Been slightly concerned for a while now about our defense down that right hand side... Every side seems to walk through Joel Tomkins and Josh Charnley. Last year it wasn't a problem as we had Gleeson who was superb in defense and Goulding on the wing who coped well under the high ball. Seems incredibly weak at the minute though.

It might also be a coincidence of right handed half backs naturally wanting to pass the ball to the left hand side of the field which coincidentally is where Tomkins and Charnley defend.

It is a weak link in our team, but all teams have certain chinks in their armour, unfortunately that side is ours.

We've only conceded 11 more points this year than last year. Hardly walking through them really.

There's been a few games were try's have been scored down pats side when Joel and charnleys been solid, but no 1 mentions that why it's pat

J Tomkins leaves Charnley woefully exposed at times. This stated, he is not a centre and is doing a very good job at the moment.

I don't think there's that much of a problem with the defence. The right hand side gets targeted more but that doesn't necessarily mean it's very weak, it just means that it's the side that teams think they have the best chance of scoring on and also it's easier for right handed players to pass from right to left.

Deacon tends to be the one who takes the wrong options but given that the players are taught to put two or three men into each tackle you can't really blame defenders for moving inside on occasions. Good attacking play often forces defensive players into making mistakes. Generally this year Joel Tomkins has been pretty solid defending at centre. There have been some errors but even Richards has made defensive errors, the same with Carmont. In fact, as good as he has been, at times during his time at Wigan Carmont has made some very basic errors, particularly with one on one tackling. Even the older players learn and improve so I don't think much criticism can be aimed at Tomkins or Charnley.

For me the problem lies with Deacon. When he's sat matches out and been rested the right hand defense has been much improved IMO. At present Joel and Hansen are really having to watch Deacon's back in defense. In contrast with the other side where Finch is one of the best, if not the best defensive half in the league.

No doubt in my mind, Tomkins and Charnley both make some bad decisions in defence. It tends to culminate in Charnley not having confidence in Tomkins' ability to mark and tackle his man so he ends up getting drawn in way too easily. We definitely need to sort this for next season.

The centre and winger are often the ones who get blamed when tries are scored where they should be defending but very often the problems are created further infield but go unnoticed. This happens a lot with a sliding defence, where one player letting their man get in between themselves and another defender can cause havoc with the rest of the defensive line with players unsure as to who they should be marking.
Take the two tries scored down our right side in the Challenge Cup. Neither of them were the fault of Charnley or Tomkins but both were scored past them. That happens quite a lot. Sometimes a forward being slow to get back into the defensive line in the middle of the pitch can cause a try to be scored on the wings.

Sick of people blamig Charnley though, joel is still playing like a second rower and he struggles to stick on his wing in defence! Hardly a major problem though - 1 defeat in 14, we all teams have weakspots and this is ours

Got to say i really disagree with that.

I think it is a bit of a myth that Deacon is weak in defense. Dont get me wrong i have seen him wrong footed on the odd occasion but generally in a 1 on 1 situation i think he is pretty solid. As you say Finch is an outstanding defender for a small halfback, but even during the game on Sunday, i thought Deacs matched him.

I honestly think the issue is more a case of eagerness by Josh. As a back rower is naturally used to jumping out the line ready to meet large immobile attackers head on. He still has a bit of that in him and that can lead to a staggered line.

If you watch Carmont he is slightly hesitant to hit the defender and is happy for them to try and take him on, that's when he pounces and takes them down. Joel needs to mimic that more and more. Cant knock his enthusiasm though.

It's not Deacon's one on one tackling that is the problem, it's his decision making. Too often he jumps back inside or rushes up too eagerly which creates an overlap out wide and making it much harder for Tomkins and Charnley.