Rugby League

[koi]

Union is the only game where the fans in the stands handle the ball more than the players..

[den]

Union is the only game where the fans in the stands handle the ball more than the players..

But it's a far bigger game?

[Guest Norbert]

I thought this thread was about rugby league.

[thenodrog]

But it's a far bigger game?

Only cos they play it at Public Schools. Rugby League is just for the oiks don't you know?

[Baz]

For those suggesting the codes merge, what would the rules be? Somehow they would need to take the boredom of the scrums away from union, whilst also taking the last tackle punt away from league.

Both forms i enjoy, however the problem is if one team is more than marginally better than the other it rarely becomes a entertaining contest.

[den]

For those suggesting the codes merge, what would the rules be? Somehow they would need to take the boredom of the scrums away from union, whilst also taking the last tackle punt away from league.

Both forms i enjoy, however the problem is if one team is more than marginally better than the other it rarely becomes a entertaining contest.

Boredom of the scrums? They are fierce affairs that have a major impact on the game. Shouldn't "boredom of the scrums" be directed at the farce of the league scrum?

[Guest Norbert]

What's happened to Wigan? They were the best team over the last few years, and they've gotten off to a shaky start haven't they?

[cn174]

What's happened to Wigan? They were the best team over the last few years, and they've gotten off to a shaky start haven't they?

Lots of new players this year and lots of young uns. Will take a bit of time but Wigan will be right!

They've only lost one in the league against same team they lost first game to last year. WCC was always going to be a tough ask.

[Claytons Left Boot]

What's happened to Wigan? They were the best team over the last few years, and they've gotten off to a shaky start haven't they?

Wigan will be fine, Norbert. I wouldn't necessarily say the best but along with Warrington, Leeds and to a lesser degree Huddersfield, we've been up there. The last four seasons have brought in five pieces of silverware, two Grand Final wins (champions), two Challenge Cup wins and a League Leaders Shield (no sniggering at the back). Over the same period we've lost so many quality players, there are just too many to mention. Some were at the end of their contracts, a few went back to Australia, the odd one retired and a few were effectively poached. No other team in British RL have recently lost as many players over the same time period and no ther other team would have been able to cope. Wigan have a youth system second to none (ok, Leeds and Warrington's are good too) and over the last two seasons have bloodied a variety of youngsters, so much so that there are now several both in the first team and knocking on the first team door that could still be playing for the under 19s.

For three of the last four seasons Wigan have come hurtling out of the starting blocks battering anyone in their way (Warrington apart) but in two of those seasons (2011 & 2012) we simply ran out of steam come the business end of the season. However, we changed things last season. Leeds twice winning the GF from 5th and rotating/resting players gave other clubs food for thought and last season we adopted the Leeds approach and at the same time gave increased game time to some of the youngsters. It paid dividends with the double win. That leads me onto our 'shaky' start this year. A loss to a very good Huddersfield side when we had our minds on the World Club Challenge in Sydney, a deserved win against NRL side New Zealand Warriors and the 'should have done a bit better' defeat to the Roosters. Yes, a bit shaky but, as I've said, going all out to win every game isn't the thing any more assuming you have the ability to be in the mix come August, September and October.

Sorry for going on a bit but hopefully that explains things a bit. If you ever fancy taking a game in at the DW, let me know.

[Claytons Left Boot]

Lots of new players this year and lots of young uns. Will take a bit of time but Wigan will be right!

They've only lost one in the league against same team they lost first game to last year. WCC was always going to be a tough ask.

Hi Clare - you back now? Hope you've taken plenty of good photos of your visit to Sydney!

[koi]

Don't you worry about Wigan, we wont be far off when it comes to collecting the trophies.

A hybrid game has been developed by Bobby Fulton and an international RU coach, surname Jones, embarrassingly cant remember his first name. Quite a few games have been played but every game has resulted in the league team sticking mega points on the Union side. I think Chorley Panthers u-15s played it last year against Chorley RU u-15s and put something like 80 on them.

Rads blog is an interesting read: http://www.wiganwarriors.com/WBlogp.aspx?id=21

[Baz]

Boredom of the scrums? They are fierce affairs that have a major impact on the game. Shouldn't "boredom of the scrums" be directed at the farce of the league scrum?

I think if the scrum was actually the battle described then fine, but then how many times are they collapsed then re-set.

