Widnes v Wigan

[wink]

last word Rookie coach, big mistake, He will learn and be better for it.

[butt monkey]

If their reaction to the defeat is to lose motivation they'll never make it as Super League players. Just look at Matty Russell. He made a few errors and came back stronger throughout the game. That's what makes good players. None of those youngsters should have been taking Widnes lightly so it should be a much greater disappointment to the senior players. The youngsters were playing at a higher level than they are used and will no doubt recognise that.

Do you yourself not feel that the youngster's development now may have been "put back" given they were placed in such a ridiculous situation by the head coach?

Throwing youngsters in at the deep end and watching them flounder was a criticism of coach's past, is it repeating?

[DaveO]

You need to think about rugby in this era, the Widnes game is not a measure of where we are rugbywise. You can loose the odd game in this format and as long as you hit the ground running at play off time like Leeds did, this result will be a long forgotten memory. Daveo and CPW if you think Waney has learned nothing from this result you are very wrong. I expect Daveo to talk nonsense but CPW I think you should ban yourself again.

The only one talking nonsense is you suggesting he will have learned a lot from today. How on earth can he learn anything by making wholesale changes to a team is beyond comprehension. All he now knows is a reserve side isn't good enough to beat the worst side in the league and that an inexperienced team will be found out.

He might also have learned a bunch of inexperienced players will be just that and with so many in the side the experienced players can't pull a rabbit out of the hat.

He might also have found out the experienced players don't like having to carry so many young players.

I bet when he was playing he would have been pretty fed up to be in the same boat as Finch and the rest of them.

Does what Wane did today happen in the NRL? Never. That ought to tell you this is totally the wrong approach. The NRL is very good at giving young players game time but not like that.

There is another aspect to this as well. There is a post on RL fans I just read from "Smooth Stu" who won't forget the £120 it cost him for tickets and to drive up to see Wane drop five players and the side get beat. He isn't the only fan who is literally seething by far and Wane should learn he should not treat the fans to under strength sides. That aspect is as important as anything. The idea he can do this if we win it from 5th so all will be forgiven is way of the mark because people pay to watch week in week out to be entertained not served up sides like that.

One of the best things about the last two seasons was the level of consistency in the performances and we won't get that if Wane keeps pulling this sort of stunt. It will back to the bad old days of Noble before you know it.

[butt monkey]

Do you yourself not feel that the youngster's development now may have been "put back" given they were placed in such a ridiculous situation by the head coach?

Throwing youngsters in at the deep end and watching them flounder was a criticism of coach's past, is it repeating?

Which youngsters floundered? Russell looked strong despite a bit of trouble with the high ball. Mellor also looked decent, scoring a good try and putting Tuson through a gap brilliantly to set up another. Gelling made a few bad decisions running the ball back close to his own line but when he did run the ball he showed how strong he was and despite my reservations about him Logan Tomkins came on and made some smart runs from dummy half and tackled well.

From what I saw the players making their débuts didn't do too much wrong.

Jack Hughes was the one who struggled the most up against Marsh. He really couldn't deal with the pace and looked a bit cumbersome.

The youngsters were involved in a tough match where they really had to raise their game and concentrate right until the very end. I don't think making things easy for young players necessarily helps them. They didn't get battered today they competed and competed well against a much more experienced side.

And yet, despite "how well" they all played, not one of those players is likely to feature in the next few games (unless some unforeseen disaster occurs with injuries). Then at the point that happens, few fans will want them in the team (as it is a fact their inexperience is being blamed for the loss) and especially again under such circumstances. How can that be "good" for their development?

Surely if you want to give them first team experience you do as has been done with Marsh and send him on loan at another club, not fill your own team with inexperience/debutants and cockily expect them to maintain high standards

[bourbon_rat]

WANE: WE DIDN'T UNDER-ESTIMATE WIDNES
:doz: Smells like bullshizzle*


*family site

[bourbon_rat]

hmm ? I'm reminded of Mark 'muppet' Murray's short tenure as coach of Melbourne Storm. His attitude was "My Way or the Highway".Senior players hated the guy & left.Young players hated the guy & didn't perform.Storm never made the finals.
Murray was back in QLD cup grade the following season.

EVERY TEAM YOU PLAY is a banana skin if you don't respect them.
Young players NEED leadership to be blooded correctly.

[bobbyb]

we supported shaun wanes appointment as head coach.but he is not man enough to say sorry i got it wrong.

[Wigan_forever1985]

Here's my 2p's worth;

Wane got it wrong on many levels and i think as CPW stated it highlights the key difference between the NRL top brass and the English coaches.

I've said this before but what set Madge apart was no stone was left un-turned no corners cut, this is a very big corner cut very early on and its caught us out.

We are not long into the season and players shouldn't need resting without injury, we do not have an important or even "tough" game the following week so why remove the spine of the team? yes blood the young players but why not split the experience 2 in one game 2 in another.

My other issue with what happened is there was no backup, we have all seen stains, Leeds and wire stick a young player on the bench who is brought on for the last couple of minutes for experience. This shouldn't of been a hard game for us why couldn't he have put Sam or Lulu for example on the bench just in case things went sour, if not don't have to use him.

Lastly and this is the most worrying point for me, what he effectively did is form the "elite" click that madge worked so hard to beat out of Wigan and was what Nobby ruined Wigan with. As soon as you make that distinction of who is more important to the team than others you create a divide. The players arent idiots they all know Sam is the superstar and the others who were rested are the starting members of the team, but to rest the lot of them when there are no apparent injuries?, i cant see this being good for the team.

I'm worried about Sam, this year is going to be a turning point and i think he needs to remain as focused as possible he is part of all the hype, signed to sky, big contract, column in the paper - it has the potential to go to anyone's head. Resting him for games deemed not important is not a good way of keeping him focused, yes i know he is a professional but the celebrity lifestyle can turn even the best of players.

Youngsters want chances in the squad, however they want to earn them not be just chucked on to keep the "best" in cotton wool like lambs to the slaughter.

This isnt the end of the world of course, but its an insight to the mindset of a coach, and to be honest the gap between Wane and madge is a lot greater than i first thought

[Alex the Warrior]

Still fuming 16 hours on. Amateurish and disrespectful in the extreme. What is the point of busting your guts against Leeds and Catalans to throw points away. This should've been a 40 point win against a dide who will lose every other game they play against top 8 sides.

Wane's job is to send us out best prepared to win matches. His post match comments suggest that his second failure to do so will not be his last. I'd fire him if there's a repeat.

[weststand-rich]

It's very easy to be critical and smirk I told you so when something goes wrong, but when I got a sniff of the team SW was fielding I winced slightly. For me there were 2 main issues:

- Squad rotation has to be subtle. A little and often. Being at Wigan simply by virtue of inclusion is not the equivalent of a rugby league magic wand. That many changes to key strategic positions in any team would yield a similar result. Do you think Leeds would play Widnes and simultaenously rest Sinfield, Burrow, Mcguire, Webb, Hall and Jones Bucannen. We'll win because we're Leeds. We have the Leeds way.

- Widnes had lots of ex-Wiganites with perhaps fair perception that Wigan had treated them shoddily. Feeling you've been shafted is a great motivator. Why is Stephan Marsh at Widnes this year - it's not his fault I'll tell you that. Betts? Clarke? Briscoe? Allen?

Maybe SW has learnt something. Don't tinker with more than 2-3 positions at any one time.