Re: FRENCH : Mon Sep 09, 2024 5:50 pm  

It's so difficult to rank players from different eras. When I think of French, I just think he's a showman and if I'm thinking of players I've enjoyed watching more, then there aren't many, if any. Sam Tomkins between 2010-2013 was a better player overall IMO and he had loads of 'wow' moments but French just comes up with bits of skill that make you come out with those gasps and that leave you and your family/friends looking at each other shaking your heads in disbelief.

He'll go down as one of the best Wigan players I've seen, probably in some sort of top 10/15 players but if I think of the most entertaining players, then I think he'd be in the top two or three, if not the top one.

Re: FRENCH : Tue Sep 10, 2024 8:10 am  

nikos wrote:

sometimes, and it may be due the anti-Wigan persecution complex , I feel that refs feel they have a duty to make the game closer and prevent blow out scores......I'm certain the stats back this up that in the first half we are disproportionately penalised with the second half going some way to even this up.



James Vella is the exception, who refs to the letter of the rule book, however frustrating it is....

You must be joking?

There is no bias, we are not the most disciplined team and the rules are very complicated and subjective which means they are not always consistently applied.

Re: FRENCH : Tue Sep 10, 2024 8:13 am  

NickyKiss wrote:

It's so difficult to rank players from different eras. When I think of French, I just think he's a showman and if I'm thinking of players I've enjoyed watching more, then there aren't many, if any. Sam Tomkins between 2010-2013 was a better player overall IMO and he had loads of 'wow' moments but French just comes up with bits of skill that make you come out with those gasps and that leave you and your family/friends looking at each other shaking your heads in disbelief.

He'll go down as one of the best Wigan players I've seen, probably in some sort of top 10/15 players but if I think of the most entertaining players, then I think he'd be in the top two or three, if not the top one.

In terms of enjoyment and wow moments, its a toss up between French, Tomkins and the unbelievable period Amos Roberts had.

Other players springing to my mind, but not comparable are: Carmont, Barret, Feka and Hock, purely from who I enjoyed watching.

Re: FRENCH : Tue Sep 10, 2024 8:14 am  

Father Ted wrote:

Also when there's a tackle near to touch the TJ comes onto the field and always has something to say.

Just re-iterating to the defenders to get up and square whilst they're in a better position to have some presence over it than the ref is. This bit makes little difference in my view but there you go.

If it's an upright tackle going towards touch they will echo the "held" call as well so defenders are more likely to hear them and not continue to take the attacker into touch (bear in mind the ref's voice could be drowned out by a large crowd, especially when a player is going towards touch so half are encouraging their team to push him in and half are getting on the ref's back to call the tackle complete). This bit makes a difference and can avoid a dragging penalty.

Re: FRENCH : Tue Sep 10, 2024 8:48 am  

Stu M wrote:

Where would you place French in terms of all time Wigan players? I can't imagine anyone in front of Hanley but what about the others? Tomkins obviously springs to mind but depending on how long French stays and his overall impact he has to be up there in conversations surely?

I get its different eras etc

Obviously the likes of Gene Miles and Renouf, Kenny etc were world class but didn't stay as long so didn't play as many games.

I was born in 91, so that disqualifies me from having decent memories of lots of our modern-ish era greats.

But the only back who I'm struggling to put him ahead of in my time is prime Sam Tomkins. Even then I think there's an argument that Tomkins was playing consistently for a dominant team, whereas French has done it in much more average Wigan teams until the last couple of years.

We'll wait and see how long he's here for and how long he keeps at this level. But if he sees out his current contract he'll have given us basically his entire career, and when you talk about that sort of contribution and the standard of rugby he consistently delivers, I think you're in all time great territory. And that takes some doing at Wigan.

Re: FRENCH : Tue Sep 10, 2024 10:38 am  

Cherry_&_White wrote:

I was born in 91, so that disqualifies me from having decent memories of lots of our modern-ish era greats.

I am...a bit older, and I think, at this stage of his career I still couldn't quite put French over the likes of Hanley. As you say, if he maintains this level of performance and sees out this whole contract he will move up the rankings. Even so, he has already won a Man of Steel, been top try scorer in a season,
broken the super league record for tries in a match and made the dream team 3 times in 4 years in 3 different positions. His individual accolades are already outstanding. I'd say he had overtaken Pat Richards as our best ever Australian import (I can't put Kenny, Miles or Renouf ahead of Richards due to his length of service).

But in terms of sheer enjoyment of watching a player, I can't really put anyone ahead of him anymore. He does things that no one else can and he can do it against the very best opposition as well as in the easy games. I also think his rugby brain is such that he will remain a threat even as his pace declines a bit, just as Tomkins did.

Re: FRENCH : Tue Sep 10, 2024 10:56 am  

A 60% fit Bevan French is still our best game-breaker and top 3 halves in the league.

Re: FRENCH : Tue Sep 10, 2024 1:06 pm  

No one was better or as good as Hanley that I have seen.
But French is a bloody good one thats for sure.

Offiah and Robinson wer'nt too bad on the excitement stakes.

Re: FRENCH : Tue Sep 10, 2024 3:30 pm  

nathan_rugby wrote:

the unbelievable period Amos Roberts had..

Only 8.5 games. He was incredible.

Re: FRENCH : Tue Sep 10, 2024 4:11 pm  

NSW wrote:

Only 8.5 games. He was incredible.

Was it only 8.5?

Goes to show what an 8.5 games it was for people to still remember - What could have been if it weren't for that knee injury against the post.