Opinions on former players

[Blackpool_Pie]

Growing up in the early 90s I watched a lot of Wigan mostly on Sky TV, but not living close to central park or having many mates who followed wigan and obviously no social media, I never really knew what the general feelings towards certain players were ability wise. I knew who I really enjoyed watching and who I thought was really good but I was only young. So I would really like to hear some opinions about the following players:

Rob Smyth
Nigel Wright
Henry Paul
Craig Murdock
Simon Haughton
Martin Hall
Tony Smith
Neil Cowie
Tony Mestrov
Danny Moore

Any thoughts will be glady received

[Soul Kitchen]

Of the above, Hall, Cowie, Paul and Haughton were great servants for the Club.
Wright failed to live up to his potential due to injuries and other issues if I remember?

[medlocke]

Rob Smyth - Average player
Nigel Wright - Injury prone/wasted talent
Henry Paul - Awesome player, loved watching him
Craig Murdock - Decent back up
Simon Haughton - Bit of an enigma, loved watching his angled runs at the try line
Martin Hall - One of my favourite players from that era
Tony Smith - Another one of my favourites from back then
Neil Cowie - My all time favourite Wigan prop, that drop goal that one time was awesome
Tony Mestrov - Wasn't really a fan but was an adequate squad player
Danny Moore - Was not a fan at all, was buzzing when he left

[Wigan_forever1985]

Rob Smyth - Average player
Nigel Wright - Injury prone/wasted talent
Henry Paul - Awesome player, loved watching him
Craig Murdock - Decent back up
Simon Haughton - Bit of an enigma, loved watching his angled runs at the try line
Martin Hall - One of my favourite players from that era
Tony Smith - Another one of my favourites from back then
Neil Cowie - My all time favourite Wigan prop, that drop goal that one time was awesome
Tony Mestrov - Wasn't really a fan but was an adequate squad player
Danny Moore - Was not a fan at all, was buzzing when he left

Ill do it for the ones i remember watching

Henry Paul - brilliant the way he used to spin in tackles etc but was never quite the same player after his back injury

Simon Haughton - looked like being the next big thing was making waves then simply disappeared

Neil Cowie - rough tough old school prop

[Hattster]

Rob Smyth - Was quick over 50m but was never going to make it at Wigan
Nigel Wright - Could have been the next Tony Myler or John Joyner had he stayed injury free
Henry Paul - Great to watch, had pace and could twist his way through defences
Craig Murdock - Was a replacement for Edwards but never really lived up to that billing. Scored a great try at
Twickenham though.
Simon Haughton - Really quick for a forward and scored some great tries but often went missing when it
mattered.
Martin Hall - Great player, very similar to Martin Dermott
Tony Smith - Fantastic scrum half, had pace and gulie but never seemed to hit the heady heights of his Cas
days.
Neil Cowie - Awesome no nonsense prop, a little feisty too at times
Tony Mestrov - Always gave 100%, would run the ball in all day
Danny Moore - Came with a big reputation but it never materialised at Wigan. Big disappointment

[Exiled Wiganer]

My take is slightly different on some of those players. A number of them - Cowie and Hall say - were good enough but not top class.

The most interesting ones I think were:

- Henry Paul: head and shoulders above the other players on the list, was an excitement machine. Came over here very young and we were privileged to have him;
- Nigel Wright: as others note, injuries meant we never knew what he could be. I wonder whether he had the drive to be the best he could be, but when he was good he was indeed like a newer version of the great 6s; and
- Simon Haughton: did his hair make us think he was better than he was: promised so much that a good career felt a bit like an under achievement.

Finally, on Danny Moore, he was quietly effective, and played I think an important role in our successful 98 season.

[morley pie eater]

Nigel Wright was a gifted player. One of those who seemed to think in slow motion while everyone else was rushing around. He was thinking about the next move as others were still on this one.

It was a crying shame that he suffered injury after injury.

From what I remember with Simon Haughton, he was outstanding for a season or two, but other things in his life stopped him continuing at that level.
Rob Smyth was a flyer and a good lad.

[Euclid]

Some of these players were not obviously in the limelight and were more “quietly effective” than spectacular.
If I remember rightly, Neil Cowie had a storming game at second row against Wigan for his previous club (Oldham, Rochdale?) where he made our pack look a bit ordinary. Uncle Mo had a tendency to sign up players who did well against Wigan, so over he came. I liked the fact that he never took a step back, and that he was daft enough to engage in a fist fight with a retired pro boxer one Boxing Day.
Danny Moore I felt was a good solid centre without being spectacular.
I thought Tony Mestrov was excellent. I lived in London back then, and when I couldn’t get back for Wigan games I went and watched the Broncos. He was a hard running forward for both teams, another who didn’t take a step back but a bit less prone to fighting. My best memory of him was during the 1998 Grand Final. Adrian Morley was running amok, tearing gaps in our defence seemingly at will. Wigan were on the back foot and going nowhere. Just before or maybe just after half time Tony Mestrov absolutely clattered Morley which quietened him down a lot. Wigan started to be able to go forward and never seemed in danger after that.
Henry Paul? One of the most exciting players I’ve ever seen, you just did not know what he was going to do next. A real on the edge of your seat player, I wish Wigan could have kept him for longer

[Wintergreen]

Rob Smyth - Solid winger. In any other era would have had much higher praise.
Nigel Wright - Incredible talent that we never saw materialise due to injury.
Henry Paul - Silky runner. Think Bevan French but with a body swerve instead of a sidestep. Could kick too.
Craig Murdock - Perfect "bench player". Could fill in at 7 or 9 and do a job.
Simon Haughton - Good early on in his career but didn't kick on. Work ethic issue (imo).
Martin Hall - Again, solid hooker.
Tony Smith - OK imo, without being spectacular. Then again we were spoiled for half backs in those days.
Neil Cowie - Tough, no nonsense prop. 100% given each game.
Tony Mestrov - Very professional and consistent. He would be perfect for what we need in the 2023 team now!
Danny Moore - I would agree with the term used "quietly effective".

[Mike]

Rob Smyth - Pretty good, not a super-star. Did the job on the wing though.
Nigel Wright - Could have been great, but never had a chance due to injury
Henry Paul - Genius! Spinning out of tackles and generally being elusive, creative and speedy. One of my favourite players
Craig Murdock - Did a decent job. I have a sneaking suspicion that he would have been a Powell type player if social media had been around though.
Simon Haughton - What a first season. Second not so impactful.
Martin Hall - Great hooker I though.
Tony Smith - He was OK. More of a runner that an organizer if i remember correctly.
Neil Cowie - One of our great props from back in the day. We had a few over the years though
Tony Mestrov - I liked him, but not in the same league as others. He came from London (to us) and I've got a soft spot from players that take an unusual route to the top of the game.
Danny Moore - I barely remember him. Was he a centre/wing?