DaveO wrote: ↑Wed Aug 26, 2020 2:05 pm
morley pie eater wrote: ↑Sun Aug 23, 2020 9:58 am
Wigan_forever1985 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 22, 2020 1:03 pm
Surprisingly maybe if you offered me a like for like swap - no I probably wouldn’t
I like mcshane and I think he is a better hooker than Powell but I don’t think he would be as effective at Wigan - cas play a more open game plan to us which suits mcshane
I would love to see a zippy hooker interchanged with Powell - I’m a big fan of the two hooker setup - if you have momentum your zippy hooker can make hay if you are controlling or trying to stop a teams momentum Sam would be great
Thanks for the honest and considered reply.
I asked myself the same question after looking at both their stats, and came to the same conclusion.
I also think about the differences between the likes of Kiss, Dermott, Hall, Riddell, McIlorum - but we had success with all of them. It's the intangible factors like the team's style, how the hooker blends with the other players: "A team is greater than the sum of its parts".
Coaches are more aware of factors like leadership, not just on the field but around the club, and with younger players in particular. Compare SP with Sam T in this respect! There's also the
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" argument with Sam - not that it will carry much weight with certain posters.
No, there really, really isn't. Both yours and the previous post are just making up excuses for sticking with an average player. If Mo Lindsay had this attitude we'd have never seen the likes of Hanley, Offiah, Gill, Bell and many more at Wigan because we already had players who could do a job in their positions. The idea we wouldn't sign a better hooker because Powell with all his faults blends with other players is nuts. It's the coaches job to sort that out and if our coach couldn't make use of a better hooker we'd need a new coach as well as a new hooker.
Exactly as expected - cut & paste previous posts.
Lindsay was in the past. Gone. History. They were different times. We won pretty much everything, largely because we "splashed the cash" and, for a long period, were the only full-time pro team in a semi-pro sport.
Great days, but they're gone. Happy memories, but they can't act as a guide to now, 2020.
Is the "culture" of a club, especially ours, important? What influences that culture?
Who were/are the influences on Smithies, Byrne, Partington Havard, Smith etc etc, who are doing so well for us? The coaching staff - sure. But surely the senior players too?
So Lockers, Powell, Leuluai have played a part behind the scenes in the great crop of young lads we have.
This is one example of what I was saying about coaches picking Powell - they see this, and many other qualities
as well as his on-field performance.
Dave, we understand that you want us to be dominant, as in Uncle Mo's time, but it's not like that any more. And Sam is better than you think.