Sheffield Squad Announced

[mark webster?]

Wigan Warriors Head Coach Michael Maguire has today named his 19 man squad for Saturday's Carnegie Challenge Cup Clash away to Sheffield Eagles, 4pm kick off at Bramall Lane.

The Warriors welcome back after an ankle injury Thomas Leuluai and Stuart Fielden who both missed last Sunday's game at Salford while Paul Deacon misses out with a slight injury and Eamon O'Carroll is rested.

Wigan Warriors 19 Man Squad

Cameron Phelps, Martin Gleeson, George Carmont, Pat Richards, Sam Tomkins, Thomas Leuluai, Stuart Fielden, Mark Riddell, Andy Coley, Joel Tomkins, Sean O'Loughlin, Paul Prescott, Michael McIlorum, Phil Bailey, Iafeta Paleaaesina, Lee Mossop, Darrell Goulding, Liam Farrell, Jonny Walker.

The Referee for Saturday's clash is Ian Smith.

http://www.wiganwarriors.com/WContent.a ... &type=news

[ancientnloyal]

WELL HE ISN'T REASTING ANYONE IS HE? imo WOULD HAVE LIKED A FEW MORE RESERVES TO GET A CALL OUT caps* and rest a few key players but I can see his reasoning... + and - either way.

Just hope we get another Flimby & Fothergill

[markill]

i hope jonny walker gets a run out if lockers is still not 100% because there is no point taking any risks. which begs the question to me...why is tommy in the squad? unless its only because deacs didn't make the cut.

[cpwigan]

You can tell how seriously Madge and the team are approaching this game/competition. The team travelled to Sheffield today and are staying over.

[Panchitta Marra]

WELL HE ISN'T REASTING ANYONE IS HE? imo WOULD HAVE LIKED A FEW MORE RESERVES TO GET A CALL OUT caps* and rest a few key players but I can see his reasoning... + and - either way.

Just hope we get another Flimby & Fothergill

For your info:
Flimby & Fothergill is a nice Solway Firth coastal village.
The then nearby amateur team of Risehow & Gillhead can boast the first ever British Rugby League player to win a Grand Final medal in Australia, with St George Dragons in 1966.
His name is Dick Huddart who also won the Lance Todd Trophey with St Helens in the 1961 Challenge Cup.
He was the first ever Whitehaven RLFC player to be selected for Great Britain.
For all the past Flimby & fothergill history v Wigan, its not too bad of a place with some possitive history too.

[Exiled Wiganer]

I am in 2 minds about this tbh. I can see that there are only 3 cups to be won, and so we have to take all of them seriously, but equally if we are going to be competing at the top end of the league all year we will need our squad to be fresh in August/September, as our run in has some very hard games, with Leeds and both Hull teams away and Wire at home. We could lose a lot of games in a short space of time.
The Cup is a lottery, and you only get one chance, but the beauty of our squad and the dual qualified player system is that we have around 30 players all playing regularly at a higher level than under 20s.
As we will need Joel and Lockers to sustain their current levels for a long time yet this was a golden opportunity to rest them. We would be relaxed playing Mossop, Bailey and Farrell as our back row against pretty much anyone in SL, so why not tomorrow? Sam T is just as important. With Leuluai back, we could pair Tommy and Deacs and rest him.
I will be hoping against hope everyone comes through unscathed against a fired up and big Eagles team, but if we run out of gas at the business end of the year we may well regret this approach.

[Mr Sergent]

I'm not overly pleased with the squad, We have been playing hard and I would like to have seen another 5 or 6 youngsters in the squad to let the big guns rest up (although most of them are on loan now anyway!) Our kids could beat these without ANY first teamers but as a minimum I would like the like of Phelps (injury prone) Richards, Lockers, Tommy, Coley rested.

Anyhow it is what it is and at least we should now get to watch us rack up a cricket score, hopefully in the sun!

[endoman]

You can tell how seriously Madge and the team are approaching this game/competition. The team travelled to Sheffield today and are staying over.

Lovely weather over here today, forecast is great for tomorrow, hope the lads enjoy Sheffield, plenty of nice hotels now unlike a few years ago. One right next to Bramall Lane in fact,

Don't remember us ever fielding weakened teams in the 80's / 90's in the cup so I think it's credit to MM in his approach this weekend.

[exile in Tiger country]

Obviously I hope we win, and convincingly, but once the game is won, (and I don't mean 20 in front then do a Bradford), I hope we don't set out to humiliate the Sheffield squad, it won't do the cause of RL in sheffield any good if we put 80+ past them without reply.

[Matthew]

I hope we tank them! I still haven't forgotten or forgiven them! You can bet that every non Wigan fan will be cheering them on.

To get beat by them once was unlucky; twice would be just careless!