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DaveO posted:
Well thank goodness for that. Someone else who remembers how it was when Rads came back.

Briscoe was at times dire in defence. If the opposition had tried a kick over the top he just was not at home more often than not.

I too remember how glad I was when Rads was back and admittedly Brisoe had a few bad games and didn't seem to know how to catch, most memorably when we nearly got beat at Wilderspool, however, didn't he have a great season in Academy 21?

If you look back at the players that get a slating on here, it's the likes of Briscoe and O'Loughlin, none of the seasoned players like Newton or Smithy. They are bound to be better they've got experience on their side. Briscoe looked shell shocked in the first team all of a sudden. O'Loughlin has looked the same at times too. But he ended up as top tackler!

Luke Robinson was fantastic when he was understudy to Lammy, but when he had the weight of the world on his shoulders at the end of the season some people gave the poor lad a slating.

Kris Radlinski has to be arguably the best player currently playing either version of the game. Certainly the top player in his position eclipsing even the superb Darren Lockyear. You would either have to be insane or from another planet to suggest swapping his services for someone of Briscoe's talent.

Welski posted:
Kris Radlinski has to be arguably the best player currently playing either version of the game. Certainly the top player in his position eclipsing even the superb Darren Lockyear. You would either have to be insane or from another planet to suggest swapping his services for someone of Briscoe's talent.

I'm not sure if anyone is suggesting swapping Rads for Briscoe, but recent years have shown that when Rads is injured we have had real problems at fullback. Remember the nightmare that was almost every appearance by Wes Davies at FB?! Ok, so we used to have Gary Connolly who could fill in but with Briscoe we had a dedicated reserve FB for the first time in ages. We've now lost that again, and I can't see who will slot into that position when Rads misses some games (as he inevitably will have to, it's almost unheard of for a player to not miss any games). Maybe we could put O'Laughlin there, we've tried him nearly everywhere else? Or if PJ th centre/2nd row/prop/standoff/etc has stayed he could have done it...

Briscoe was good at the attcking part of the full back's game but his positional sense wasn't all it might've been. However, he was understudy to the best in the business, so surely, his game would've improved over time. I think a real prospect has been lost. You only have to see what happened when he was beaten out of the game against Widnes and Hodgson filled in at full back to know that we are going too have serious problems when Radlinski is missing.

AJ posted:
ive thought it for a while now, you really do know nothing about RL do u, u stupid little girl!

Everyone is entitled to an opinion mate, even if u don't agree with it. But saying things like that to my missus is totally out of order!

AJ posted:

wigan_babe_13 wrote:
I think we have made a BIG mistake in letting Briscoe go and keeping crap like O'Loughlin! He is a crap stand-off, a crap loose-forward and he'll never hold down a place at centre with Apsi and Hodgy doing the business and with Kevin Brown as a more than able back-up so it would have been better all round if O'Loughlin had gone and we had kept Briscoe!
O'Loughlin will never make a top class rugby player, he hasn't got the natural talent as Robinson or Hock etc!

ive thought it for a while now, you really do know nothing about RL do u, u stupid little girl! im sure u watch a different wigan rl to the rest of us! since gary connolly went sean o' is one of our three best defenders, and whilst he isnt a creative stand of will find himself a very nice niche replacing mick cassidy in the 2nd row in the next year or two, cassidy who is just a defender with no natural talent or flare, and doesnt get slated!

briscoe was average at bezt, everyone said so once kris returned and we saw what quality we had been missing

and as for pual johnson, well good riddence! never been good enough for wigan rl imo!

ive thought it for a while now, you really do know nothing about RL do u, u stupid little girl! im sure u watch a different wigan rl to the rest of us! since gary connolly went sean o' is one of our three best defenders, and whilst he isnt a creative stand of will find himself a very nice niche replacing mick cassidy in the 2nd row in the next year or two, cassidy who is just a defender with no natural talent or flare, and doesnt get slated!

AJ, O'Loughlin will never make a decent second-row, he won't run with the ball for a start!! He is a crap player and has had about 3 decent games all season, compare him to our other younger players like Aspinwall, Tickle, Hock etc and O'Loughlin doesn't even come close to matching them! He has had more than his fare share of game time to prove waht he can do and all he's proved to, not only myself but a lot of other fans that I talk to at both home and away game, that he isn't good enough to be in the first-team! There are better players in the U-21 side that aren't given a chance!

As for saying Cassidy is only a defender, he is a very solid runner of the ball and I bet he is one of the top metre makers at Wigan every season!

wigan_babe_13 posted:
I think we have made a BIG mistake in letting Briscoe go and keeping crap like O'Loughlin! He is a crap stand-off, a crap loose-forward and he'll never hold down a place at centre with Apsi and Hodgy doing the business and with Kevin Brown as a more than able back-up so it would have been better all round if O'Loughlin had gone and we had kept Briscoe!
O'Loughlin will never make a top class rugby player, he hasn't got the natural talent as Robinson or Hock etc!

sean o'loughlin is only young. he will improve with time! he has done since e was about 13 and e will keep on doin untill e retires which wont b 4 along time yet~ i can tell u!!! :exc:

I am so very glad none of you lot are coach, I really am. Its obvious none of you have ever played the game at a reasonable standard. Its great to see you lot shout the odds about crap you know little about, where you get your ideas from is beyond me it really is. I really have got to laugh, if I didnt I would go mental reading all yor trash. Just once I would like to see a decent post by someone who knows the game. It is unlikely but I still live in hope. Anyone who takes offence obviously knows I am talking to them. Dont take offence just learn abit about the game before you post rubbish like all this.

O'loughlin at centre WHAAAA are you mental. He has no idea of how to play centre, there is 1 good centre in the english league and thats senior. There are no real wingmans centres anymore because there are no real wingers anymore. Brian carney is the closest, he does try to use the touchline like Offiah, Sullivan, Phil Ford, Hederson Gill and John Ferguson etc. The game today doesnt produce individuals like Hanley, or Gregory or Edwards. There are no Joe Lydons or Garry Schofields coming through. Just a set of drones who play the same basic rugby in the same boring mould.

The aussies went through this in the 80's just defence orientated all the time. Yeah defence wins games we all know this, but we still want good flowing entertaining rugby to go with it. No doubt I will get flamed for this post but I couldnt care less.

Mike posted:
Latest rumours are that we will be signing Martin Gleeson from Saints (from the Independent)

There's a story today at www.wigantoday.net which says Mike Gregory is not expecting any more signings before next season. So I'm definitely confused by the salary cap problems. Briscoe going may be explained by the 20/20 rule, but the only reason we have offloaded PJ must be to save money. So is Danny Orr on a massive salary? I'm doubtful that Orr and Pongia will cost more than Ainscough and O'Neill, but that only leaves one possibility:

That we were still over the salary cap limit last season.

The level of the cap hasn't changed, the number of players hasn't changed, players have been re-signed presumably at levels appropriate to the salary cap, and if that was a problem anyway why have we taken on a player who will only be in the team for 6 more months at most? A salary cap infringement is the only other thing I can think of. If that's the case (and I'm only speculating in the absence of any sensible explanation), and we get points deducted, then I think some boardroom heads need to roll.

Anyone else got any sensible ideas about what's really been going on in the name of the salary cap?

Assuming we were within the salary cap last season, have some players not had their contracts upgraded? Carney has been given a new deal which in light of his current form will, I assume, involve more money. Also have the likes of Aspinwall, O'Loughlin, Hock and Robinson been given improved contracts?