Harry Smith.

[nathan_rugby]

Didn’t watch the game but maybe Smith will benefit from reserve fixtures or potentially a duel reg loan move once French is back?

French at FB and can be covered by Field and Hardaker if needs be.

Field steps into the halves and we can rotate between Cust, Tommy and Field?

This may be the plan of the club?

[Flash]

Didn’t watch the game but maybe Smith will benefit from reserve fixtures or potentially a duel reg loan move once French is back?

French at FB and can be covered by Field and Hardaker if needs be.

Field steps into the halves and we can rotate between Cust, Tommy and Field?

This may be the plan of the club?

It's a tough one, as French clearly needs to play but Field has been standout so can't simply be used as rotation for Tommy. He too, has to play. He's a match winner. The question then becomes do we keep moving players around to accommodate others, which didn't seem to work last night, or do we say "the position is yours, it's up to someone else to take it off you"? If it's the latter it has to be French to the wing until Field gives good reason for that to change (if he ever does, of course).

[Big stick]

The first few games for Bev stick him on the wing but long term leaving him on the Wing is a massive waste. I think Fields takes over Tommy for the majority of games and french goes the FB. If we want to get Tommy in for a big game start him in the halves with either Bev or Fields to wing or FB. When Tommy goes off swap everyone back.

[Exiled Wiganer]

I have only seen the highlights, but from those Harry was involved in pretty much all of our tries, one with an excellent short range kick. Plus of course the drop goal to win the game. The errors I saw in defence were 2 dropped balls from Miski, Smithies making an ineffectual tackle for one and not tracking back for another, and Hardaker missing a tackle with Partington failing to cover.

I know that 90 seconds of highlights tells you little about the game, and of course in attack it would only show the good bits, but he looked at home in an attack that again produced 5 tries. I don’t subscribe to the view that we can’t criticise players when we have seen them, but how much criticism is he getting from people who haven’t watched the game? It’s not like Powell at all, where we have years and hundreds of hours of actual evidence.

[moto748]

I get that fans don't want to hear people slating Wigans player (Smith). But how do you keep the faith with players who keep making mistakes at key times? 4 errors in 1 game from an half back is shocking. Yes bad shoulder, yes first game back and yes he's young (ish). But some people will still be saying this when he turns 30.

That's roughly where I am with Smith (probably a little more positive than that, though). Not commenting on last night's game, which, like most of us, I've only heard and not seen, but last season there were just too many unforced errors, passes behind players, etc. As I've mentioned before, halves are judged on the infrequency of their errors. Cooper Cronk isn't rated a great half because he has a more dazzling skill-set than Shaun Johnson (he doesn't), but because he makes few errors and virtually always makes the right decision.

This the front on which Harry Smith has a long way to go. I hope the coaching team can bring him on further this season.

[fozzieskem]

I get that fans don't want to hear people slating Wigans player (Smith). But how do you keep the faith with players who keep making mistakes at key times? 4 errors in 1 game from an half back is shocking. Yes bad shoulder, yes first game back and yes he's young (ish). But some people will still be saying this when he turns 30.

That's roughly where I am with Smith (probably a little more positive than that, though). Not commenting on last night's game, which, like most of us, I've only heard and not seen, but last season there were just too many unforced errors, passes behind players, etc. As I've mentioned before, halves are judged on the infrequency of their errors. Cooper Cronk isn't rated a great half because he has a more dazzling skill-set than Shaun Johnson (he doesn't), but because he makes few errors and virtually always makes the right decision.

This the front on which Harry Smith has a long way to go. I hope the coaching team can bring him on further this season.

I think we all want Smith to succeed I said many times last season he wouldn’t be in my side(what do I know eh?)because his game was riddled with errors,to carry on picking game after game became perverse as the season wore on,people go back to that youth game against the Aussies a few years back and yes he had a great game but even for the youth set up at Wigan he would kick for fun,he looked mouthwatering prospect he really did,but he has at best stood still or worse gone backwards,I hope under Briers and Pert they can unearth that player we all want to see,a good start is not playing him in every game going so already they’re on the right path with him.

I suspect criticism aimed at him last night comes from the last couple of seasons I don’t see why he should be exempt from fair criticism and while he’s still only 22 he’s played plenty of first team games,it’s frustrating that he’s not come on in the way I certainly hoped he would.

[Brennox7]

I get that fans don't want to hear people slating Wigans player (Smith). But how do you keep the faith with players who keep making mistakes at key times? 4 errors in 1 game from an half back is shocking. Yes bad shoulder, yes first game back and yes he's young (ish). But some people will still be saying this when he turns 30.

That's roughly where I am with Smith (probably a little more positive than that, though). Not commenting on last night's game, which, like most of us, I've only heard and not seen, but last season there were just too many unforced errors, passes behind players, etc. As I've mentioned before, halves are judged on the infrequency of their errors. Cooper Cronk isn't rated a great half because he has a more dazzling skill-set than Shaun Johnson (he doesn't), but because he makes few errors and virtually always makes the right decision.

This the front on which Harry Smith has a long way to go. I hope the coaching team can bring him on further this season.

I think we all want Smith to succeed I said many times last season he wouldn’t be in my side(what do I know eh?)because his game was riddled with errors,to carry on picking game after game became perverse as the season wore on,people go back to that youth game against the Aussies a few years back and yes he had a great game but even for the youth set up at Wigan he would kick for fun,he looked mouthwatering prospect he really did,but he has at best stood still or worse gone backwards,I hope under Briers and Pert they can unearth that player we all want to see,a good start is not playing him in every game going so already they’re on the right path with him.

I suspect criticism aimed at him last night comes from the last couple of seasons I don’t see why he should be exempt from fair criticism and while he’s still only 22 he’s played plenty of first team games,it’s frustrating that he’s not come on in the way I certainly hoped he would.

I completely agree with this. Smith does show so decent qualities at times. But he makes lots of errors, his kicking game is erratic and he doesn't break many lines. Just basic at best and hasn't really kicked on. You can't call his age being a factor. We've got heaps of players the same age and younger improving regardless of injury. Hastings french field Tomkins Williams all early 20s when dominating for Wigan. If you look at Mikey Lewis and Lewis Dodd, that's were you need to be at to play HB for one of the big clubs. IMO of course

[medlocke]

Rocky Hampshire MK2

[morley pie eater]

Rocky Hampshire MK2

Or Sean Long, possibly?

[keptinthedarkfans]

Rocky Hampshire MK2

Or Sean Long, possibly?

I'm with you Morley. Just can't make him out at moment but there's something there I'm sure of that