Quote The Avenger="The Avenger"Smith and Williams were both poor in the game, they struggled with the kicking game throughout and Smith lost the battle of wits against Hunt in extra time.'"
I don't agree with this at all. Hunt was garbage throughout the game. I dread to think how he'd play behind Wigan's pack.
Smith isn't world class. But who is in this league? The truth of the matter is Wigan are too small in the pack. Watching them line up against Saints at OT I was completely shocked at how diminutive they appeared up front relative to Saints' pack.
I immediately knew that if we kept a lid on Wigan's backs we'd dominate territorially. And in big games territory is king.
I figured Wane would plug this gap in the off-season with a couple of big front row forwards. And yet last night it seemed like Wigan's biggest men were playing in the centres!
Had Brisbane ANY attacking threat to speak of in the halves or centres last night they'd have capitalised on the complete midfield dominance their forwards had achieved by half time and mauled Wigan. Instead they kept things simple and waited for a mistake in the opposition half. By the end of the match Wigan seemed completely unable to stop them making 10+ yards per carry. Which is the reason Brisbane had so many drop-goal opportunities.
The worrying thing is I don't think Brisbane's pack is THAT good. Granted they interplay well and there's plenty of size and energy. But it's nowhere near as ferocious as you'd encounter during Brisbane's heyday.
IMO, Wane has made a fundamental error in strategy. Yes, he's missing Flower - who does add significant go-forward. But even with Flower Wigan would have been awfully light last night.
Wane wouldn't be the first coach who thought mobility and fitness trumps brute force traction in SL. It's a tantalising thought promising high-speed "Total Rugby". But I wouldn't put any money on it.