Starting 17

[cpwigan]

Coley is the one under pressure. He was poor v Wakefield and true to his word since then Eamon O'C has started instead.

Fans need to stop getting carried away about Friday v Leeds. In snow NO TEAM can destroy the opposition. So if you are the weaker team then it is perfect for you. Leeds were guilty of trying to ignore the conditions early doors in particular. Crusaders are the worst conditioned team in SL and will be all season. They cannot avoid that with having no pre season. Their players are cast offs from Aus and they are coached by Brainless Noble. Could it get any worse. NO we will win easily.

[mave the rave]

was it the reserve side we sent to wales last season and were beaten cp ?. oh i forgot you blame Brian Noble for that one too.I do wish on this site we stuck to the rugby that is being played crusaders did quite well under rotten conditions and so did leeds it was biterly cold and the handling of the ball was good from both sides. I do hope it will be better for our game with the crusaders but please lets watch the rugby and give the coaches a rest.

[No straw damn us]

Coley is the one under pressure. He was poor v Wakefield and true to his word since then Eamon O'C has started instead.

Fans need to stop getting carried away about Friday v Leeds. In snow NO TEAM can destroy the opposition. So if you are the weaker team then it is perfect for you. Leeds were guilty of trying to ignore the conditions early doors in particular. Crusaders are the worst conditioned team in SL and will be all season. They cannot avoid that with having no pre season. Their players are cast offs from Aus and they are coached by Brainless Noble. Could it get any worse. NO we will win easily.

I agree, IMO O'Carroll has been the more impressive in the two trial games in which he and Coley have played and should get into the 17.
On the snow part of the post however I disagree. One of Wigans greatest ever performances was in the Challenge Cup on a Tuesday night in the snow at Castleford.
If you ever get the chance to talk to Shaun Edwards just ask him about it. Wigan certainly destroyed a very good Castleford side that night.

[FROM A TO B]

Coley is the one under pressure. He was poor v Wakefield and true to his word since then Eamon O'C has started instead.

Fans need to stop getting carried away about Friday v Leeds. In snow NO TEAM can destroy the opposition. So if you are the weaker team then it is perfect for you. Leeds were guilty of trying to ignore the conditions early doors in particular. Crusaders are the worst conditioned team in SL and will be all season. They cannot avoid that with having no pre season. Their players are cast offs from Aus and they are coached by Brainless Noble. Could it get any worse. NO we will win easily.

So CP you now know the inside news on another SL team. you must go and watch them train and follow them round the gym to know the conditioning of the Crusaders team.
Yes I think we will win and I do hope in a convincing manner, but why the continued snipes at Brian Noble. The past is the past, get over it.

[cpwigan]

A to B Nobody needs to see or watch the Crusaders to know what I have said is true. By their own admission (incl Brian Noble) they are behind everybody else because they started pre season training later having struggled to make signings. They had less than a fortnights training pre Leeds.

You don't have to believe me, just read what is out there being said officially.

ANY team in such a situation will never make up that period of pre season prep. Of course because it is me telling you that you can ignore it but if it was not true then why do several professionals make repeated please for longer pre seasons.

Not keen on people who lie to their employees. Maybe that is why I have no respect for Brian Noble. Who knows

Edited by mod - now that was potentially liablous

[cpwigan]

was it the reserve side we sent to wales last season and were beaten cp ?. oh i forgot you blame Brian Noble for that one too.I do wish on this site we stuck to the rugby that is being played crusaders did quite well under rotten conditions and so did leeds it was biterly cold and the handling of the ball was good from both sides. I do hope it will be better for our game with the crusaders but please lets watch the rugby and give the coaches a rest.

Mave the worse the conditions the less important class and speed becomes. Fantastic leveller the weather.

Crusaders did the only thing they could and were gutsy doing so but they should be it was their first game. Give them half a dozen + games and lets see if they can still must as much enthusiasm.

Leeds showed no respect for the conditions and had too few players wanting to do the hard stuff. Had they done the basics in the first 40, Crusaders would have crumbled earlier.

Wigan went their and did not show any effort. The coach and the players take respionsibility for that. Some very odd selections exacerbated the problem. Only the coach can take the blame for that.

[cpwigan]

Coley is the one under pressure. He was poor v Wakefield and true to his word since then Eamon O'C has started instead.

Fans need to stop getting carried away about Friday v Leeds. In snow NO TEAM can destroy the opposition. So if you are the weaker team then it is perfect for you. Leeds were guilty of trying to ignore the conditions early doors in particular. Crusaders are the worst conditioned team in SL and will be all season. They cannot avoid that with having no pre season. Their players are cast offs from Aus and they are coached by Brainless Noble. Could it get any worse. NO we will win easily.

I agree, IMO O'Carroll has been the more impressive in the two trial games in which he and Coley have played and should get into the 17.
On the snow part of the post however I disagree. One of Wigans greatest ever performances was in the Challenge Cup on a Tuesday night in the snow at Castleford.
If you ever get the chance to talk to Shaun Edwards just ask him about it. Wigan certainly destroyed a very good Castleford side that night.

Indeed it was a great night by a team that was far far better than Castleford and did the basics right before the individual talent of some all time greats got the scores needed. We did not walk away with the game despite playing a brilliant game which was textbook to the conditions (something Leeds never showed any respect for) Ask Shaun or Jackie if poor conditions underfoot are a great leveller and they will agree with me.

P.S left a post for you re N.Stanton

[cpwigan]

The more I think about the more comical it becomes A to B. Elite athletes like Paula Radcliffe can be severely affected by having their training curtailed for whatever reason and yet you expect Crusaders to defy logic and be perfectly ok just because I was the person making the logical assunption that if you miss half your pre season prep you fitness and conditioning will be found wanting.

Such rules apply to Radcliffe et al but not to Crusaders

[highland convert]

A lot would depend on the players themselves being up to scratch in personal training prior to the startof preseason. The team must gel yes but that is down to player application. Wigan are fielding Brian Noble's team under a new coach. Fitter maybe but that alone does not make them better players. So far MM has had little opportunity to alter much. As folks constantly say "Give MM a year to get them playing his way" Maybe away from the backstabbing Noble will reemerge as the great coach he is. I want WW to win yes but I already see that contempt for the opposition creeping in. How soon will the knives be out. I see a couple of threads on here tempting them out before the first match.
Remember, Crusaders have played their first match, while a defeat their pride is still in tact,
Jim

[Matthew]

Whatever the standard of the crusaders conditioning (or skill levels for that matter) we have to field our strongest side and approach this game as a must win. I agree that we should be able to beat the crusaders (and the effort against the rhinos should have taken something out of them); however we thought that last year.

If we put in a good performance; it will boost the players self-belief, encourage occasional fans to pay interest and put a marker down to the other teams that Wigan will be a force this year.

A lackluster performance or worse yet; a loss will see yet another poor start to a season and encourage all of our rivals that this team (despite it's new regime) is as eminently beatable as it was last year and drain the players and fans of confidence.

You can bet that Brian Noble will have a point to prove and will do his absolute damnedest to give the crusaders every possible chance of an upset.

I don't care if we are playing an u12 side - we should take nothing for granted until the final whistle.