the 13 that got away

[maffstott]

Okay, here's a super league team of players that have been released by Wigan. They would probably give us a good game.


1. Shaun Briscoe
2. David Hodgson
3. Lee Gilmour
4. Martin Aspinwall
5. Liam Colbon
6. Kevin Brown
7. Michael Dobson
8. Oliver Wilkes
9. Terry Newton
10. Bryn Hargreaves
11. Paul Johnson
12. Danny Tickle
13. Stephen Wild

14. Sean Long
15. Danny Orr
16. Luke Robinson
17. Richie Mathers
18. Chris Melling

[ragman]

okay...calm down! Why so hostile ?? It's only a speculative thread to start a bit of discussion, not a declaration of war..

Actually Mathew, I'm not sure about some of your first 13 - Brown and Wilkes in particular, but then i suppose you've based it purely on who's still out there playing, so it's a bit limited.

The key for me is how many of these players would get back in our team if they came back. Probably Gilmore would have done over recent years, and some will say Dobson ( though i was never a massive fan )Not many of the others, in my opinion.


Anyway, good thread for debate, despite some people apparently getting upset by it...!

And you're still a good actor

[maffstott]

Mick, calm your skin, I just the picked the players that are still in super league. I'm not saying they'd beat us. But there are some decent players there.

[exile in Tiger country]

okay...calm down! Why so hostile ?? It's only a speculative thread to start a bit of discussion, not a declaration of war..

Actually Mathew, I'm not sure about some of your first 13 - Brown and Wilkes in particular, but then i suppose you've based it purely on who's still out there playing, so it's a bit limited.

The key for me is how many of these players would get back in our team if they came back. Probably Gilmore would have done over recent years, and some will say Dobson ( though i was never a massive fan )Not many of the others, in my opinion.


Anyway, good thread for debate, despite some people apparently getting upset by it...!

And you're still a good actor

I think Dobson was responsible for keeping us in Superleague, far more so than Fielden. However he was only a loan player at the time so we had no choice but to let him go back to Aus.
Robison was rumoured to have been let go over a disciplinary matter.Letting Kev Brown for me was a huge mistake at the time he went, he was always played out of position, but now we have better.
Briscoe? Radlinski? no contest, we made the right decision there.
A lot of the players have come on under different coaching methods. Danny Tickle always seemed to struggle if he wasn't playing alongside Gaz Hock.

OMG as the teenagers say, I've just seen Mathers name in the list. That totally discredits everything else. AWFUL, AWFUL, TERRIBLE player for Wigan!! I believe we got Gleeson on a free and had to pay wire £125,000 to take that muppet off our hands.

[DaveO]

He is my take on the players in the list:

1. Shaun Briscoe

I think he is overrated. He also left because he was behind Rads at full back and the daft 20/20/25 rule that was in place at the time. All valid reasons for him to move on so I don't think he "got away" and it's that long since he did now it does drive me nuts when people flag him up as some sort of example of how the club mismanaged its youth set up.


2. David Hodgson

Unlucky with an Achilles injury that he never quite got over from when it was his last season before his contract was up. Hard done to with the "Dodgy Hodgy" label IMO.

3. Lee Gilmour

He wanted to leave as far as I understand it. One we would have done well to have kept.

4. Martin Aspinwall
5. Liam Colbon
6. Kevin Brown

None of the above good enough when you consider had they stayed who they would be competing against for places. E.g. Sam Tomkins of Kev Brown?


7. Michael Dobson

No way he could have stayed, he was contracted to his Oz club and went back to honour it.

8. Oliver Wilkes

You may as well chuck in Jordan James as well. Both not good enough but I felt sorry for them being expected to play at this level. Wilkes was I believe completely made up to have signed for Wigan but it just wasn't to be.

9. Terry Newton

I always felt with Newton we would never win a big game because he invariably never seemed to be able to handle the pressure.

10. Bryn Hargreaves

You can't keep everyone and I don't think he is anything special.

11. Paul Johnson

Right time to move on for him given what happened with his brother.

12. Danny Tickle

Went from player of the season (he was our best back row forward that year) to out the door. Not sure what went on there but didn't lose his 1st 13 shirt after his "player of the season" season? His goal kicking and some crucial tries saved our bacon.

13. Stephen Wild

Wanted to play for Wigan but half the time never looked like he did. I think he went a year before Tickle and that year Wild could not complain given his form.

14. Sean Long

The only player out of this entire list to come back and haunt us.

15. Danny Orr

Would have liked to have kept in instead of getting TL

16. Luke Robinson
17. Richie Mathers
18. Chris Melling

None of those three were good enough.

Dave

[wigan/pier]

Disagree Re Briscoe Dave..I don't think he's overated..I would have him back in a heartbeat..just my opinion.

[ian b]

Disagree Re Briscoe Dave..I don't think he's overated..I would have him back in a heartbeat..just my opinion.

i rate Briscoe and i also think Hargreaves is a very good forward

[UnsungPanapa]

1.Briscoe(hull k r)
2.Calderwood(hull)
3.Gleeson.S(wakefield)
4.P.Johnson(wire)
5.Ashton(northampton)
6.Orr(quins)
7.Dobson(hull k r)(c)
8.Guissett(catalans)
9.Higham(wire)
10.Hargreaves(stains)
11.Gilmour(huddersfield)
12.Wild(huddersfield)
13.Barrett(cronulla)

14.Newton(wakefield)
15.Flanagan(west tigers)
16.Smith(widnes)
17.Clarke(wire)

I know . i know a bit overloaded on hookers but newton can play second row and clarke is pretty versatile too switching Barrett to loose forward isn't that big a leap especially as when he played for Australia they played him like an extra loose forward, to be honest very few of them i'd have back probably just Briscoe,Gleeson,Dobson and Flanagan the rest are getting too old.