Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Wed Mar 30, 2016 5:00 pm  

Widnes have rewarded former Wigan player Joe Mellor with a 3 year contract extension.
It is such a shame he got that dreadful injury that seemed to end his Wigan career.

So, who's going to replace Charnley? : Thu Mar 31, 2016 11:29 pm  

This clearly needs its own thread and has taken me a while to write this post so I hope it attracts good debate.

Sarginson will be replaced with Gildart so this isnt too much of a dilemma. There seems to be a debate over who will replace Charnley though. There seem to be 5 main candidates being discussed and I'll go through them all now in order of my preference with strongest first.

1. Joe Burgess - Best candidate. He knows the Wigan culture and has sown he can fit into our system. He's experienced what it is like to live down in Australia now and play in the NRL. S Tomkins was homesick after just 12 months so Joe Burgess wouldnt be out of place coming home. Remi Casty left the Sydney Roosters after just one season as well so they wont put up a fight to keep him especially as Steve McNamara brought him over there and he will be in East Hull next year.

2. Justin Carney. This would excite the fans the most. Box Office player. His style of play is right up Wane's street and his hard running no-nonsense style of play would be brilliant for us. Has defensive lapses though and could dent team morale and professional culture. Only on loan at Salford and Ive seen a Salford fan on another board say unequivocally that we're already in talks with Castleford about him and have been for several weeks, I dont know what this means for Hampshires future though. If Joe doesnt want to leave id like Justin. If he has a 2/3 year stint with us he will be 30/31 then and we can release him and an academy player will be ready to take his place or Joe will be able to come back again.

3. Tom Johnstone. Wakefield young gun. I dont rate him too much but he is a possibility. Wane likes project-type players. I believe he only recently signed a new long term contract with wakey though and transfer fees for players are becoming a rarity in the modern game. He has potential but then again so did Shaun Ainscough. I dont think he has too much about him myself as he looks as if he needs 10kg of muscle adding to him.

4. Josh Mantellato. Bit of an outside shot. Seen a few people say he's very similar to Pat Richards and I agree - but he's not quite as good. Seems to be on the injury list more often than not. Is good under the high ball though and a very good kick converter but not what we need in my opinion.

5. Jamie Foster. I really dont rate this guy. Just released after a months loan with the Giants. He's a turnstile in defence and very poor under the high ball. One of lifes great mysteries how he made so many appearances for saints but that might explain why they lost 5 grand finals in a row. That said, he is local and is a decent kick converter. I would stay well clear.


So, what does everyone else think?

Re: So, who's going to replace Charnley? : Fri Apr 01, 2016 12:06 am  

More rumours about Carney...that's all I'm saying on the subject.
For 80 mins a week great player, it's the other 10,000 minutes you have to worry about.

Re: So, who's going to replace Charnley? : Fri Apr 01, 2016 6:21 am  

If only we already had a 'rumours snd signings' thread

Re: So, who's going to replace Charnley? : Fri Apr 01, 2016 7:09 am  

Apparently Sean O'Loughlin is being lined up to play on the wing next season.

Re: So, who's going to replace Charnley? : Fri Apr 01, 2016 7:12 am  

Pacific wrote:

This clearly needs its own thread and has taken me a while to write this post so I hope it attracts good debate.

Sarginson will be replaced with Gildart so this isnt too much of a dilemma. There seems to be a debate over who will replace Charnley though. There seem to be 5 main candidates being discussed and I'll go through them all now in order of my preference with strongest first.

1. Joe Burgess - Best candidate. He knows the Wigan culture and has sown he can fit into our system. He's experienced what it is like to live down in Australia now and play in the NRL. S Tomkins was homesick after just 12 months so Joe Burgess wouldnt be out of place coming home. Remi Casty left the Sydney Roosters after just one season as well so they wont put up a fight to keep him especially as Steve McNamara brought him over there and he will be in East Hull next year.

