans that he was told (presumably by Millward) that both their salaries were £70K a year, which if correct is about right for the standard of player they are IMO.

Calderwood is not a bad player - indeed I rate him pretty highly and you could argue he would be prolific with a brilliant centre inside him - but has made the difference in too few games in his 3 years. He is an expensive luxury. If he accepted less money (say as much as we are paying Goulding) then it would make sense to keep him.

I really do not understand the logic behind this argument. I have seen people post it before and I think it is crazy.

We have a good winger and centres who don't pass to him so instead of fixing the problem with the centres we ditch the winger? Martin Offiah would have been an expensive luxery without the likes of Miles and other good centres inside him. How many tries did the late great Eric Ashton set up?

I want to see centres at Wigan who can put a pacey winger away in space. We should not accept players like Calderwood are expensive luxuries, we should sort the centres out.

Higham cannot pass.

Neither can McIllorum.

If by losing these 2 we can fford the new slim line Riddell and the fantastic Matt Cooper, then we should do so without a moment's thought.

Cooper would take both their wages on his own if JJ is right.

If they will re-sign at lower salaries that reflect their value to the team (in Higham's case a little more than McIllorum) then good on them, and that should free up space to invest elsewhere. To that extent their future is in their own hands.

Again if JJ is right even if they both left I can't see how there can be much money in the pot for 2009. The young players signed today must have got pay rises eating into next years budget more than this years already. Richards is the only other senior player off contract next year.

I just can't see even if these two leave we will have enough money for Cooper.

Finally, someone mentioned motivation. If a player who knows he is going to be playing elsewhere next year can't be bothered to perform then they don't deserve to be called professionals. We have seen many examples of players in their last season with us giving their all. If Higham is that type of person then it means that the decision to get shut would definitely be the right one.

If there is one thing Higham can't be accused of it is lack of effort. It also isn't a black an white issue regarding motivation as given the stuff he has had to put up with, the Newton thing, IL saying play for a contract when others seemingly do not have to and now Riddle linked with the club, Higham would have to be some sort of super being not to be affected in some way.

Dave