2019 Rosta

[shaunedwardsfanclub]

In January 2018, Wigan announced their squad numbers. MM and Gells had left with Sarge and Hamlin being brought into the fold. One could argue that the cost of the guys leaving outstripped those coming in and therefore the club had money to be spend on additional players but for the sake of argument let's assume that the surplus was spent on improving the contracts of current players in order to retain them e.g. Powell.

FPN was still part of the 2018 squad and I think that it is fair to assume that when he left, the club would have had a nice lump of salary cap at their disposal. Frank probably got some form of pay-off, other players were awarded new contracts and Hankinson was signed, is it reasonable to assume that those amendments again took us to the salary cap limit?

We now know that Sam will be leaving for Catalans, Sutty will head off to Canberra, Joel has already signed for HKR and the signs are that Batty will be set for pastures new. I think that it has already been reported that Forsyth, Higginson, Davies and Bretherton will be leaving at the end of the season but I have ignored their departures as I am sure that some of our junior players will be awarded better contracts and take their places. The futures of Williams, Tautai, Tommy and Lockers are at this point uncertain but I have assumed that they will form part of the 2019 squad.

On the plus side, Hardaker has been recruited, although we know that he was not meant to be a direct replacement for Sam. I think, given Sam's decision to leave, from a playing perspective we need to treat Zak as a direct replacement although in respect of the salary cap Zak will cost more. I think that we can agree that Greenwood is a direct replacement for Bateman and Bullock has been signed to replace Sutton, although I would expect Bullock's deal to be less than Sutton's.

So where does that leave us?

We have a marquee spot available but it is likely that we would need to recruit outside the club to fill it and hence £150k would count against the salary cap. That could possibly be funded by Joel's contract but we would still need to find the additional finance for Zak, so a marquee player may not be on the cards! If, as is rumoured Lachlan Lam was to sign then we would have enough pennies in the coffers to cover his salary, otherwise we are looking to recruit somebody of a similar standing.

In summary, assuming the above is true and likely, we can expect the following changes from the 2018 squad published by the club.

Out: Sam, FPN, Bateman, Sutton, Joel.

In: Hardaker, Lam, Greenwood, Hankinson, Bullock.

Does that make us stronger or weaker? Is there a way of recruiting a marquee player or is it pie in the sky? Will the management have done a good job? Will crowds increase?

[Levrier]

We are still weaker. Bullock is more a replacement for FPN rather than Sutty unless he really steps up. Greenwood replaces JT but we would be hard pressed to find a like for like for Bateman. Hankinson has started fairly well but time will tell. As it is we are losing possibly four top class players and replacing them with players of a step down or who are unfinished in most cases. Add to that SOL has another year in his legs and it would be impossible to replace him with someone as good.

[captinjack]

In January 2018, Wigan announced their squad numbers. MM and Gells had left with Sarge and Hamlin being brought into the fold. One could argue that the cost of the guys leaving outstripped those coming in and therefore the club had money to be spend on additional players but for the sake of argument let's assume that the surplus was spent on improving the contracts of current players in order to retain them e.g. Powell.

POWELL WTF do we want to increase the contract of that pillock. He'll never make a scrum half as long as his arse faces downwards. As a Hooker he is shite Never makes a break from dummy half as he is to slow. His passing is woeful.

Wane says his name is first on the Team Sheet. I'd like to see the results of DNA test between them two, that would answer why he is always selected when he's crap.

[shaunedwardsfanclub]

In January 2018, Wigan announced their squad numbers. MM and Gells had left with Sarge and Hamlin being brought into the fold. One could argue that the cost of the guys leaving outstripped those coming in and therefore the club had money to be spend on additional players but for the sake of argument let's assume that the surplus was spent on improving the contracts of current players in order to retain them e.g. Powell.

POWELL WTF do we want to increase the contract of that pillock. He'll never make a scrum half as long as his arse faces downwards. As a Hooker he is shite Never makes a break from dummy half as he is to slow. His passing is woeful.

Wane says his name is first on the Team Sheet. I'd like to see the results of DNA test between them two, that would answer why he is always selected when he's crap.

They already have done CJ.