[jim mk2]

For me, the scrum is union's achilles heel so to speak. How is the spectator supposed to know what is going on when he cannot see the ball, sometimes for 5 minutes or more, let alone know why a referee has blown the whistle for yet another technical infringement ? League is dull because it is so formulaic... six tackles then give the ball to the opposition for them to do the same. There must be a way to combine the best of both codes.

[Al]

Wigan are the Manchester United of Rugby League. They'll buy their way out of trouble.

[koi]

Wigan are the Manchester United of Rugby League. They'll buy their way out of trouble.

Go on, how does that work considering the vast majority of the Wigan squad comes from the youth system?

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

For me, the scrum is union's achilles heel so to speak. How is the spectator supposed to know what is going on when he cannot see the ball, sometimes for 5 minutes or more, let alone know why a referee has blown the whistle for yet another technical infringement ? League is dull because it is so formulaic... six tackles then give the ball to the opposition for them to do the same. There must be a way to combine the best of both codes.

The scrums are a farce in Union. Nobody knows what's going on half the time, especially the referee. They just give penalties at random. I remember watching a top union game on TV, either a final or a semi-final. There was only seconds to go and the team with the put in at the scrum were set up for a match winning drop goal right in front of the sticks. The referee went round the blind side to see what was going on. As he did so a player from the defending team reached across out of the scrum and batted the ball out of the attacking scrum halves hands into his own forwards feet. The ball came out the back of the scrum and the stand off banged the usual big kick downfield. Game over.

The attacking team went bananas but the referee and touch judge missed it all !

[Claytons Left Boot]

Wigan are the Manchester United of Rugby League. They'll buy their way out of trouble.

We're not in trouble, Al and there's a salary cap in place which means we can't spend any more than the other Super League clubs. That's assuming all clubs want to spend up to the limit. They don't, including Wigan. In practice we'll spend a bit more than some, less than others and as koi mentions, we continue to invest heavily in our youth system.

[Al]

We're not in trouble, Al and there's a salary cap in place which means we can't spend any more than the other Super League clubs. That's assuming all clubs want to spend up to the limit. They don't, including Wigan. In practice we'll spend a bit more than some, less than others and as koi mentions, we continue to invest heavily in our youth system.

I know very little about Rugby League. Not a sport I follow but I have a few friends who do and they all seem to regard Wigan in the same way that football supporters regard Manu. I was just reflecting what they said.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

You're not wrong Al.

[koi]

You're not wrong Al.

Go on, how are we like Man Utd considering we don't spend the cap, the vast majority of our squad is from the academy, nine of the players who played in the GF and CC final were born in the Wigan area and we spend a massive amount of our turnover of community training for not just the Wigan area but areas such as Chorley? Any other fan who criticises Wigan are plain jealous and actually clueless, we won the double with a young squad of mainly Wiganers. The only comparison with Man Utd is that we have the biggest crowds and win trophies (which actually makes us less like Utd considering how they are going).

[Guest Norbert]

I am not that up to date with the super league, but it seems that Wigan do produce a lot of young players. I think the Tomkins brothers came through the ranks, and there is a Farrell, who might be a son of Andy now. And a lot of others I cannot name at the top of my head.

It seems that there may be fewer ageing aussies not good enough for the NRL in the league too.

[koi]

I am not that up to date with the super league, but it seems that Wigan do produce a lot of young players. I think the Tomkins brothers came through the ranks, and there is a Farrell, who might be a son of Andy now. And a lot of others I cannot name at the top of my head.

It seems that there may be fewer ageing aussies not good enough for the NRL in the league too.

Liam Farrell is a distant cousin of Andy, Sean O'Loughlin is Andy's brother-in-law, full back Lewis Tierny is Jason Robinson's son. The Tomkins brother actually lived in Chorley before moving to Wigan. I think for a few games last season 13 or 14 of the 17 came through the academy.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

The link between Man Utd fans and Wigan fans is they both think they have the divine right to Lord it over the rest of the competition. When it doesn't go their way it's offski. They didn't name it the " Wigan Walk " for no reason.

[koi]

The link between Man Utd fans and Wigan fans is they both think they have the divine right to Lord it over the rest of the competition. When it doesn't go their way it's offski. They didn't name it the " Wigan Walk " for no reason.

[Al]

As I said I know little about Rugby League and am only reflecting what I have been told. I do seem to have touched a nerve however. That, together with the "jealousy" comment was quite a Manu fan reaction.