Has the wing position become under-rated?

[Foordy]

Stemming from a discussion over in "Broncos Talk" and given that several players recently have left clubs because in their view they were "stuck" on the wing, as well as some fans saying things like player x is too good to be "sitting" on the wing, I thought i'd ask the big question Has the wing position become under-rated?

Players like Josh Hoffman, David Mead, Michael Gordon have left clubs (or at least complained) that they were playing wing and not a more "important" position like fullback. Alex Johnson has also been rumoured to possible leave Souths because he is stuck behind Inglis in the fullback stakes. It seems that players are happy to get their start on the wing, but are eager to move off it ASAP.

I've also heard many fans say things like player x is too good to be on the wing.

------

IMO, the wing position is severely under-rated. We've been experiencing it for the last few years, our players doing great lead up work, but having the try blown or stuffed up in some way by the guy on the end of our backline.

Having a guy on the flank with speed, athleticism and an uncanny ability to somehow get the ball down over the try line is of vital importance in todays game of rugby league.

not only is it exciting for us fans, but probably more importantly, it gets points on the board for the team.

so lets hear it ... Has the wing position become under-rated in rugby league?

 

[Morkel]

Not by teams, but by players and their managers, yes.

 

[Unbreakable]

Wing is honestly one of the most important positions to have elite players, in this day and age, imo. There's no substitute for speed and try finishing ability on the wing, even if you've got lousy forwards or halves your outside backs can still create tries for themselves with pure speed & skill.

I wish the Broncos had some..

 

[Broncoman]

Yes

Having a winger that is willing to do the hard work and is capable of doing so is a valuable asset to the team.

 

[Ari Gold]

Yes and no. It can be a position where you can get a real competitive advantage, but it's still not as important as the other positions, which is why you see a lot more makeshift wingers than other makeshift positions.

Plus very few wingers would be on huge dollars. In regards to people like Hoffman and Mead, I don't think the issue is the under-rating of the wing position, but the over-rating of those players abilities by themselves. Either that or the desire for more coin.

 

[Morkel]

The main reason behind it is because you can hide rookies most easily there. Backline rookies anyway. They need to play the full 80 so a bench spot is not ideal, and on the wing you only need to worry about your opposite number and the sideline. Anywhere else and you have team-mates either side that you need to combine with, or at fullback you have way more responsibility.

Also, as long as they are skilled in any way, the wing is good for younger players as they're more likely to be fast, exuberant, and fearless. It's also the perfect master & apprentice situation for upcoming centres etc.

All of that means that with a salary cap, teams don't really need to spend to fill the position and can use the cash for more pivotal players. Smart managers will therefore convince their player that they're too skilled for a rookie spot, and encourage them to work towards a supposedly more important spot (that just so happens to bring the manager more commission).

 

[subsbligh]

I don't think it's ever been rated.

 

[mitch222]

Players want to move from the wing to fullback because clubs will pay fullbacks 500k a year but not wingers even if they are of rep quality. Also teams with quality wingers often end up with pretty ordinary sides in the middle to compensate paying their wingers so much money (ala Dragons last year with Morris and Nightingale on the wings which was like a mill of the dragons cap). The days of the rep winger are going to get scarcer as fullbacks and centres have shown they can play there quite easily. That and clubs wont fork money to retain rep wingers for what they demand. Most wingers these days will be for the up and coming kids

 

[vertigo]

Put it this way, if we had Kemp in 08 form and Yow Yeh on our wings we'd have finished off a lot of scoring opportunities over the last few years.

Having a guy that can just get the bloody job done when needed and pull something special out of his arse by just backing himself and bolting down the sideline is a real asset. Can't wait for our next debutant speedster to come along - it's been a while.

 

[subsbligh]

As a general comment across the population of rugby league teams, wingers are not high on the priority list.

Folau was probably the only winger in recent memory that had an awesome strike rate and actually changed our game plan. He (and probably Yow Yeh and maybe Kemp) would have finished off key tries that went begging over the past 2-3 years in the hands of Maranta and Vidot.

There are so many crucial points in crucial games in recent memory where we've needed a winger who can do more than just put the ball down over the line in open space (which is all ours currently can do).