Mathers to Wigan

[lucky 13]

I think we will have to wait and see if we make any more signings and the quality of them , the final make up of the squad needed more depth and if the lad can keep injury free he may turn out to be a shrewd buy at what I imagine is a low end contract , if we added a center it would give us a bit of much needed competition in the backs as well as cover Colbon waiting if a winger drops in form or if Richards is put in at full back and Goulding pressing for a starting spot doing a similar job , if one of our young props can push on 2008 may not be to bad :smil:

[ancientnloyal]

"I've had a tough 12 months here injury-wise,"






Nice signing

[ancientnloyal]

Having read the press release from Wigan I AM CONCERNED OVER A FEW THINGS 1) HIS INJURIES/ KNEE AND 2) HIS CONTRACT

1) it does seem concerning that WWigan have gone public into some detail about the state of Richies knee... is this a gamble we dont want as fans or are we happy having a young british lad at fullback? He hasn't played much in the NRL and will be a bit off during pre-season. Who else is good enough for FB? But I guerss the salar cap comes into play...

...2) His contract isnt concrete for 3 years as stated by the 'minimum' # of appearances for 2008... is this related to possible injuries or cap restraints? It might be that Wigan may have him on a pay-per-play contract and may play a handful of games to stay under? Is this £140,000 eaten up by Mathers or is there someone else in the pipeline? If mathers doesnt reach the minimum appearances what will happen then?

Dont be surprised to see Richards at FB next year

[lucky 13]

ancientnloyal posted:
Having read the press release from Wigan I AM CONCERNED OVER A FEW THINGS 1) HIS INJURIES/ KNEE AND 2) HIS CONTRACT

1) it does seem concerning that WWigan have gone public into some detail about the state of Richies knee... is this a gamble we dont want as fans or are we happy having a young british lad at fullback? He hasn't played much in the NRL and will be a bit off during pre-season. Who else is good enough for FB? But I guerss the salar cap comes into play...

...2) His contract isnt concrete for 3 years as stated by the 'minimum' # of appearances for 2008... is this related to possible injuries or cap restraints? It might be that Wigan may have him on a pay-per-play contract and may play a handful of games to stay under? Is this £140,000 eaten up by Mathers or is there someone else in the pipeline? If mathers doesnt reach the minimum appearances what will happen then?

Dont be surprised to see Richards at FB next year

If he his fit and in form he will play, as for the money he wanted to come back and he will need to prove himself so the money would be pretty low ,IL states ''financial benefit for the club'' , if he plays fits in stays free from injury he will then get what he his worth the season after which would tie in well for us with the cap money being sorted for the 2009 season

[cpwigan]

One of the big plusses with Nobby is that he brought the GB Doctor to work at Wigan on a consultant basis. Given that he has tested Mathers I am hopeful he has made a full recovery from his injuries.

I presume that year 1 of his contract is very much incentive based and maybe a way around the limits of cap Heaven forbid Only teasing

[DaveO]

cpwigan posted:
The downside. Pat Richards had IMO found his true position in this Wigan team. His defence was superior to any other SL fullback and he was getting better and better on attack. We will now never know how good a fullback Pat could have developed into. Moreover, Pat publicly stated he wanted to stay at fullback and hoped Wigan would not sign a fullback. As a winger Pat is decent BUT not startling.

I think you are in a very small minority who thinks Richards had found his true position at full back. His returns were poor and he didn't link well in attack. He did a good job for us and better than many including me thought at full back but providing Mathers can get fit I think you see full back becoming a more attacking position for us once again as it should be. It also means we have Richards attacking capability back on the wing while at the same time knowing we have cover for full back should Mathers get injured.

Not convinced by some of the quotes made in the press. Word has it Mathers wanted to return to Leeds BUT they turned him down so Wigan became the next best option. Nor am I convinced he learned a great deal as a player given I think he player less that 6 full games for the Titans.

Word has it form where he wanted to go back to Leeds? Surely that was never an option given their current team.

I do feel a little like beggars cannot be choosers and in that scenario Mathers is a good signing.

I don't think Wigan would have signed him at all if he didn't fit into the medium to long term plans so I don't think it's a case of beggars not being choosers.

The fact he may come on a small wage as he must prove himself may have made the signing possible but his probable low wage is not IMO the reason why Wigan have signed him. If we have got him cheaply then it is a bit of good fortune for us given our financial constraints.

Wigan have not signed him like Millward signed some players - those clearly not of a standard for SL but to simply bolster the squad and because they were cheap enough. I don't think Wigan are into that any more. I think he has been signed as a potentially very good player who must prove his injury has not affected his game.

That is why years two and three are options based on appearances. If he proves himself he is set for a long career here according to IL. You don't dish out (possible) three year deals to players who you don't want to be part of your long term plans or to players who are stop gaps.

The only down side is IMO it is a gamble fitness-wise so it all depends on how he fairs when he gets match fit. At least the contract is formulated that is his career is over we are not stuck with him.

Dave

[DaveO]

ancientnloyal posted:
Having read the press release from Wigan I AM CONCERNED OVER A FEW THINGS 1) HIS INJURIES/ KNEE AND 2) HIS CONTRACT

1) it does seem concerning that WWigan have gone public into some detail about the state of Richies knee... is this a gamble we dont want as fans or are we happy having a young british lad at fullback? He hasn't played much in the NRL and will be a bit off during pre-season. Who else is good enough for FB? But I guerss the salar cap comes into play...

Surely the club are just being quite upfront about the injury situation. Yes its a gamble but there aren't that many full backs available and if the gamble comes off it will have been a shrewd move.

...2) His contract isnt concrete for 3 years as stated by the 'minimum' # of appearances for 2008... is this related to possible injuries or cap restraints? It might be that Wigan may have him on a pay-per-play contract and may play a handful of games to stay under? Is this £140,000 eaten up by Mathers or is there someone else in the pipeline? If mathers doesnt reach the minimum appearances what will happen then?

The contract is obviously to cater for the possibility his injury does not clear up and prevents him from playing. If he can't get fit and stay fit he won't get years two and three. I think it's that simple. No need for any conspiracy theories here.

Dont be surprised to see Richards at FB next year

You will in February. Mathers won't be ready to play until the end of Feb if you read the details.

After Feb and assuming his recovery is complete, I would be very surprised to see anyone else at FB other than Mathers or his signing is a waste of salary cap money.

Dave

[Panchitta Marra]

standishwarrior posted:
considering the injury he's had i think its abit of a risk offering him a 3 yr contract

I think there will be conditions in his contract, subject to his previous injuries, I hope so.
Not Wigan the fast track way back for BUPA's repair jobs.

[standishwarrior]

Panchitta Marra posted:

standishwarrior posted:
considering the injury he's had i think its abit of a risk offering him a 3 yr contract

I think there will be conditions in his contract, subject to his previous injuries, I hope so.
Not Wigan the fast track way back for BUPA's repair jobs.

i posted that before the details of the contract were revealed. good signing for wigan!

[jame1]

It' always a gamble when a player who has had a serious injury is signed. But, from the wording of the news release,the club appears to have covered itself if the player does not keep fit during the first year.There is also talk ,in the Express,of talks of Pryce retuning from Gloucester and Matt Cooper from St George, both being linked to Wigan.