Originally Posted by
Rogues Gallery
The 2019 season could be very interesting, and competitive.
Leeds will certainly be much better, but by how much?
Wire have signed well, Austin is a very talented player IF he settles over here and Jason Clark I think could be the overseas signing of the year.
Wigan and Saints positions I find intriguing.
Wigan, will Hardaker stay on track? Can he replace Sam Tomkins as he is a different player and doesn't have Sams creativity, Wigan will need to play differently as Hardaker is more of a runner. Bateman is a big loss but I think a fit Liam Farrell can fill that role leaving Greenwood as the running back rower.
Ryan Sutton had a good season once he returned from injury, who will step up? Alongside Bullock we have Kibula, Partington and Byrne from last years U19 academy winning team, three top prospects but ready for 1st team yet I'm not sure.
Then of course there is a new coach in Adrian Lam.
One thing that really concerns me is the loss of Mark Bitcon who has gone to Manchester City. Under him Wigan were the fittest side in Superleague IMO and it appears that there has been less hill running etc but more work on the training ground under Lam. Will that work?
It's important that we keep Williams, Gildart and Farrell fit, it really went poorly for us when they were out last year, and of course O'Loughlins game time needs to be managed.
Saints.
How will they replace the 28 tries and 24 assists from Barba?
I know he got a lot of bad comments but I do think you will miss Wilkin. A few on here have said Paulo will be a ball player, however he only has 7 try assists in his last 5 seasons, a small fraction of Wilkins over the same period. Naiqama should be an improvement on Ryan Morgan. Coote I honestly don't know, he struggled to get 1st team game time last year.
Walmsley back is a big plus for Saints if he can stay fit.
All in all I'm looking forward to it and I think the four clubs I'e mentioned will be well "in the mix"