Kittwazzer wrote:He will need to be significantly better than Feka if he is to win the fans round. IMO, Feka was the most popular player since Hendy, 25 years ago!
It absolutely baffles me that Feka was so popular, he was overweight, overpaid, couldnt tackle, lazy and once the rest of the teams in super league sussed him out very easy to stop! If he was that good he would have signed to a top team, not Salford. I for one am glad we have got rid he was never good enough and you insult Hendy by mentioning Feka in the same breath!
Did you go to the last league home game against the Bulls Slimshady, I suppose you are easily baffled by the tens of thousands of true supporters repeatedly shouting Paleaaesina, Paleaaesina at the end of the game.
I wonder how many supporters will be shouting Lima, Lima after the same time of service Iafeta has provided to Wigan Warrior.
I think not.
Hold on PM in another thread you are saying whatever Madge decides is right but here you are arguing the opposite. You cannot have it both ways unless you are being hypocritical. Madge and co did not rate / want Feka so based on your previous statements they must be right.
As it happens I think Wigan AND Feka tried everything possible to create a Wigan player out of Feka. It failed and we move on. Feka has found his level at Salford and the fans will shout for whomever in 2011 and beyond.
slimshady wrote:
It absolutely baffles me that Feka was so popular, he was overweight, overpaid, couldnt tackle, lazy and once the rest of the teams in super league sussed him out very easy to stop! If he was that good he would have signed to a top team, not Salford. I for one am glad we have got rid he was never good enough and you insult Hendy by mentioning Feka in the same breath!
Did you go to the last league home game against the Bulls Slimshady, I suppose you are easily baffled by the tens of thousands of true supporters repeatedly shouting Paleaaesina, Paleaaesina at the end of the game.
I wonder how many supporters will be shouting Lima, Lima after the same time of service Iafeta has provided to Wigan Warrior.
I think not.
Hold on PM in another thread you are saying whatever Madge decides is right but here you are arguing the opposite. You cannot have it both ways unless you are being hypocritical. Madge and co did not rate / want Feka so based on your previous statements they must be right.
As it happens I think Wigan AND Feka tried everything possible to create a Wigan player out of Feka. It failed and we move on. Feka has found his level at Salford and the fans will shout for whomever in 2011 and beyond.
You are quite right in what you say CP, it does come over as hypocritical, however, I do stick by what I say in essence to each player.
IMO Gaz Hock will return to Wigan Warriors, and in time, prove himself good enough to be selected in Wigan's first team.
Unlike you, I have always thought that Iafeta was good enough to be part of the Wigan first team, hence his slections in the Grand Final and its run in period. I also dont beleive Jeff Lima will be a better player than Iafeta.
I suppose next season will reveal all.
I think Jeff Lima's big challenge is to match or better Fielden / Coley PM. Paul Prescott was better than Feka. It was not hard to be because Wigan / Feka tried to change and the outcome was a worse player. Feka had impact through size and explosive force. He removed that and the impact was vastly diminished.
Unfortunately, the inability to go forward and back rapidly for set after set never improved nor did his agility or ability to 'stick' when tackling. So Wigan improved collectively / individually in defence and Feka was left behind resulting in a player Madge struggled to trust for 10 minutes. Feka's failings stood out in the GF.
If Lima can manage to take the ball up no frills and defend like the other Wigan players for 20 minutes or more he will have improved upon Feka 2010. It's not a huge ask IMO. Hopefully Feka can put some weight back on and give Salford fans a few moments of high impact in 2011.
Wigan 2011 and beyond have moved to a level way above the Feka's of the RL World.
As much as I liked/like Feka, CP you are 100% correct in your post. I think people, like me, like the person and how much you can visably see how much he loves the club rather than what he actually brings the team.
And why not Adam. He seems a fantastic man and like many I will be atching Salford in 2011 on SKY, hoping Feka has a stormer (other than v Wigan).
Ultimately, it is a sign of progress. I used to be a David Stephenson fan but Graham Lowe moved him on and we got Dean Bell who was even better. John Monie moved Mark Preston / Dave Myers on for Offiah and so forth.
Best wishes to Feka but hoping Lima adds more and I want a Wigan RLFC appearance at Wembley in 2011
cpwigan wrote:I think Jeff Lima's big challenge is to match or better Fielden / Coley PM. Paul Prescott was better than Feka. It was not hard to be because Wigan / Feka tried to change and the outcome was a worse player. Feka had impact through size and explosive force. He removed that and the impact was vastly diminished.
Unfortunately, the inability to go forward and back rapidly for set after set never improved nor did his agility or ability to 'stick' when tackling. So Wigan improved collectively / individually in defence and Feka was left behind resulting in a player Madge struggled to trust for 10 minutes. Feka's failings stood out in the GF.
If Lima can manage to take the ball up no frills and defend like the other Wigan players for 20 minutes or more he will have improved upon Feka 2010. It's not a huge ask IMO. Hopefully Feka can put some weight back on and give Salford fans a few moments of high impact in 2011.
Wigan 2011 and beyond have moved to a level way above the Feka's of the RL World.
What were Iafeta's failings in the Grand Final CP.
PM, IMO the defensive line looked far more fragile whilst Feka was on the pitch. He put a nice hit / shoulder charge on Foster? but by and large his technique is often below the standard set by Madge. He finds it hard to 'stick' and his finish position leaves the ball carrier in a more advantageous position resulting in a faster POTB.
Having made a tackle or moved up with the line, Feka often moved back and sometimes forward far too slowly and less commited that the norm under Madge. It then slows down resetting / organising the line and drags other players out of position. Feka puts pressure on his team mates.
You can almost see Madge's mind ticking over. How long do I need to rest Fielden, Coley before I can get them back on and how long do I have to risk having Feka out there.
Defence is an art form under Madge and unfortunately Feka is in the special needs category when it comes to defence.
I think Madge is hard headed and you can see that during the play offs / GF. Joel Tomkins penalties were similarly hurting the team BUT when it mattered his discipline improved. I surmise Madge said your hurting the team Joel, no more penalties. Sadly Feka could not change and continued to hurt the team. The team is everything in the world of Madge. Gaz Hock is one of my favourite players BUT IMO he will have to improve his ball security under Madge.
Everything from 2010 and beyond is TEAM first, win as a TEAM
cpwigan wrote: Gaz Hock is one of my favourite players BUT IMO he will have to improve his ball security under Madge.
To my mind, it's not so much his ball security that he needs to improve, it's more that the rest of team needs to be alert for his offloads. IMO he wasn't used effectively under Nobby (no surprises).
A "daft" offload is only daft if there's no-one there; when there is, it becomes a miracle pass. A player like Gaz should be entitled to expect someone to be there, so he can pass without looking.
Keep the offload part of his game, but make sure someone nippy is backing him up - as Wire do with Solomona or Leeds with Lauititi.
Geoff, I think Gaz will improve under Madge and his offloading decision making will improve. It is just that Melbourne / Madge and possibly Wayne Bennett had/have a philosiphy where offloading in the tackle is secondary to ball security.
I may be wrong but our offload stats would be very low in 2010. I will surmise that when Gaz returns his offload figures will decrease but his % completed offloads will increase and his errors will decrease. I think Madge will make Gaz Hock a better player.
