Re: Would you pick Tomkins or Escare at full back for 2018? : Fri Nov 17, 2017 8:25 pm  

Wigg'n wrote:

We basically just need to try every combination and go with the one that works best.

A few clubs have used halves off the bench recently with decent success so like Wane says Escaré off the bench could be interesting.

Another area we need to have a clean slate with is prop. I don't have a great deal of confidence in any of them tbh but we'll need to pick four so the friendlies should be an open audition. If Wells, Hamlin, Field etc out perform Nuuausala, Tautai and co then get them in the team.

If nothing else comes from a poor season last year then I hope it's taught Wane that you can't always have this attitude that X, Y or Z have done well for me in the past so they'll get selected. I can only think of Tom Davies, Gildart, Farrell and Bateman who I'd personally say earned their shirts for next season based on this years performances. The rest should start afresh. If Marshall outplays Burgess in pre season then get him in, if Forsyth outshines Gelling then pick him. Make players earn their shirts and fight to keep them. Our pre season should be one big audition.

Re: Would you pick Tomkins or Escare at full back for 2018? : Fri Nov 17, 2017 10:46 pm  

The change of view by Waney is good that he's thinking of moving players positions who were previously unmovable.
We can have a top class spine of the team and remove the predictability that has restricted the team for some time now.

Re: Would you pick Tomkins or Escare at full back for 2018? : Sun Nov 19, 2017 2:45 am  

NickyKiss wrote:

Another area we need to have a clean slate with is prop. I don't have a great deal of confidence in any of them tbh but we'll need to pick four so the friendlies should be an open audition. If Wells, Hamlin, Field etc out perform Nuuausala, Tautai and co then get them in the team.

If nothing else comes from a poor season last year then I hope it's taught Wane that you can't always have this attitude that X, Y or Z have done well for me in the past so they'll get selected. I can only think of Tom Davies, Gildart, Farrell and Bateman who I'd personally say earned their shirts for next season based on this years performances. The rest should start afresh. If Marshall outplays Burgess in pre season then get him in, if Forsyth outshines Gelling then pick him. Make players earn their shirts and fight to keep them. Our pre season should be one big audition.

You don't think O'Loughlin earned his shirt NK?

Re: Would you pick Tomkins or Escare at full back for 2018? : Sun Nov 19, 2017 11:56 am  

Phuzzy wrote:

You don't think O'Loughlin earned his shirt NK?

I obviously meant that it goes without saying

It does though.

Re: Would you pick Tomkins or Escare at full back for 2018? : Sun Nov 19, 2017 1:32 pm  

I was at a sportsman's dinner on Friday and Shaun Wane was guest speaker. He was asked this very question about fitting Sam and Escare in the team and said that they were looking at the different combinations for them, mentioning that Escare had in the past played at #1, #6, #7 and #9.

Re: Would you pick Tomkins or Escare at full back for 2018? : Sun Nov 19, 2017 1:57 pm  

Probably all talk from Wane. There’s no precedent for him to change the style of play or players in certain positions. What have we heard from some player interviews recently, things like ‘not happy with how we’ve played for a couple of years’ etc. He’s stale and lacks the coaching staff around him or the brains himself to move us in a different direction.

Re: Would you pick Tomkins or Escare at full back for 2018? : Sun Nov 19, 2017 11:30 pm  

Reading the aortic;es there does seem to be an element of saying what he and no doubt the club think we fans want to hear,the proof is in the pudding of course so at this point we will have to take him at his word that things will change.

Re: Would you pick Tomkins or Escare at full back for 2018? : Mon Nov 20, 2017 1:13 am  

NickyKiss wrote:

I obviously meant that it goes without saying

It does though.

Haha... .I thought that's what you must mean!

Re: Would you pick Tomkins or Escare at full back for 2018? : Mon Nov 20, 2017 9:38 am  

hengirl wrote:

Reading the aortic;es there does seem to be an element of saying what he and no doubt the club think we fans want to hear,the proof is in the pudding of course so at this point we will have to take him at his word that things will change.

I've been a critic of Wane, but I don't think he's wired that way. For example, the perception that they spend all the training sessions wrestling rather than practicing attacking moves is deeply unpopular with the fans, yet he has still been talking about those in his pre-season interviews.

Re: Would you pick Tomkins or Escare at full back for 2018? : Mon Nov 20, 2017 10:31 am  

Waney is quoted there as saying Escare has played those positions. That's ok, but he has to move more players around than Morgan.
IMO Sam has to be moved from fb position during a game. Start him at fb then move him to the halves as an option when attacking the opposition's line. If Escare played 6 or 7 with George in the halves then we've two running half backs and no play maker. Should Lockers be off the field then we're stuck and will look as clueless next year as last season. Move Sam up to the halves when on attack and that will confuse the opposition no end. Add Lockers into that with Escare fb and the threat to the opposition line is massive.
Do that and we will see entertaining rugby and I'll bet our points scored tally would increase massively.