Waney et al

[cpwigan]

Taking this Wigan team to a new level.

Credit where credit is due :eusa2:

[El Bobbers]

I have been wondering, as Harris was not so warmly welcomed, how much of an influence has he had on this side? As a partnership they cannot be faulted.

Our defence has remained dominant and in attack we seem unstoppable, 9(?) tries on Leeds away, no matter how optimistic you are you could not have imagined that.

[Shaun1967]

I think the "et al" should not be underestimated. I along with many others was not convinced with the appointment of Harris as an assistant.
I think that what is blatantly obviouse over the last few games is the amount of preparation Wigan put in before a game.
This current coaching team have got us fitter, physically & more importantly mentally stronger than other other team.
We now play processed patterns of rugby which allowed us to go into a game against a team such as Leeds with players missing and still play our same game that we would have played with our strongest team out.
This is not just down to Shaun Wane, but down to him and the team behind him.

I think the main problem we will have in a couple of years is keeping him in charge of our team when the RL realise Steve McNamara is'nt up to the England job

[DaveO]

Taking this Wigan team to a new level.

Credit where credit is due :eusa2:

Could have put him against a wall and shot him after Widnes for me

However this post from a user with the handle of Harrigan nicked off the rhinos rlfans site sums things up nicely at the moment

"Shaun Wane was the difference. Wigan are the most structured team I have ever seen in this country and what that means is that no matter who slots in, it makes little difference. When you have between 3 and 8 decoys on every attacking play and every player knows their role then you are always going to ask questions. Sadly, the average SL team cant read an attacking structure and thus we see 50 points shipped in."

Now when your side has just been tonked like that and you can see this he deserves some credit but apart from that he think he has it spot on.

[Jake]

Taking this Wigan team to a new level.

Credit where credit is due :eusa2:

Totally agree we are watching champagne rugby league at the moment the opposition don't have any answers to our defence its relentless

[cpwigan]

It is certainly a team effort coaching wise. Madge & Waney transformed the attitude at the club and brought expertiser like Bitcom to the fore. The club now has the ability to transform overweight and/or raw players into first teamers. Look at Dudson prior to Wigan, far too much weight etc. He now looks like a very fit, athletic elite prop forward

[BriH]

I hate to be a 'Nelly Knowall' but I never had any doubt about Shaun's abilities.
He was a winning player, a winning coach with the young lads and he served his apprenticeship under MM.
I always remember when Madge had to go home and Shaun went to Hull and nilled them 48-0? And then won the next game.
He is an absolute Wigan winner and long may he reign.
Last night's display was sublime, and I could watch it over and over again.
Never felt so good since the late '80's - early '90's.

[cpwigan]

It is certainly a team effort coaching wise. Madge & Waney transformed the attitude at the club and brought expertiser like Bitcom to the fore. The club now has the ability to transform overweight and/or raw players into first teamers. Look at Dudson prior to Wigan, far too much weight etc. He now looks like a very fit, athletic elite prop forward

If I remember correctly you weren't too keen on the signing of Dudson...

Hated it Cherry. He was a tub of lard lacking fitness and gave away penalties / made mistakes. He is currently none of the above which begs the question how many RL players are running around in SL significantly underperforming and playing nowhere near their potential. On the basis of Dudson, plenty! the majority! ?

[exile in Tiger country]

I freely admit I was very wrong in my early season criticism, especially after the Widnes game.
I apologise wholeheartedly.

[No straw damn us]

Hated it Cherry. He was a tub of lard lacking fitness and gave away penalties / made mistakes. He is currently none of the above which begs the question how many RL players are running around in SL significantly underperforming and playing nowhere near their potential. On the basis of Dudson, plenty! the majority! ?

As I said when he first signed, as a youngster in rugby union he was an inside centre and in reasonable shape. When he made the switch to league he was obviously made to pile on the pounds. I think Crusaders were a bit of a shambles and so I imagine their fitness and conditioning wasn't up to much, particularly later on and that meant Dudson fell out of shape very quickly.

His performances in the 4 Nations showed what he was capable of with the right desire to play at his best. I was always confident that with plenty of hard work he would turn into a least a decent prop to have around the squad.

He still seems to be a player who can put the effort in for big games but perhaps gets a little lazy in others. When he's been playing for the under 20's he's looked more like the Dudson of old, yet for the first team he's looked very good indeed.

That's an excellent point about his U20 form, but he has been excellent in the first team, done what he has been told, run hard and straight and no silly offloads. Also what about Lauaki, another signing that was questioned on here. I was very impressed with him again last night.