dennis betts for head coach

[warrior]

hi all.
would anybody else have to agree that dennis betts will probably do a better job than what mike gregory has done for us so far. yeah i mean when stuart raper left we started on a great roll but we havent managed to win any cups yet and starting in quite a miserable way. i know that ive got quite a negative attitude but im just sick of seeing us lose in finals that we should have won with ease. first of all danny orr shoud be given his marching orders and why oh why has robinson been loaned out. surely his presence in the wigan camp would be more beneficial than loaning him out. I think that we should get the young ones in for a bit and give the likes of o connor, cassidy, farrell, a rest. there all over the hill and way past their best. I mean yes we have some great players but i dont think that there getting the chance to play their best.
anyway im going to shut up now. ive had my moan
onwards and upwards to wakefield on sunday.
is anybody going the youth game against halifax.

[*!Wigan Babe-Luke Robo Is Well Smart!!!*]

duno he might do because he has played for wigan before but dont really know
i no why do they have to loan him out???
and danny orr so called really good player he has done hardly nothing .
its beacuse he was a big fish in a little pond a cas but now hes jus a little fish in a big pond at wigan as people would say lol!!

[robjoenz]

Whoa, whoa, whoa... hold your horses!!! Greg's only just gone to the USA for treatment, how can we say Betts will proably do better? He only stopped playing last season whereas Greg has previous experience coaching at Stains and with the GB youths.

There is no way it can be said that we should have won either the GF or the CC with ease, Bradford and Saints are two of the greatest clubs in SL. So far this season we've not had our full strength team out, we're still awaiting the return of Carney and Aspi before we are full strength.

Danny Orr hasn't been playing well lately, but we're only one third of the way through the season, he needs atleast a full season before we get shut of him altogether, however, I do believe we need to start making him compete for his place with O'Loughlin or Brown.

It's obvious that Luke is not favoured as highly as Lam, but this is understandable Lam is a class act. Perhaps letting him get a regular first team slot will give him the confidence boost out of the limelight of the Wigan fans that put him down whenever he underperforms. Cas will be more appreaciative than some the critics that want nothing less than an Andy Gregory or Adrian Lam before the lad reaches 21.

Don't agree with dropping the experienced players either. Faz leads the team so well, without him there they sometimes lack direction. If you field 17 young lads you will get school boy errors and once the points are down they won't know how to calmly retake control. Experience is important!

As for Sunday, I think we will have our chins up and go out there and give them the backlash! Make sure you're all down there to show your support, give them that extra push for SL9!

[warrior]

i carnt really see how faz lead the team at the weekend. i thought that he was rather quiet
this is something which farrell has done not only in the challenge cup but last season aswell.
he has a good couple of games and the rest quite poor. as for the young lads making simple schoolboy errors i think that the older guys could learn a thing or two. how many handling errors were made in the cup and in the GF.
danny orr has been very poor this season. we all thought that he was going to make quite an impression in the team, i hardly think he`s done this. i quite agree that that we need him to start competing for his place in the team

[robjoenz]

Farrell helps shape the team. Even though he may not show flair all the time he is captaining the lads in what to do, making sure they are all doing their job properly. He gets the team together, gets them going and he always tries his best. He's a play maker, he needs the play around him, when they are it works!

He has masses of experience on his side also. Given a choice between kicking a penalty or taking a tap he wouldn't be too hasty unless the situation was desperate. A young enthusiastic head might want to take the tap (Sinfield last year CC Final) but an experienced head will tell him to be patient. On occasions where the game is close Farrell will be sensible, kick for a scrum deep rather than into space where they can start a run, thus killing a bit of time.

We need a healthy mix of youth and experience in the team, experience to teach the young lads with some youthful exuberance to keep the oldies going!

The handling errors in the Challenge Cup and last years Grand Final were the result of panic rugby. O'Loughlin made a few mistakes at weekend, not because he is a poor player just because the passes were a little adventurous and they were trying a little too hard to try and make back the points. You could say Brown and Radlinksi gave away two tries between them but they certainly didn't stop trying to make up for their mistakes, I thought Brown was fantastic, especially having taken two hard knocks to the head!

[mario]

warrior posted:
hi all.
would anybody else have to agree that dennis betts will probably do a better job than what mike gregory has done for us so far. yeah i mean when stuart raper left we started on a great roll but we havent managed to win any cups yet and starting in quite a miserable way. i know that ive got quite a negative attitude but im just sick of seeing us lose in finals that we should have won with ease. first of all danny orr shoud be given his marching orders and why oh why has robinson been loaned out. surely his presence in the wigan camp would be more beneficial than loaning him out. I think that we should get the young ones in for a bit and give the likes of o connor, cassidy, farrell, a rest. there all over the hill and way past their best. I mean yes we have some great players but i dont think that there getting the chance to play their best.
anyway im going to shut up now. ive had my moan
onwards and upwards to wakefield on sunday.
is anybody going the youth game against halifax.

Do you want to see us relegated?

[MrsLam]

Betts will obviously try his best for us and maybe it will seem like we're doing better but that's also done to the matches we have coming up in the next few weeks. They're not exactly massive challenges, although I'll admit they aren't going to be easy.

Don't agree at all that Orr should go as I've said in another posts, jumping on his back too quick for my liking. If we're all calling him sh** how's he ever gonna get his confidence back?

Also don't agree that the more experienced are past their best, im not just in an argumentative mood I genuinely don't agree, the yards that the likes of Terry, Smith and Pongia can make are vital in matches, the more experienced are less likely to get aggressive quickly too so I wouldn't rest any of them unless needed.

[Welsh Warrior]

Sorry but I don't agree. We have had our fair share of injuries so far this season and a handful of games in you want Mike Gregory's head on the block. What happens if after another few games we haven't got anywhere. Dennis Betts' head goes on the block. At this rate we could have about half a dozen coaches this season. Any chance you could give him a bit of time. Personnally think he's doing a great job. As for O'Connor, Cassidy and Farrell being over the hill and way past their best. More codswollop. As far as I am concerned they have been rock solid over the past few games and seasons. Dumping these guys on the scrap heap now would be absolute lunacy. Wonder if Mr B. Noble thinks Faz is over the hill in the autumn.

[Fraggle]

One thing that's not been in mentioned is that Farrell is known to be such a threat that he usually attracts 3 players on him whenever he gets the ball. It's difficult to always be the one who creates everything when you've got half the opposing team on your back.

Denis Betts has very little coaching experience, remember that Gregs is the first coach of a GB team to win a series in Australia for an eternity, plus he's worked his way up in coaching with Swinton and then assistant to Shaun McRae at another club(!) so he's a got a great pedigree in such a short space of time.

As for the older players, I'll agree Pongia is blowing a bit hot and cold this year, Cassidy as well but then I thought he tackled superbly on Saturday. Craig Smith and O'Connor are both still playing well albeit perhaps a bit slower than before. The problem is we don't have enough young props to replace these players. Who do you play in the front row if we drop Smith, Pongia and O'Connor? Kevin Brown maybe?!

[mario]

Fraggle posted:
who do you play in the front row? Kevin Brown maybe?!

Don't give robjoenz ideas! i don't really think thier is a problem, we got beat by Saints in a final without Carney and Aspinwall, we had s**t luck, s**t ref and video ref and we still did'nt get hammered!
As for Orr, i have no doubt that he will come good if we give him time,but let him earn his place not just get his place however he plays.