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Wigan_forever19​85​ wrote:It's well known I'm not smiths greatest fan but what I would say is he is an impeccable professional and a role model to young players in terms of how he conducts himself

He was never dynamic enough for me, but I appreciate he has played his part in the clubs successes

The odd part is I agree re not being dynamic but that fits what Wane likes. Sam P, Shorrock and Tommy are hardly dynamic either.

Happy for smith and happy for Wigan. Smith has got the chance to go back to saints with a longer contract and probably a point to prove to their fans (he never performed for them) Wigan now have a chance to give a contract to a youngster or new signing and move the club forward.......its pretty obvious our structured attack is on the decline and we need to freshen things up. (I think smith will struggle at saints the attack if it's off the cuff or not heavily structured)

Anyway, a big thank you to smith, fan of his or not he has always given his all and has often come up with a play or drop goal to get is a win.

Just need a goal kicker now (we must have someone lined up! I noticed Lenegan said we were nearing the end of our recruitment after today's signings)

Great guy.... Now thank goodness this has happened, lets get exited of the prospect of more entertaining rugby at our great club.

Let him do well for himself at Snake Helens

Matty Smith has been a very good player for us.
Consistent, hard-working and effective. And a good leader.
I am sorry to see him go.
But he is not a great scrumhalf. And we should have a better one.
So maybe not a bad thing long-term.
I hope he becomes Saints' main goal-kicker. Because in that department he is no more than average.

Wigan_forever19​85​ wrote:It's well known I'm not smiths greatest fan but what I would say is he is an impeccable professional and a role model to young players in terms of how he conducts himself

He was never dynamic enough for me, but I appreciate he has played his part in the clubs successes

Agreed!!

Southern Softy wrote:I think the club has behaved typically in this matter. If you read the statement (and ignore the weasel words) Saints were willing to offer a 29-year old player a four-year contract. Wigan were not prepared to do so, despite that player being integral to their play and leading the side in SOL's absence.

Did you want Wigan to extend Smith's contract? If so which of the younger half backs would you see leave as i think they would start to look elsewhere?

When Blake Green left there was plenty of debate we had let the wrong halfback go (not that we could have stopped him) and giving Smith a long contract wasn't exactly greeted with enthusiasm not least because he would be in the way of younger players.

Now two seasons after Green left I think Matty has done his job and steadied the ship while some of the younger players matured.

I don't think TL will do more than a season before being booted upstairs so I think from the development point of view extending Smith's contract was not going to happen anyway. So when Saints have offered to basically extend his RL career by two years from what he would have ever got here I think Wigan have done him a favour.

Also with his winner's medals it's hardly been a bad time for him at Wigan. I hope when his career is over he looks back on them with pride.

We have no recognised kicker left (Hampshire presumably or Shorrocks will do IF they can get in the team) and cover appears to be players who haven't impressed before; a returning player who is 2 years older and ended his last spell at hooker and a utility player. Does that sound like a team building on a GF success?
Oh well - a few more 'cheapies' in and that should save some more money if we can get rid of our established props and flog the second-rowers to OZ.
This is not the way that Wigan do things - or rather it now seems to be the new way.
I'm extremely disappointed in the club.

I think it is the way Wigan do things. Over the years I have seen plenty of players around the 29/30 age moved on regardless of how good they have been previously to make way for the next generation.

I share your concern over goal kicking and TL wasn't renowned for his field kicking either but Smith's goal kicking wasn't good enough anyway. Likewise we have a question mark over several other players like Sam T, Joel T, Clubb and Lockers but I don't think the fact we have affects the decision to let Smith go.

DaveO wrote:

Caboosegg wrote:Gutted,
i hope im proved wrong but i believe we are going to suffer from this, with lockers playing less and less, smith leadership is going to be missed.

Never struck me as a leader. I do remember him playing pretty well against us back in 2010 for Saints but never realy like that for us. As I said we will see if he looks a different player under a different coach and system but if he does look better, whose fault will that be?

Im the oposite im afraid. His leadership qualities have been on display for all to see. He constantly ordering, rearranging positions at kick offs, as well as trying to motivate the team when were down.

I will always admit smith goal kicking was average at best, im in tje group that thought his ingame kicking was very good. However the one trait he was brilliant at was onfield leadership im suprissd this has never come across to you.

DaveO wrote:

Southern Softy wrote:I think the club has behaved typically in this matter. If you read the statement (and ignore the weasel words) Saints were willing to offer a 29-year old player a four-year contract. Wigan were not prepared to do so, despite that player being integral to their play and leading the side in SOL's absence.

Did you want Wigan to extend Smith's contract? If so which of the younger half backs would you see leave as i think they would start to look elsewhere?

Not sure where these young half-backs are. Is it Powell, who has been played at hooker all season and never impressed in the halves? Is it Hampshire who has been out on loan and could only get in the Cas side regularly on the wing? Is it Shorrocks who has mostly been a reserve hooker but on the occasions when he played, neither kicked or played well?

I really hope that our young players do come on but it only made sense to let Matty Smith go if there was a ready-made replacement being effectively kept out of the team?
The only one who played at half-back and made a decent job of it was Nick Gregson and the club see him as a second-rower.

I think this could be a good move for Matty as he played well at Salford under Longy's coaching.

Its only now Smith has gone his detractors will see what he brought to Wigan,we all know it wasnt his kicking but again ge stepped up when others seemingly looed the other way,who knows how much influence hes had on Williams over the last couple of years.

So now i see we are maybe going after Albert Kelly is he going to hive us a full season,is Tommy?.