Talking RL: 'The worst Wigan Warriors display in 10 years? Please'

Twitter crashed last Friday night.

Midway through the second-half of Wigan’s game against Castleford, it froze. It meant I couldn’t post any updates and I couldn’t receive any messages.

And honestly? I was kinda glad.

Because Wigan were trailing at Cas’ and some of the comments I was reading were driving me up the wall.

“Lam’s playing Smith on the right, he’s clueless...” - no, Smith’s a left-footer, so playing on the left makes sense.

“Not enough experienced props” - except, arguably, Wigan’s best players were Ollie Partington, Ethan Havard and maybe Liam Byrne.

“This would never have happened under Wane” - of course it wouldn’t. Except, Wigan have lost seven of their last eight trips to Cas’.

On the enjoyable Forty20 podcast, one fan told host Mark Wilson it was the worst Wigan performance in 10 years.

Per-lease.

Talk about a short memory! Give me your email address and I’ll give you dozens more!

Wigan went on to lose the game and it was disappointing. They were poor, no doubt.

They conceded too many penalties, turned over too much ball.They matched Castleford try-for-try but didn’t deserve to win.

In the raw emotion of the moment, though, some perspective got lost. It’s round two. It's February.

Remember, Wigan were forced to change the spine of their side during their first game.

They then introduced two fresh playmakers for their second game and on top of that, they have a new full-back (Bevan French) and a new halfback (Jackson Hastings) settling into their roles.

And they’re playing in poor conditions. With that in mind, it’d be a minor miracle if they weren’t clunky, a little rusty.

The important thing is, as they improve, they pick up the points in the process.

Grind them out, as players often say. And the fact they’ve only leaked two tries in each game suggests the foundations are there to build on - hopefully against a Toronto side which will be looking to claim a notable scalp tomorrow night.

Sometimes, you speak to a coach and you can guess what they’re going to say.

Other times, you’ve not a clue.

Which was the case when I asked Shaun Wane whether Sean O’Loughlin could be in his England plans for this year – even though he plans on hanging up the boots.

Some coaches, I’m sure, would rule out any players who aren’t available in 2021 because they're “building towards the World Cup".

Wane isn’t one of them. He desperately wants to win the Ashes and if he thinks Lockers will help them do that, he’ll pick him.

I’m glad the Ashes means so much to him. This isn't about 'building', this isn't about 2021 to him, this is about beating the Aussies in a series. Here and now.

And, if pushed, if I had a choice of winning one or the other, I'd opt for winning the Ashes over the World Cup.

Sonny Bill Williams admits he was a Wigan fan before he moved to Super League!

The dual-code Kiwi superstar won’t be playing against the Warriors tomorrow - he’s returned home for the birth of his child - but he was a special guest at a community event at Robin Park last Thursday night, when he met scores of youngsters.

The move reunited him with Wigan’s halfback Thomas Leuluai, who was an old school friend in New Zealand, and Williams revealed: “Being a close mate of Tommy, when he came over here I kept a keen eye on Wigan. You guys were probably my team I supported before I knew much about Super League.”

Add him to the list of celebrity fans.

Great to see Pat Richards is lacing up the boots again this weekend to play for Wests Tigers - the club where he made Grand Final history 15 years ago.

He may be 37 and been out the game a while, but I dare say he can still mix it with the young bucks. Let’s hope there are a couple monster drop-kicks on show in Perth. And look out for him next January when he makes a return to these shores for a visit.

From one winger to another - Joe Bretherton.

Yep, the ex-Wigan prop is now playing on the wing in Toulouse, and doing a good job of it, too, judging by his try last weekend which saw him chip the full-back.

It takes a brave coach to sign a prop and put him on the wing, but I love it when a coach thinks outside the box like that. Mitch Clark for wing, anyone?

St Helens play the Sydney Roosters in the World Club Challenge next weekend.

If it was silly to schedule them a Super League fixture - knowing it would need to be rearranged - it seems ludicrous to have given them a home match against Catalans!

If either one or both progress in the Challenge Cup, it looks like the French outfit will have to play Saints in midweek. And with their game at Wakefield falling victim to the weather last weekend, the Dragons now have two fixtures to squeeze into a congested fixture list.

Blame Storm Ciara for one. Blake Super League stupidity for the other.