So six first team debutants is enough fo one season? Or should we have gone with a rookie starting seventeen from round 1?

Lets see if they continue to progress and continue into the first team next season. Six debutants is decent I suppose. Be interesting to compare that to other sides.

Joel Tomkins didn't establish himself as a regular first team player till last season. Harrison Hansen is another who has been brought through by Wigan and Gareth Hock prior to his ban.

Again if you read my posts "Fully" (No pun intended)Madge has handed debuts to Five players this season - Chris Tuson, Liam Farrell, Stefan Marsh, Johnny Walker and Ben Davies.

So running around for Wigan this season we have the regular first team players like Harrison Hansen, Sean O'loughlin, Sam Tomkins, Lee Mossop, Joel Tomkins, Eamon O'carroll, Paul Prescott, Mike McIllorum and Darrell Goulding. Along with the five players who have made their debuts this season along with Shaun Ainscough who has featured once. As a side note, Martin Gleeson and Paul Deacon are both Wigan born. Better than most clubs I would imagine.

Another ten of the 17 were Wigan born/trained players against Hull FC on Friday. That's with only one quota player playing in Mark Riddell. If you're being pedantic Pat Richards and George Carmont also played. Three overseas players then. Again pretty impressive.

If all the other clubs find Thornley that important to England, and Wigan being the only club who does nothing for the England making all the others out there for England...

why didn't anyone else try to sign him?

Obviously if the other clubs wanted to avert this disaster, they could have paid for him?

Because obviously he didn't leave for money or education, he left because Wigan have signed a prop, a second rower and a halfback, which will prevent him playing in the threequarters.

Just get over it, Wigan produce more than enough players to get by, some aren't good enough to make it into our team. Tough.

Good question. If Thornley was all that, then there's plenty of SL clubs in need of british talent in their backs he could've gone to for a reasonable wage. However, if Sale have made on over-the-odds offer, Wigan were right to stand firm.

It wasn't long ago Saints fans were worried about Eastmond being poached by Sale - the concenses was almost unanimous that we shouldn't be held to ransom by an unproven youngster.

And Kyle is still in Super League not playing Rugby Union.

The whole crux of this arguement is that Wigan hide behind the salary cap as the reason for Thornley's departure from the sport, yet they find enough to pay getting on for 10 NRL players.

There is something wrong there.

You reached a compromise 2 year contract deal with Kyle, =#FF0040when there was no offer on the table from an RU club.

Lets see you pull it off again when there's a big value (given his experience level) contract on the table.

This is completely obscene, have any of you actually seen the Wigan squad (highlighted are the ones who have played first team this year?

1. Cameron Phelps - Aussie
2. Amos Roberts - Aussie
3. Martin Gleeson - English
4. George Carmont - Aussie
5. Pat Richards - Aussie/Irish
6. Sam Tomkins - English - Wigan
7. Thomas Leuluai - Kiwi
8. Stuart Fielden - English
9. Mark Riddell - Aussie
10. Andy Coley - English
11. Harrison Hansen - Aussie - Wigan trained
12. Joel Tomkins - English - Wigan
13. Sean O'Loughlin - English - Wigan
14. Paul Prescott - English - Wigan
15. Michael McIlorum - English - Wigan
16. Phil Bailey - Aussie
17. Iafeta Paleaaesina - Kiwi

19. Paul Deacon - English
20. Karl Pryce - English
21. Eamon O'Carroll - English - Wigan
22. Shaun Ainscough English - Wigan
23. Lee Mossop - English - Wigan
24. Darrell Goulding - English - Wigan
25. Liam Farrell - English - Wigan
26. Ben Davies - English - Wigan
27. Stefan Marsh - English - Wigan
28. Joe Mellor - English - Wigan
29. Chris Tuson - English - Wigan
30. Josh Veivers - English - Wigan
31. Josh Charnley - English - Wigan
32. Jonny Walker - English - Wigan
33. Iain Thornley - English - Wigan
34. Neil Holland - English - Wigan

So for those of you who can't count that's; 24 English players, 21 English players that have featured in the Wigan first team this year, 19 Wigan lads in the squad, 14 of which have played in the first team this year. That's ignoring Hansen even though he came through the Wigan academy.