[shaunedwardsfanclub]

We are still weaker. Bullock is more a replacement for FPN rather than Sutty unless he really steps up. Greenwood replaces JT but we would be hard pressed to find a like for like for Bateman. Hankinson has started fairly well but time will tell. As it is we are losing possibly four top class players and replacing them with players of a step down or who are unfinished in most cases. Add to that SOL has another year in his legs and it would be impossible to replace him with someone as good.

The problem is do we have any salary cap available to sign a top player?

[jao711]

In January 2018, Wigan announced their squad numbers. MM and Gells had left with Sarge and Hamlin being brought into the fold. One could argue that the cost of the guys leaving outstripped those coming in and therefore the club had money to be spend on additional players but for the sake of argument let's assume that the surplus was spent on improving the contracts of current players in order to retain them e.g. Powell.

POWELL WTF do we want to increase the contract of that pillock. He'll never make a scrum half as long as his arse faces downwards. As a Hooker he is shite Never makes a break from dummy half as he is to slow. His passing is woeful.

Wane says his name is first on the Team Sheet. I'd like to see the results of DNA test between them two, that would answer why he is always selected when he's crap.

. Why don’t you tell him to his face?

[Exiled Wiganer]

How good is Lachlan Lam? If he is great, then we will be much stronger.

I would rather watch Hardaker than Sam, as he can cut teams apart, and will give us much needed momentum from the back. I am not fussed about losing Sutton, and have high hopes that Bullock and the rest of our current crop will more than compensate for his loss. Joel leaving improves us.

Which leaves Greenwood for Bateman. I really like Greenwood and think he will develop into the best second row in the competition, but Bateman has an X factor about him.


By far the biggest difference, and the one which fills me with hope, is that we will have someone who has recently worked in the NRL leading the way on the coaching side. I think there is vast untapped potential in this squad, particularly in attack.

[Levrier]

How good is Lachlan Lam? If he is great, then we will be much stronger.

I would rather watch Hardaker than Sam, as he can cut teams apart, and will give us much needed momentum from the back. I am not fussed about losing Sutton, and have high hopes that Bullock and the rest of our current crop will more than compensate for his loss. Joel leaving improves us.

Which leaves Greenwood for Bateman. I really like Greenwood and think he will develop into the best second row in the competition, but Bateman has an X factor about him.


By far the biggest difference, and the one which fills me with hope, is that we will have someone who has recently worked in the NRL leading the way on the coaching side. I think there is vast untapped potential in this squad, particularly in attack.

We will still be light on the roster as we never replaced FPN. I cannot see how losing a player like JT without replacing them improves us. Given that we have a couple of youngsters who could eventually step up or come back from injury we may be ok if the rumours about Williams, Tommy L and TT are not true. I know that Powell is best in the hooking role and Ganson deserves a run but we still would feel lacking in depth especially in the creative positions.

I see on the NRL website Sauaso Su being touted as in need of a new deal. There are props out there.

[pedro]

How good is Lachlan Lam? If he is great, then we will be much stronger.

I would rather watch Hardaker than Sam, as he can cut teams apart, and will give us much needed momentum from the back. I am not fussed about losing Sutton, and have high hopes that Bullock and the rest of our current crop will more than compensate for his loss. Joel leaving improves us.

Which leaves Greenwood for Bateman. I really like Greenwood and think he will develop into the best second row in the competition, but Bateman has an X factor about him.


By far the biggest difference, and the one which fills me with hope, is that we will have someone who has recently worked in the NRL leading the way on the coaching side. I think there is vast untapped potential in this squad, particularly in attack.

We will still be light on the roster as we never replaced FPN. I cannot see how losing a player like JT without replacing them improves us. Given that we have a couple of youngsters who could eventually step up or come back from injury we may be ok if the rumours about Williams, Tommy L and TT are not true. I know that Powell is best in the hooking role and Ganson deserves a run but we still would feel lacking in depth especially in the creative positions.

I see on the NRL website Sauaso Su being touted as in need of a new deal. There are props out there.

greenwood replaced JT

[Exiled Wiganer]

I assume we will pick from Greenwood, Faz, Isa and Paisley (and Wells?) in the second row. I would get more pleasure out of paisley's development than Joel's decline. That doesn't bother me at all.

Having now done a bit of digging, Lachlan Lam was good enough for the Queensland under 20s team this year (and of course played great for PNG). He could be a star for us. Am guessing he will have his dad's total commitment and professionalism, which bodes very well indeed.