Isa

[medlocke]

I don’t think Wigan will release or deregister Isa in order to sign another player.

They might if this is a career ending injury or if he himself decides to call it a day as a result.

I am not sure exactly how it works as regards the salary cap but I think if a player is out long term injured clubs can deregister them. This would then allow them to use the cap space on an existing player, meaning give junior player more games which would mean they would end up being paid more wages which would impact the cap.

If that is how it works, it would just be good squad management if Isa was deregistered while injured not an insult to the player.

Did we not deregister Harrison Hansen once or it could have been another player around the same time as Hanson

[Caboosegg]

I say this in partial jest, but 2 weeks with no Isa and two weeks the side he plays has been targeted to success.

Isa leaves an Isa size hole. Nesemba will there though.

[the pieman]

I say this in partial jest, but 2 weeks with no Isa and two weeks the side he plays has been targeted to success.

Isa leaves an Isa size hole. Nesemba will there though.

we've seen and heard it before though havent we. Isa not good enough etc etc, but we miss him when he's not there.

There's no doubt Nsemba is a fantastic prospect but he will need to learn the stuff that Isa does week in week out in terms of the defensive side of the game, working with Keighran and Miski as a trio. Isa does great work defensively, where Nsemba is currently adding a lot more go forward than Isa would, so its getting that balance and bearing with Nsemba as he learns his trade

[medlocke]

I say this in partial jest, but 2 weeks with no Isa and two weeks the side he plays has been targeted to success.

Isa leaves an Isa size hole. Nesemba will there though.

we've seen and heard it before though havent we. Isa not good enough etc etc, but we miss him when he's not there.

There's no doubt Nsemba is a fantastic prospect but he will need to learn the stuff that Isa does week in week out in terms of the defensive side of the game, working with Keighran and Miski as a trio. Isa does great work defensively, where Nsemba is currently adding a lot more go forward than Isa would, so its getting that balance and bearing with Nsemba as he learns his trade

Isa needs replacing with a similar type of player who is maybe 30/32 years old, old enough to have the experience to plug the gap but not young enough that he halts the progress of those younger players coming through

[southportcdm]

I assume that Willie may well have been moving on at the end of the season unless his form had exceeded the expectations of the coaching staff. It's possible they may have been planning to give him one more season on the understanding that he was going to be a back up (to Faz, Nsemba and Walters) if he'd played well this season. His injury may actually make the latter scenario more likely because the club will want to show they're supporting a player that has given so much over the past few years. If he does leave I agree we'll need a replacement as cover unless Chan shows that he can do the job. I really can't see Chan having a role for us as a prop but he could find a role as an 11, 12 or 13. We can't start next season with only Faz, Nsemba and Walters covering the backrow. All the best to Willie on his recovery. If he's back at some point this season any decision on his future by the club would be far easier/better informed.