Sam Powell

[CheshireWarrior]

Whether it be true or not, if Sam can get a fulltime gig elsewhere, id be off if i was him. Surely he will be massively down the pecking order in 2024. He's had his testimonial, won silverware, time for a new challenge maybe?

And Leeds next year will be a challenge!

[DaveO]

But as you've pointed out no other superleague club would even look at Powell regardless of the vocal minority opinions so its a mute point.

I don’t know why Leeds, who are supped to be a top team , but who are doing a grand job of looking otherwise at the moment, would sign him for the same reasons as that Leeds fan was blowing a gasket. It’s an indication of how fans of other teams view him. I think you will get a similar reaction from fans of whichever club he does sign for. Well apart from those clubs Happy Clappers that is.

Sorry, social media does not give a majority view. It is an echo chamber.

But one of the arguments against Powell on this site has been no other team would even look at him so means the rumours fake.

I still have no idea why an ambitious team would sign him and social media commentary works both ways. . I could equally argue those who ostensibly think he’s any good posting on social media are not representative.

I think regardless of where he ends up he’s obviously being replaced which means he’s not good enough for Wigan and that being the case is good enough for me.

[Charriots Offiah]

He has a contract at Wigan next season so he doesn’t have to go anywhere.

[Firestarter]

He has a contract at Wigan next season so he doesn’t have to go anywhere.

Looks like someone will play more as a loose forward then.Brad or sam

[medlocke]

He has a contract at Wigan next season so he doesn’t have to go anywhere.

Looks like someone will play more as a loose forward then.Brad or sam

Really hope not, We become slow when he comes off the bench, please let him go to Leeds

[Mike]

He has a contract at Wigan next season so he doesn’t have to go anywhere.

Looks like someone will play more as a loose forward then.Brad or sam

Really hope not, We become slow when he comes off the bench, please let him go to Leeds

Hope he stays, we improve when he comes of the bench

[Wigan_forever1985]

I think leeds are trying to fix a culture problem and probably see a player like Powell as a good starting point for that. Its not a bad idea i think playing wise he doesnt offer them much but they have enough talent in the locker to mitigate that what they need is some better attitudes.

Maybe its a reflection of where the club is, many of us here still think of leeds as a "big" club but look at their finishing positions in the league since 2015 golden era ended

2016 9th
2017 2nd
2018 9th
2019 8th
2020 5th
2021 5th
2022 5th
2023 8th

barring the apparent positive blip in 2017 they haven't finished above 5th in 8 years and look in a worse state this year than at any time during that point. Im not sure Smith is the man to lead them out of it either.

So i can see the logic of a steady eddy performer.

So what many of us said stays true a top club wouldnt be interested in Powell and Leeds arent a top club

[the pieman]

I think leeds are trying to fix a culture problem and probably see a player like Powell as a good starting point for that. Its not a bad idea i think playing wise he doesnt offer them much but they have enough talent in the locker to mitigate that what they need is some better attitudes.

Maybe its a reflection of where the club is, many of us here still think of leeds as a "big" club but look at their finishing positions in the league since 2015 golden era ended

2016 9th
2017 2nd
2018 9th
2019 8th
2020 5th
2021 5th
2022 5th
2023 8th

barring the apparent positive blip in 2017 they haven't finished above 5th in 8 years and look in a worse state this year than at any time during that point. Im not sure Smith is the man to lead them out of it either.

So i can see the logic of a steady eddy performer.

So what many of us said stays true a top club wouldnt be interested in Powell and Leeds arent a top club

thats a fair analysis and just shows how long the blip has gone on

what it does show, and we've seen it too at Wigan a few years ago (and think Saints have had it too), is that if you dont plan your succession correctly, it will have a massive impact on the pitch. Its not so much letting a single player go on too long, but having a spine of Peacock, Sinfield, Burrows, McGuire, JJB, Leuleui etc, and all retiring within a season or so of each other has left them still struggling 8 years on, and with no apparent easing of it

[lucky 13]

I also think that successful planning can depend on players coming through. Saints realistically have lost Thomson from their own group in that period who they wanted to keep we have lost, Tomkins snr to union Tomkins Jnr two times Williams, Burgess, Sutton Gildart, outside of that Bateman was another to NRL and Charnley to union at a push you could swing Ashton in that lost group as he was same age as Tomkins snr.
In my opinion we keep all bar one of that spine together over Saints successful period and we are at least competitive maybe dominant.
That maybe a case of our class of player being slightly better so wanted more so money wasn't there to keep them or just luck with aspirations and friend groups.
I think our situation now environment wise is better though the NRL is an increasing lure for players who want it and are talented enough.

[the pieman]

I also think that successful planning can depend on players coming through. Saints realistically have lost Thomson from their own group in that period who they wanted to keep we have lost, Tomkins snr to union Tomkins Jnr two times Williams, Burgess, Sutton Gildart, outside of that Bateman was another to NRL and Charnley to union at a push you could swing Ashton in that lost group as he was same age as Tomkins snr.
In my opinion we keep all bar one of that spine together over Saints successful period and we are at least competitive maybe dominant.
That maybe a case of our class of player being slightly better so wanted more so money wasn't there to keep them or just luck with aspirations and friend groups.
I think our situation now environment wise is better though the NRL is an increasing lure for players who want it and are talented enough.

it does to an extent, but its also bringing in the right players at the right time. Wigan from the 80s into early 90s let so much talent go it was unreal, but in the main we let them go at the right time and had their replacements already in the team. How many teams could let Gregory, Hanley, Offiah, Edwards etc move on, and still carry on as though nothing had changed

Move forward to 2004 / 2005 season, we lost Craig Smith, Terry O Connor, Mick Cassidy and Andy Farrell that i can think of at the end of that season, and the rest as we say is history, and it took a good couple of years to recover, and that was bad planning on Wigans behalf, with no-one really coming through or signed to plug the gaps

you can add Mossop to that list too for the most recent team. I've no doubt as you allude to, that if we had kept that team together (or the bulk of it) we would have won more than we have done, but again it was poor planning as we knew most wanted to test their arms elsewhere, offer a 5yr contract, retain them for 2 and let them move on, to give them a lifeline if it didnt work out