And as for next year we of the 8 none England eligible players 4 of which are likely to leave to be replaced with three; dropping out overseas players by one; all 3 of which are significantly better than the 4 that are leaving.

There are 9 non-England eligible players in your list, so you'll have 8 next year if you drop by one. That is FAR too many for a club like Wigan.

This thread is unbelievable. Name me one more side that has debuted more players in Super League this season than Wigan.

Name me one side that has more players out on Dual-Reg or Loan than Wigan.

Thornley our fifth choice, yes fifth choice. (Gleeson, Carmont, Marsh, Charnley ahead of him) has gone to Rugby Union.

Spin it anyway you want, Wigan are replacing some aussies with some better aussies, and a young centre has left the game because Sale offered him more than we could afford to under the salary cap. Absolute non story if its any other team, but it's wigan, and they where once full time when nobody else was and it WASNT FAIR!

What you backwards Goons fail to understand is that Wigan DID have enough money to keep him, they just chose to use it to pay NRL players, thus further undermining the England team's chances.

But if you can sleep at night knowing that, so be it. All the other teams have done something about it bar the horrible, immoral Goons.

Quins have more British players in their 17 than Wigan do. That's just stupid.

So you think Wigan should have paid £60k-£70k for an 18 year old who had never played in the first team because he didn't want a full-time contract so he could finish his A-Levels?

You really need some new material - either that or at least string a decent argument together that can't be blown out of the water in an instant.

The point is that NINE non England eligible players have played for Wigan this year and you are likely to have EIGHT next season.

Two of the four players leaving to allow the new three aren't playing regular first team (Feka and Phelps) where as the incoming players certainly will - so next season, there will actually be a reduction in places in the Wigan first team for England eligible players in real terms.

From what I understand, Riddell/Phelps/Feka/Bailey will be off. That leaves Roberts/Carmont/Richards/Tommy/Hansen/Hoffman/Finch/Lima - 8 non England eligible players.

It is precisely because your youth set-up is so good that those sorts of numbers are so unpalatable.

i am slighly annoyed, not to mentoion nautious that I am being forced to agree with Wigan fans.

please stop this thread now

seasick??

See (no pun intended) thats how bad its made me feel.

An instant 10 pages there.



Wigan are not acting with the wider interests of the sport's future at heart. It has been very heartening this season to see all but one of the teams in SL put faith in English players and cut the numbers of overseas players. Look at Harlequins, who could now field an all English 17, despite the precarious nature of their very existence they have taken the view that the sport as a whole would benefit if England players were fielded, thus giving the sport a viable international aspect. Wigan are, as ever given their dark history, so blinded by the glint of silver from across the hill at successful clubs like Saints and Warrington that they would do literally anything to get around the rules and wring out any possible advantage. Now the live cap has meant blatant cheating is now no longer easy to do they look to other ways in order to go outside the spirit of not only the cap but also the sport and in this case look for dodgy, probably illegal passport loopholes to ensure they have twice as many overseas players as anyone else.

Welcome to the world of sports clubs being run as successful businesses.

The English Premier League have been doing it for as long as I can remember.


How many poms play for that great 'English' side Arsenal these days?

You hire players to play for your club on their abilities........not for any other reason. It doesnt matter if its soccer, Rugby Union, League or any other sport.

Same goes for the England cricket side.

Their best players are Saffas

Notice you couldn't respond to the facts around Thornley.

The fact people like yourself are so blinded and obsessed with Wigan that you have to keep this going for 10 pages says it all.



Add in the fact you have to allege illegally as well tells us everything we need to know about you. Wigan's dominance ended well over ten years ago, get over it Saddo.

I'm guessing you've included Harrison Hansen there? If you want to split hairs Hansen is of Samoan descent and is just as England-eligible as Willie Manu, who was included in last weeks England training squad. Why is 8 out of a squad of 33 too many for Wigan but not too many for anyone else?

It's too many for everyone. It is especially noticeable at Wigan because they have a very strong youth set up and a chairman that not long ago was talking about his dream of an all English team but now looks to double the quota for his club.

so your team DONT have any overseas players then.
and how many academy players have your team supplied to all the other teams in the leagues because there are too many of them to play in their home town team or the first team of the academy that trained them up?

by the way thicko you can not have more overseas players than the quota allows!!!!