Short term deal is a winner all round. It will be 6 months and he will have another brain fart.

This is an odd one isn't it? I've been concerned about FB for some time now, and although Zak isn't at his peak he is still a very handy player and upgrades us quite a bit IMO.

The guy has had heaps of support throughout his career but can't seem to find a way to change (or at least not enough). I don't really have a problem with this as a pragmatic signing for this season; it's one of those "stars aligning" situations. He won't be right for the culture going forward but he's a good player and he isn't the devil.

He talks like Carey Grant if his statement is anything to go by!

I'd be very, very surprised if this was extended beyond the rest of this season. It's purely transactional - we're not looking for a long-term relationship.

To be fair to him, he has been at Wigan for 4 years. Keeping his discipline in check until this season and what has actually happened i doubt we will ever know. I suspect it is just a case of throwing his teddy out the pram causing him to act the way he has to force Wigans hand into releasing him

Believe!

Good point. His 4 years at Wigan have been very good on and off the field.

I'm a long way from being a Hardaker the person fan. I've heard enough stories about him round Fev and Ponte to know he's a complete and utter tit.

But I also know that morals and professional sport don't go hand in hand. People saying the club won't get relegated - it's still a very real possibility. And with the financial challenges the club has faced and still has to overcome, not being sat at the top table could have long lasting consequences on the club. So what do/can they do?

He isn't a great role model for the young lads, but at the same time, having to play 17 year olds because we literally have noone else isn't good for them either. Short term, he'll hopefully be keeping his head down and staying out of trouble. And like with any kids, you hope they have enough about them and have been brought up well enough to be able to see the right from wrong. There are still plenty of good influences at the club who will have had their ears for a long time.

A contract to the end of the year? I can deal with that. Anything beyond would be very disappointing. Not necessarily because of who he is, but because it would once again look like there wasn't a long term plan to refresh the squad. There's plenty of talent sat on the sidelines or waiting for a year of development. We shouldn't need him past this season

This is a decent deal all round.
I can see both sides of the argument.
Yes it smacks of desperation - but we're desperate!

He can put himself in the shop window for 6 months, as long as he behaves himself.
I think he'll go pretty well - and seems to avoid bad injuries, which we currently don't have in the back line...

As long as the club isn't stupid enough to offer him an extension.
That would be madness - he'll just revert to type.
Do the 6 months and play for a deal with whoever gets promoted (Fev, Leigh or York). He can be their 2023 poster boy.

Have they? He's been causing trouble for two years in an attempt to get closer to his mates (Not family) in Yorkshire. He has a rap sheet longer than the honours board at Wigan. They've been considering exiting him for years, hence the signing of two fullbacks from the NRL.

They really, really have not.

The fact Lam was too weak to deal with the issues ensured he stayed as long as he did.

I suspect none of us would have seen this coming at the start of the season. Whatever the practicality of the decision - and the short-term nature of the deal is crucial - it does illustrate how desperate we are.

As I get older, I'm not comfortable in judging players based on incomplete evidence about their behaviour off-field. It's fair to say that Hardaker's behaviour pre- drugs ban was completely unacceptable (even if he did gift us another GF win

), but he has served time on that, and it would be unfair to keep holding it against him.

What he has done since being at Wigan does have a bearing on the decision to sign him, however. I'm not aware of anything in the public domain that is as bad as before the ban. Whether that's because it is more inocuous or whether Wigan have tried to cover it up remains to be seen - we'll probably never know unless he has committed a criminal offence. However, it does worry me that he doesn't come across as a very professional individual from the various stories circulating. This could have a negative effect on creating a new culture at Leeds under Rohan Smith, so we are probably taking a big gamble in this regard.

We can only hope that the short-term deal will work to keep Hardaker in line (he will want to put himself in the shop window), and protect us from any long-term culture or reputational damage...

If JJB sits on him and make sure he behaves it’s a deal that had to be done.
And we owe him for helping us win the GF in 2017.

If JJB sits on him and make sure he behaves it’s a deal that had to be done.
And we owe him for helping us win the GF in 2017.

I would tend to believe what Jonh has said as I do know he wants to be the big "superstar" around Ponte and he wasn`t that at Wigan.
He was more interested in going out and about with his mates who stroked his ego and quite a few girls bought into it too.
The guy hasn`t really changed that much since he left Leeds and I fear we will be lucky to have him playing until the end of the season.
Yes he is better than Briscoe, Sutcliffe and Walker as long as he puts playing on the field before playing the field.

Interested that so many think (hope?) it'll be a short term arrangement. Personally, I doubt that.

Def not a short term plan. Would make even less sense from a culture perspective…
Why risk darkening the clubs long term rep for a few months out of a player?. If he keeps clean they’ll keep him on.
He’s still better than anything we’ve got on the field and has created some interest ,
Crowd could well be 5k higher as a result of this. I’m going with a mate for gods sake…!!

Well there was the drink driving conviction...

I disagree on every point you have made there. It's all about opinions, as they say. Glad you'll be adding to the attendance on Friday.

Just to add to his time at Wigan, it would be worth reading Peet's comments on him in the recent interview. He's asked if Zak has tried to address his problems and he answers with the word "consistently". That suggests these problems are not the "one off" some are suggesting. For what it's worth I think Wigan have simply come to the end of their tether with him and the incident Jonh alludes to is the final straw.

That said, I think you'll be ok over the course of a short term contract. Talk of a 2 year deal to follow is an altogether different proposition though.

I’m OK with this, it improves our squad for this year, something we needed. It also recognises the brain farts he’s had in the past. Any further extensions can only really be a year at a time.

Disappointed with the club's management on this. He will improve us on the field, but the bad outweighs the good for me. Bringing the serial offender back sends the wrong message.

Think it’s a case of ‘beggars can’t be chooses’ at the minute…..

Do you not even Agee that bringing Zak in will significantly increase the crowd for Friday and make the match more appealing?

given the issue you seem to have with a "team spirit" (or lack of) at the club, I would have thought this is the last thing you would need.
All I need now is that Michael Jackson popcorn meme......