We dont need a centre!

[Shevi 4 life]

Goulding should be number 3/4 next season fine he might not be wonderkid but he is a quality and it wont involve us going over the salary cap again :exc:

[Mr Stu]

what if him or bailey get injured, who do we have at centre. :conf:

[exile in Tiger country]

We don't need a centre?

Goulding is IMO two young at this stage.
Phil Bailey is not a great centre, (again IMO) and as has been pointed out if he gets injured, we have NO centres.
I know we need a big prop, but Wigan need good centres more, and as as soon as possible![/quote]

[Wigan_forever1985]

if your good enough your old enough.

plus you cant say if bailey gets injuryed and goulding we aint got a centre

If Barrett gets injured we have no stand-off
If Lulu gets injured we have no Scrum half
If Richards gets injured we have no full back
If Higham gets injured we have no hooker

All of these PIVOT positions centre come well under this so the injury thing cant be a big issue to us we have a small squad its something we need to deal with

[Panchitta Marra]

Wigan_forever19 85 posted:
if your good enough your old enough.

plus you cant say if bailey gets injuryed and goulding we aint got a centre

If Barrett gets injured we have no stand-off
If Lulu gets injured we have no Scrum half
If Richards gets injured we have no full back
If Higham gets injured we have no hooker

All of these PIVOT positions centre come well under this so the injury thing cant be a big issue to us we have a small squad its something we need to deal with

Wigan have the best provider in the game, where are the finishers. You can have the best gun in the world, but without the bullets!!!!

[mike binder]

but if nobby gets injured we still have a few coaches ,the whole sysem at the moment stinks and thew rfl ,have to act soon 1-6 million just isnt enough for these thread bare squads

[Wigan_forever1985]

I agree, i definatly want them to keep the salary cap but the system has to be modernised and has to include clauses and benifits for things like bringing young GB talent through, maybe even a system were your club is rewarded if one of your players makes the GB squad etc, and to cover the event of injury especially long term injury which lets face it was what killed us in 2005

[adrenalinxx]

Wigan need at least one centre. Goulding is going to be a very good player but he is still very inexperienced and is prone to mistakes in defence.

If you hand a young player a starting spot and he has one or two bad games it can be really hard for them to regain there form. Aspinwall and Hodgeson both suffered from being given first team places too soon and you could also say Ashton suffered a bit last season.

[Wigan_forever1985]

to be honest, id rather they bought a good utility back that a specialist centre

[DaveO]

Wigan_forever19 85 posted:
if your good enough your old enough.

plus you cant say if bailey gets injuryed and goulding we aint got a centre

If Barrett gets injured we have no stand-off
If Lulu gets injured we have no Scrum half
If Richards gets injured we have no full back
If Higham gets injured we have no hooker

Cover for Higham is McIllorum.

In any case just because we have no cover in other positions is no reason not to get some in the centres.

Of all the young players I saw last season who got a chance in the first 17 I would say only McIllorum and Colbon are capable of being a regular 1st 17 players (and that doesn't mean being in the starting 13 either).

Golding I do not think is ready for a full season in the starting 13 which is where he would find himself if we didn't get another centre.

Given the £140K thing it seems obvious to me we need to spend it on a full back and a centre. That would give us cover in two positions we have none and would introduce a degree of flexibility in the side as far as selections go.

For example it would allow Bailey to play in the pack on occasion and Richards to go to the wing (for example when we play Hull and he can out-jump Raynor all day).

With Coley already on-board he will have to be the "experienced prop". Not ideal IMO but needs must.

All of these PIVOT positions centre come well under this so the injury thing cant be a big issue to us we have a small squad its something we need to deal with

Well getting in a full back and a centre leaves just the two half backs without cover form your original list. That would be the same as 2007.

We have players who at a pinch could play in those positions. Higham can play scrum half and there is young Colye and Flannagan in the U21's. These are far from ideal back-up players but that isn't the point.

With the addition of a full back and centre we could cover all but two positions to a reasonable level.

Whether, assuming we do recruit two players, the players we get (at centre and full back) are actually good enough is another matter.

Dave