Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Fri Apr 05, 2024 3:13 pm  

CobraCraig wrote:

Yeah, I agree with that, maybe Chan could play second row? He looks better built for playing on the edges but I know he sees himself as a middle but I think his lack of size will mean he will struggle to reach the top.

Looks like a great bloke with a fantastic attitude but seems an unnecessary signing atm.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Fri Apr 05, 2024 3:31 pm  

MadDogg wrote:

Looks like a great bloke with a fantastic attitude but seems an unnecessary signing atm.

i think the club made some signings last year, certainly with rule changes in mind with Eseh, Chan and Walters, with all 3 of them being between 20-22. All have potential, some 1st team games under their belts and potential to develop into 1st team players at Wigan. As we've seen we havent started with what anyone would consider our 1st choice rotation of props (Thompson, Cooper, Havard, Dupree - subject to personal opinion to add in Hill, Byrne and Mago), so our large number of props is looking justified at the minute as we've been able to hold our own with a rotation last night that is probably way down the pecking order (Thompson, Hill, Chan, Mago)

if you look at a couple of the other threads about our best rotation of props for this year, and all see Eseh / Chan outside of that initial rotation, especially given Harvie Hill is really stepping up

whether the club see Chan as a prop or backrow, is probably yet to be seen fully and he certainly wouldnt be anywhere near the current starting 17 if everyone was fit

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Fri Apr 05, 2024 5:28 pm  

Mark_P1973 wrote:

i think the club made some signings last year, certainly with rule changes in mind with Eseh, Chan and Walters, with all 3 of them being between 20-22. All have potential, some 1st team games under their belts and potential to develop into 1st team players at Wigan. As we've seen we havent started with what anyone would consider our 1st choice rotation of props (Thompson, Cooper, Havard, Dupree - subject to personal opinion to add in Hill, Byrne and Mago), so our large number of props is looking justified at the minute as we've been able to hold our own with a rotation last night that is probably way down the pecking order (Thompson, Hill, Chan, Mago)

if you look at a couple of the other threads about our best rotation of props for this year, and all see Eseh / Chan outside of that initial rotation, especially given Harvie Hill is really stepping up

whether the club see Chan as a prop or backrow, is probably yet to be seen fully and he certainly wouldnt be anywhere near the current starting 17 if everyone was fit

He runs in hard but he must be the lightest prop in the league, or not far off it. He must be 6 foot and 15 stone if that.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Fri Apr 05, 2024 10:02 pm  

Zig wrote:

I think we will look to promote from within. Don’t rule out a return for Nicholson.

If we are looking at a returning player I’d prioritise McDonnel, he looks every bit a Wigan type player who could drop into that Isa role.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Sat Apr 06, 2024 1:18 am  

jonh wrote:

If we are looking at a returning player I’d prioritise McDonnel, he looks every bit a Wigan type player who could drop into that Isa role.

I’m thinking more about a loose forward Jon.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Sat Apr 06, 2024 6:05 am  

Zig wrote:

I’m thinking more about a loose forward Jon.

Don’t don’t think we need a 13 any time soon with the amount of middle forwards we currently have.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Sat Apr 06, 2024 11:18 am  

jonh wrote:

Don’t don’t think we need a 13 any time soon with the amount of middle forwards we currently have.

They are both off contact at the end of next season, it will be interesting to see what happens if Isa and Farrell call it a day within that timeframe. Personally, I don’t think we will make a move for either it is more likely that we extend the contracts of our younger players and look to promote from within.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Wed Apr 10, 2024 6:43 am  

According to the press we made a move for Tyler Offiah, Martin’s son, who had recently been playing for England U18s in the 15 man code however he has chosen to stay in Union with Bath.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Wed Apr 10, 2024 2:03 pm  

MadDogg wrote:

Looks like a great bloke with a fantastic attitude but seems an unnecessary signing atm.

I think they likely see him as a back up loose forward and that makes sense given Smithies and Shorrocks went through the door. His lack of size doesn't seem to impact him too heavily in terms of making ground but it's been tough for him to really make much of an impression due to a lack of minutes. He looks another Partington/Shorrocks type of forward in that to see what he really can do, you'd need him to be playing 70/80 minutes every week.

On a side note with him, the main area he clearly needs to work on is his discipline. I was staggered to see on the Superleague site that he is our most penalised player on 6 this season. He's made 3 appearances but has probably played less than 80 minutes in total (and maybe less than an hour off the top of my head) so that is pretty incredible.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Wed Apr 10, 2024 4:37 pm  

CobraCraig wrote:

He runs in hard but he must be the lightest prop in the league, or not far off it. He must be 6 foot and 15 stone if that.

According to Wiki he's 6' 1" and 15 1/2 stone. Not the biggest as you say. He does run it in above his weight though and he seems pretty mobile. I'd like to see him given longer minutes to see what he can do but, build wise at least, he does seem to suit the back row better.