Just a few concerns :-
- Is five days really going to make that much difference for the players who were not fit for the Leeds match, are they going to be available.
- Our left side defense was poor against Leeds, whatever system the coaches has been operating for the last three years either is a poor system or players don't understand it. Wigan`s right side attack had a great deal of success against Leigh, the Luluai, Bateman, Bibby combination will take some handling. With this in mind I would select Arundel in the Centre and put Bill on the wing. Senior looks like he can finish but his defense is not great. Arundel is our best Centre for me.
- Wigan controlled the game against Leigh beautifully in the second half with Smith given plenty of time to pin Leigh back with an excellent kicking game so we are going to have to pressure the Wigan kicker better than we have pressured kickers in the past.
- For me Lielow was playing injured against Leeds, we know he hurt his ribs pre season, against Leeds he didn't take the line on at all, rib injuries are particularly painful I understand , so if he is carrying an injury and Rocky is available then its a no brainer. That said like I say I doubt that any of the injured players will be available for selection. Hope I am wrong as it was noticeable that when Fafita and Arona went off we started to really struggle, Having Batty available would really help.
- The hooker situation is my biggest concern, it seemed obvious from last season that we needed an organizing type hooker who reads the game well and also manages the forwards coming onto the ball ie manages the sets. K Wood is a great impact hooker, coming on tp fizz things up, Ginger Wood is in my opinion just not a hooker, he is a great tackler but his passing game, organizing skills, running from dummy half are not areas that an opposition has any worries about, add to that he doesn't seem to have a kicking game which is a crucial attribute in the modern game Crowther is not a natural hooker and is better in the back row. I know funds are tight but we should be looking to bring in a hooker, I would go as far as saying that its the most important position in the modern game.