Wasted generation?

[cpwigan]

He can Josie but it will be a question of how many games will he get. I can see him going on a season long loan somewhere to hopefully keep him as a Wigan player long term. He can play second row and for that reason I think we need to let Bails go at the end of the season BUT at the moment, Lockers, Joel Tomkins = automatics unless the lose form / get injured.

Young Faz has bags of potential, hopefully for us.

[GeoffN]

My fear I.E Liam Farrell is that sometimes timing is everything. I think Liam is the tailor made replacement for Lockers but I wouldn't swap Lockers for any loose forward in the world so how long will Liam have to wait? Maybe too long, he might end up moving simply beause we have Lockers. A bit like Briscoe moving because we had Rads.

Liam is still only 19 isn't he? And lockers is, what, 27? He'll get his chance soon enough.

[No straw damn us]

IMO Thomas Coyle actually stifled Sam. It was only when Thomas went that Sam started to take hold of games. He always had the ability, but Thomas seemed to boss him. I agree with everything that has been said about Josh Charnley, to me he looks a far better prospect than Ainscough. I'd love Stefan Marsh to get a run at fullback I'm sure he would be excellent there. I'm not 100% convinced about Thornley, he doesn't seem to have progressed as quick as I would have hoped.

[cpwigan]

I think Thomas was a very difficult player to have in a team. James should have been the better player IMO but they are both saddled with the genetics of Bernard and that is not the greatest for a modern day player.

I hope the club develop Thornley and keep him at centre. There is always a tendency to push big centres into the pack. Ian Thornley, they should be developing his footwork skills 24 / 7. When you are so big as a youngster you just run through tackles BUT at the pro level you need something else. It is such a pity Marsh has got so few games at full back.

[weststand-rich]

Interesting comments.

I chose the Coyle brothers as example because at the time they were emerging through the academy, Dean Bell would big them up and use phrases along the lines "What they can do on the training paddock is unbelievable". Given he said the same about luke Robinson, maybe it was a bit of club spin.

CP, I can see what you mean about their genetics. Would Bernard be a big lad by any chance??

[cpwigan]

Bernard not overly. He was very short and stocky. Played for Wigan for a spell but physically he was missing speed (by a long way) and so short and stocky that he was limited in how far he could go professionally. He was actually a very good rugby player with an excellent rugby brain. His physique offered him so very little though and he was slow.

Thomas is built very much like him. When Thomas was getting rave reviews I kept saying the club would have to be very careful re conditioning because he needed to be kept as slim as possible and as fast as possible given one look at his father told you how he would develop physically. Thomas best season at Wigan was virtually at 16 / 17 when he was still fairly slim / reasonably fast. The only position I could see him flourishing at was hooker. Likewise James has no genetic speed and that has hindered him. He was an outstanding junior and controlled games superbly age 16 to 18 but again for him to have any chance he needed to somehow find some speed from somewhere.

Speed is everything professionally.

[gillysmyhero]

What about young vievers is he doing ok ?

[cpwigan]

No not really. His form this season has been poor compared to previous ones. Again a player who lacks that vital half yard of speed to turn tackles into breaks. I cannot help thinking by playing him at full back and not playing Marsh there they have not done Marsh any favours.

Vievers is a Championship player.

[weststand-rich]

Bernard not overly. He was very short and stocky. Played for Wigan for a spell but physically he was missing speed (by a long way) and so short and stocky that he was limited in how far he could go professionally. He was actually a very good rugby player with an excellent rugby brain. His physique offered him so very little though and he was slow.

Thomas is built very much like him. When Thomas was getting rave reviews I kept saying the club would have to be very careful re conditioning because he needed to be kept as slim as possible and as fast as possible given one look at his father told you how he would develop physically. Thomas best season at Wigan was virtually at 16 / 17 when he was still fairly slim / reasonably fast. The only position I could see him flourishing at was hooker. Likewise James has no genetic speed and that has hindered him. He was an outstanding junior and controlled games superbly age 16 to 18 but again for him to have any chance he needed to somehow find some speed from somewhere.

Speed is everything professionally.

Perhaps speed isn't everything but it does go a long way. If it was just down to speed, I'd have been playing for Wigan as a junior, unfortunately skill, guile, catching ability and a rugby brain were way down the list for me

Sam is deceptively quick I was noting on Friday - when he opens up his foot turnover isn't rapid but he has some length in his gazelle like stride !!!!

[No straw damn us]

Sadly James Coyle suffered a bad knee injury at about 16/17 years of age and missed an entire season due to having a knee reconstruction. I can't remember if it was during or just after a schoolboy / academy tour to Australia (maybe CPW can recall it) It did rob him of pace and as CPW has said pace is the difference (generally speaking) between good and very good players, especially in the backs. On that point how is Joe Mellor doing as if he has to have a knee reconstruction and loses his pace it could be a major problem for him.