2. Justin Carney. This would excite the fans the most. Box Office player. His style of play is right up Wane's street and his hard running no-nonsense style of play would be brilliant for us. Has defensive lapses though and could dent team morale and professional culture. Only on loan at Salford and Ive seen a Salford fan on another board say unequivocally that we're already in talks with Castleford about him and have been for several weeks, I dont know what this means for Hampshires future though. If Joe doesnt want to leave id like Justin. If he has a 2/3 year stint with us he will be 30/31 then and we can release him and an academy player will be ready to take his place or Joe will be able to come back again.

3. Tom Johnstone. Wakefield young gun. I dont rate him too much but he is a possibility. Wane likes project-type players. I believe he only recently signed a new long term contract with wakey though and transfer fees for players are becoming a rarity in the modern game. He has potential but then again so did Shaun Ainscough. I dont think he has too much about him myself as he looks as if he needs 10kg of muscle adding to him.

4. Josh Mantellato. Bit of an outside shot. Seen a few people say he's very similar to Pat Richards and I agree - but he's not quite as good. Seems to be on the injury list more often than not. Is good under the high ball though and a very good kick converter but not what we need in my opinion.

5. Jamie Foster. I really dont rate this guy. Just released after a months loan with the Giants. He's a turnstile in defence and very poor under the high ball. One of lifes great mysteries how he made so many appearances for saints but that might explain why they lost 5 grand finals in a row. That said, he is local and is a decent kick converter. I would stay well clear.


So, what does everyone else think?

The most likely one you have missed is Jack Higginson. He has the potential to make just as big an impact as Joe Burgess and Dom Manfredi.

Re: So, who's going to replace Charnley? : Fri Apr 01, 2016 7:14 am  

If we could have anybody I'd go Joe Burgess for sure. He's left the club way too early when he'd have been better off continuing to develop. I still think he'll crack the NRL in a big way though and we won't see him back here for a number of years.

After him Carney would be superb for us but like Gelling we'd have to handle the odd brain fade. I've been hugely impressed with Johnstone also at Wakey but I'm not sure I'd have the confidence to replace a full international with potential. I'd love to get him in to the club but more as a squad player to start with (that seems very unlikely though given his performances).

The one thing there does seem to be is options.

Re: So, who's going to replace Charnley? : Fri Apr 01, 2016 7:41 am  

Justin Carney for me. Great player who Im convinced would get even better at Wigan. I think its important that he's a box office type player who will excite the fans as we've been missing a bit of that.

I would actually be disappointed in Joe Burgess if he decided to give it up this early now that he has made the decision (ill advised as it was). I would imagine hes loving the lifestyle over there anyway irrespective of his playing status.

Re: So, who's going to replace Charnley? : Fri Apr 01, 2016 7:53 am  

MadDogg wrote:

Justin Carney for me. Great player who Im convinced would get even better at Wigan. I think its important that he's a box office type player who will excite the fans as we've been missing a bit of that.

I would actually be disappointed in Joe Burgess if he decided to give it up this early now that he has made the decision (ill advised as it was). I would imagine hes loving the lifestyle over there anyway irrespective of his playing status.

Do you think Joe Burgess decision to test himself in the NRL was ill advised?

Surely even if he fails he would still have a line of clubs over here waiting to snap him up and opportunities to play in the NRL may not come around as often as people think.

Re: So, who's going to replace Charnley? : Fri Apr 01, 2016 8:36 am  

dany1979 wrote:

Do you think Joe Burgess decision to test himself in the NRL was ill advised?

Surely even if he fails he would still have a line of clubs over here waiting to snap him up and opportunities to play in the NRL may not come around as often as people think.

If he comes back to Super League after just one year, he will looked upon as a complete failure over there. I would doubt another NRL club will give him the opportunity to go back when he is at his peak and in with a better chance of cracking it. He should have waited a few years.

Having said all this, its early in the year and he may well break into the team. Iv seen no indication that he wants to come back.