The players put the effort in last night which produced an overall better performance but not in terms of structure either in offence or defence. It was a better performance because of the players having a dig and also because we arguably had our first choice 17 on the field.
You can argue that Jowitt and Hampshire would be in the best 17 with one or the other at Full Back or Half Back and I think that’d be about right.
Walker looks completely out of sorts and perhaps even unsettled at Wakefield, maybe it’s a move that just isn’t working out for club or player with neither at fault.
Gigot was a strange signing right from the start, some would argue it’s another stupid signing by the Carter/Chester brains trust. There was no need for him, just play Max at half.
I could see the improved attitude from the players last night and it was pleasing to see but it’s one element of the performance and on its own was nowhere near good enough. Wigan had around 8 players in their late teens to early twenties and were missing a few like O’Loughlin, Bullock, G Burgess, Smithies, Manfredi, Marshall & Greenwood. French moved from Full Back to the wing and Hardaker moved back to Full Back from Centre. Let’s not forget this is a Wigan team that got beat by HKR a couple of weeks ago!
We looked like we might get something from the game for about 20 minutes but then conceded 26 unanswered points. We had a platform through the forwards for a while but despite being busy and flashing along the face of the opposition defence Miller created absolutely nothing, sorry but he’s never going to control a game and create try’s as a First Choice Half should.
The Crowther pass that some are criticising created a try, I was always taught that you shouldn’t expect a perfect pass and need to be ready to work a bit to catch the ball sometimes. That’s what Arona did and we got 6 points, if only we could get another 4 scruffy try creating passes we’d be doing OK.
I’m in agreement with Mopsey, I applaud and welcome the better attitude but I’m not accepting the poorly organised, incohesive attacking and defensive structure that ultimately undoes all the effort from the players.