Wigan v Salford

[bertina]

Nothing to moan about for once

We did well! We can do it we need Sammut to start tbh

I agree about Sammut. His kicking game improves us massively.
No Farrell, and lost Lockers after 3 minutes, and we beat a team by 16 points who were above us in the league, and have been in good form.
We’ve scored a total of 66 points in our last 2 games and are now right in the mix.
I’ll wait for the moaning and sack Lam brigade on here to tell me I’m wearing cherry and white specs.

[wall_of_voodoo]

To lose Lockers after two minutes that was a good win. Both teams coughed up too much ball in the tackle. I suspect the stats on errors won't look good for both teams but they were worse than us. Penalties started to creep in as the game progressed as well.

I have no idea what game you were watching but I thought Wigan's handling was almost exemplary. It took Joe Bullock dropping the ball in front of Salford's posts (no I don't mean their forum) for the mistakes to come. Perhaps it was fatigue due to the heat and lack of rotation with Lockers limping straight down the tunnel

"I was really satisfied with our performance, though we ran out of steam in the second half.

"We completed at 90 per cent in the first half which is international standard. If we could complete like that every game we'd be happy.

There you go - that is from Adrian Lam. Mr

Both teams coughed up too much ball in the tackle

After Bullock's mistake (dropped ball for those that need it explaining) he missed a tackle and was promptly taken off (uninjured but substituted for those who need it explaining). After that Williams threw a wild intercept (where Hardaker chased Lolohea down easily), Navarette got himself sin-binned over something with Gil Dudson (the Salford player for those who are not aware) and a number of other unforced errors (knocking on at the ptb/wild passes etc)

This started around the 60 minutes mark (the time on the clock for those that are unaware and need it explaining to them) and saw Wigan loose momentum with the flurry of substitutions (where players go onto the field of play to replace another player for those that need it explaining to them)


As for the question - is Lam the man? (for the head coaching job for those that are not aware and need it explaining to them) This game gave no answers. Yes the team is on a role and winning games (even if some have been relatively close). I simply can't see the club offering it to anyone one else other than Adrian Lam (for those unaware the coaching position is available after this season) for no other reason than he is already insitu (as the caretaker coach for those that are not aware)

Still the defence is starting to look more organised (apart from Marshall's wing (no I am not on about the Aves kind for those not aware and who like to play dumb) and as been previously commented on our right side attack is now starting to improve

[southportcdm]

Best performance for some time with excellent defence and overall effort. I thought our defence wore them down and forced them to make the mistakes that allowed us to pull away later on. We looked a lot livelier in attack with Sammut on the pitch. Interesting that Lenagan now seems to be happy to delay the announcement about the coaching staff when things are starting to look better for Lammy. I thought Hastings looked very good in a side that we put under massive pressure at times. Loved the way he organised them. Different type of player to George but he'd be a great replacement.

[Mickw]

Only complaint I have was trying to see through waterery hay fevered eyes.

Good performance I think

My sons eyes went really bad with hayfever in the first half, he sat down the bottom near the grass,
looked like someone had given him a right hook!

[fozzieskem]

Only complaint I have was trying to see through waterery hay fevered eyes.

Good performance I think

My sons eyes went really bad with hayfever in the first half, he sat down the bottom near the grass,
looked like someone had given him a right hook!

Lol I didn’t get that bad this time but have in the past so he has my sympathies

[EagleEyePie]

No real negatives from that game. There's only Saints, Wire and Hull FC who seem capable of consistently picking up wins and then from 4th downwards anyone seems to be able to beat anyone else. What Wigan need to do is emerge from this group by stringing a long series of wins together and we seem to be starting that now.

It was always likely to be tough so I'm not too disappointed with the slow start. O'Loughlin going off early didn't help but it did give the team plenty of time to adjust. Smithies already looks a Super League quality player so it's just good to see him getting plenty of opportunities.

I thought Leuluai did well to try to take on O'Loughlin's role in the first half and he created Marshall's try well but without a playmaker further wide on the right we didn't get the chance to trouble Salford enough.

Bringing on Sammut sparked the team into life. He's quicker than our other right sided options and a better running threat as well as having good hands and a good kicking game.

Both Powell and Leuluai played really well at hooker. Powell made over 100m in this game and 9 runs from dummy half which is almost unheard of for him. His willingness to be more direct has transformed his game in recent weeks. Such a simple change but we get so much more out of him.

Partington had his best ever game from an attacking point of view and Bullock returned with an eagerness to impress.

Despite that one calamity where he ran into Hardaker I thought Marshall had his best game of the season. I don't think it's a coincidence that players start playing better when there starts to be competition for places.

There are still a few issues and weaknesses in the side but the good thing is we're picking up wins despite that.

[No straw damn us]

We only made eight errors all night, Salford mae thirteen.

Another good game from Sam Powell, perhaps fans will get off his back for a while, same with George Williams.

https://www.superleague.co.uk/match-centre/report/940

[Firestarter]

155 metres by a half...... thats some gping from hastings

[EagleEyePie]

We only made eight errors all night, Salford mae thirteen.

Another good game from Sam Powell, perhaps fans will get off his back for a while, same with George Williams.

https://www.superleague.co.uk/match-centre/report/940

Interesting that the upturn in form for Powell has coincided with an increased willingness to run the ball from dummy half. The difference between his early season form and his form in the last few games has been remarkable.

Gone from an average of 24m per game and 2.5 runs from dummy half to 68m per game and 6 runs from dummy half in his last 4 games (he's made 271 metres in his last 4, compared to 216 metres in the previous 9). And his performances in those last 4 games are probably better than anything he's produced in his career.

Powell may have copped some unfair criticism in his time at the club, but he seemed a prime example of someone who was going through the motions and not having the impact they are capable of. Competition for places seems to have brought out a lot more in Powell and we're going to be rewarded if he keeps it up.

[morley pie eater]

Good to read such a positive thread.
Long may it continue!