Quote ="Saddened!"I don't think Wane is responsible for much of that success to be honest. I think it's more a reflection of the work Michael Maguire did there to be honest. Wane has broken it apart somewhat and has singlehandedly cost them titles. Grand Final last year was a prime example, they could possibly have given Saints a game last year given our starting halves and yet he winds them up so tightly that it was only Mose scaring them from the kick off that stopped them all being sent off after the first tackle. Wane is too focused on physicality, aggression, recklessness and violence (His words). Wigan under him are built on a false platform. Hit high, get false numbers into the tackle, by that I mean having two or three additional tacklers join after the initial collision with the aim of injuring the ball carrier and slowing the play the ball down. They are still deliberately attacking knee joints and their discipline at the play the ball is an absolute farce, holding down when tackling and moving off the mark when in possession. Their whole gameplan can be undone not by a good opposition, but by a half decent refereeing performance.
If Maguire stayed, Wigan would have two more major trophies now. That's Wane's impact for me, he didn't build that side, he's slowly destroying it.
Wigan as a club however I do have more respect for. The youth system is the main reason they are still a force. Their youth system produces not only their strong first team, but half the teams in the league as well. Everyone benefits from it. If only we could get a few more teams up there with them (Saints and Leeds are now, but need to maintain it, not just have golden years every so often), we might win an international series every now and again. They can lose first team players and not even notice it, they can throw kids in for big games and they are as good as the internationals they've replaced.'"
Wane has rebuilt the side from when Maguire left. Wanes team of today only includes six players from Maguires Cup winning team of 2011 with two of those Joel Tomkins and Lee Mossop only just returning. Wigan are the youngest team in Superleague and Wane has to take a lot of credit for bringing those players in. He has also reduced the number of overseas players dramatically at the club during his tenure, surely a good thing for the game in general. Last night Leeds had five overseas players in their team and Saints had four. On Friday Wigan had one.