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Is it just a coincidence, or am I putting 2 and 2 together and getting 5, but has the intensity and quality of our performance receeded since Madge announced his departure?

In my view, our last top class performance was against Warrington in the CC, since then we have seen odd glimpses of our class.

Our defence, down the middle, has been breached easily in the last two matches, we seem to have moved away from our attacking stuctures and many of the players seem sluggish.

One thing is for sure, unless we up our performance dramatically we will not be appearing at O/T on the 8th October.

On current form we will get turned over next Sunday!

I believe standards have started to slip with the players more care free with the ball and not as ferocious in defence. The problem I have is the defence may be down to avoiding referees / RFL.

Madge said after Crusaders. Our game is very simple and sometimes I think too simple. However, who am I to argue with what Madge has achieved, what Melbourne have achieve, what St George have achieved last season. Mind you perhaps St George provide the perfect comparison as their form has gone to very inconsistent to downright awful since WB announced he was leaving.

cpwigan wrote:I believe standards have started to slip with the players more care free with the ball and not as ferocious in defence. The problem I have is the defence may be down to avoiding referees / RFL.

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Agreed. There are little tell tale signs that standards have slipped slightly. Since half time at Wembley we have started to make plenty of mistakes in our own quarter whice we haven't really done for 2 years. Also the first crusaders try was probably the softest we have conceded for ages. We used to go up a gear in aggression on our own line.

One other thing, people have commented how every member of the team knew exactly what their job was and carried it out to the letter. Last night there were signs that this isn't happening as well as it should, notably Prescott, several yards offside, racing up to charge down a kick.

All these little things make a big difference in the big games. Hope they can get the focus back for next week.

We have only lost twice since he officially announced he was leaving in mid-April. Not bad though

I think that since we beat saints and wire in the CC, we have markedly struggled against the bigger clubs. Hopefully we can start to find some form again as we go into the play-offs.

Hopefully wire will do their usual implosion...

I think there has been a definite change this year and have been surprised that the squad has not been rotated more to give some of our young players a go. I realise that if younger players are put in the squad and we lose we all blame the coach for having picked the wrong player and it is a no win situation for him sometimes but I really get the impression that there has been less competition for places this season than there was last year and that is a great shame as we could have had a squad with good experience to cover every eventuality rather than having to get our prayer mats out and hope that key players don't get injured as putting a replacement player in would be more of a risk. I think Michael Maguire has been a fantastic coach for Wigan and I really do appreciate all he has done for us but personally I am left with a feeling of a job half done

tbh ,i expected a drop in performance after getting the C.C. back home. Think you'll see a different Wigan this weekend as they lift their levels back up again.

Have thought all along that winning the CC was the number one priority the club set for itself this season. The players remained completely focused up to that point. Since then there has been a dip and I feel that maybe in the staff/players minds the goal for this season has been achieved. Big test ahead for MM and the players to raise their game again. If the play off's come to nothing it has still been a fantastic 2 seasons!!

I think injuries have had a great deal to do with the lack of rotation.
As well as Fielden being out, we always seem to have had one or another forward injured, so rotation has been more difficult.
As to standards, I was saying to a Wiganer at work that I think Madge focusede everything this year on the cup so he could go home having won both big trophies.
for him it's job done now, a huge reputation down under secured.

we will lift our game for the play offs