Hampshire

[jaws1]

Just hope he comes back.Cas want to spell him in the halves why cant we do that here.Sad day for the club .

[cpwigan]

Hopefully he will get sufficient game time in the halves at Cas to develop and progress in that position. Sadly the ? is will it be at Wigan? Wane does not rate Rocky? We are stuck with Wane, probably likewise Sam Powell too as long as Wane is here.

[dontshootthemessenger]

when does hampshires contract run to , has that been confirmed ?

[Wandering Warrior]

I think it's up end of next season. If so bye bye is on the cards.
Still, plenty more coming through on our production line for other clubs!

[dontshootthemessenger]

thanks ww - so rather than send him out on loan for the last year of his contract ,why do they not sell him ,rather than letting hiom go for free next year ,and not getting the use of his talents this year ?

[sheepsteeth]

It is not strictly true that interchanging hookers will always have an adverse impact. KC and Roby interchanged fantastically. Piggy and MM won a GF. Brad Dwyer (A Wiganer!) has done great for Wire.

I do think the interchange need to offer something different / impact and the team play structured to allow hookers to do more than tackle and pass long.

I also do not believe MM cannot play 80 minutes and that if Wane rates Sam Powell so highly why not play him at half instead of Matty.

I agree that interchanging a hooker can be a good move but the man coming off the bench needs to give something different. Craig Wing at the Roosters was a great example of this and was also key for NSW.

Burrow when replacing Aiton, Clark replacing Milner at Cas and as mentioned Roby replacing Cunningham all worked as the man coming on injected pace.

[sheepsteeth]

I haven't seem too much of Hampshire but the Jury is out. I will however accept the opinions of those who have seen him coming through.

What Wigan need to decide is if keeping Smith for 1 or 2 more years is worth losing Rocky for.

I sincerely hope if he's loaned we get him to sign a new deal as part of the move. Although it appears unlikely.

[Andrew0604]

By all accounts one of the most promising talents in this country for a number of years and we can't develop his full potential!!!!!! There is something seriously wrong in our club if we have to let other clubs develop our talent.
Someone needs to learn about man management and that not everyone responds to the same treatment. We are losing too many players!!!

[DaveO]

Someone needs to learn about man management and that not everyone responds to the same treatment. We are losing too many players!!!

Yes I get the impression Wane will prefer the poorer who responds to his methods and sim[ly trains the house down regardless if that means he is ultimately good enough or not rather then bother to learn how to get the best out of a more talented player.

[Bonnie Raithwaite]

I saw a lot of Rocky playing at 6 for the U19's and I cannot believe the lack of faith/opportunity afforded to him in that position.

Clearly Smith has reached his potential, he's not going to get any better now. Rocky has huge potential in him - he could potentially ruin us in a Leeds shirt for years to come

It seems his face doesn't fit with Wane, who I suspect is planning to replace Smith with Jake Shorrocks eventually.

I sincerely hope Rocky goes well at Cas, I expect he will and sadly I doubt we'll see the Hampshire/Williams half back pairing - until they play together for England.