Which Wigan players you thinking of here Sally? I can think of plenty who have been cast off by Wigan in such circumstances who have either gone on to have decent careers elsewhere e.g. Brown, or fade away completely e.g. O'Carroll.

Wigan play the numbers game. The recruit in bulk and I'd imagine have the worst success rate of any club in converting academy internationals to first team regulars at Wigan.

I'm referring to the ones who have stayed and been part of Wane's Grand Final teams: there have been lots of moments midway through seasons where Wigan have had bad runs and bad results and some of those young players (and Wane) have been questioned. Pop over to the Wigan forum when they are on a bad run and you will see analysis of how the recruitment has been bad for a while, "something must change at the top" and how various of the young players are overhyped, but they are there at the end of the season.

As you say a lot of players start at Wigan end up being moved on to other clubs, but then go on to having successful careers elsewhere like Kevin Brown. These guys aren't released because they aren't good enough, they just aren't good enough for Wigan. How many players released by Warrington go on to have careers at other leading clubs....? About as close as we ever get to thinking 'was he one that got away' is GO'B kicking a drop goal in the Million Pound Game.

That argument about Wigan playing the numbers game and having the 'worst conversion rate' is a bit disingenuous isn't it.....you can only pick a team of 13 at any one time, and so if you produce a lot of quality players some will leave to go to clubs elsewhere. If Warrington produce 4 world class halfbacks in the next 10 years only 1 of them will have a career with us, unless we find ways to shoehorn them in other positions. I'd be happy for us to have a poor conversion rate if it means we have a surplus and end up feeding other clubs with our rejects, that sounds like a mark of successs.

As for playing the numbers game by recruiting in bulk - if it's that easy why don't Warrington do it? Just recruit more than Wigan.

When the likes of Wires71 and me have a moan about our Academy output rate it's just by looking at the end outputs in terms of over a long period of time, how many quality SL players have been produced. By quality, think the calibre of player who would have a good career at a club with ambitions to win trophies: eg count Ben Westwood as one for Wakefield. By that measure we aren't just below top clubs like Leeds, Wigan and Saints but also behind smaller clubs like Wakey and Cas. It's not as though the club has deprioritised the Academy either, the scholarship was set up back in DVDVs day and we were hearing for years how this was bearing fruit with Warrington having more players in junior representative teams but there hasn't been much coming through to the first team. The club's ambitions have been higher and the quality of team has been higher since TS was there so the bar has been raised for our Academy products when they do make the first team but that's no different to young players that come through in Wigan, Saints or Leeds.

I guess it's not a moan more an observation and certainly an area I would be looking to improve as top priority.

Our output is almost nil in decades. I don't know if its a GIGO problem or a developmental issue. Anyhow we should be attempting to emulate Wigan, not criticise their conversion rate.

How many of our youth system, which when leaving Warrington, have gone to SL clubs in the last 20 years?

Who was our last home grown international? Currie was Wigan youth set up.

Cooper

Good call, although technically he had played for another club before that was achieved.

So who was the last international we produced who gained representational honours having only played for Warrington beforehand

Philbin

No he wasn't, just as Morgan Smith isn't a Leeds product in the thread last week.

Quote ="Paul Youane"No he wasn't, just as Morgan Smith isn't a Leeds product in the thread last week.'" Currie was on the Wigan scholarship wasn't he? Certainly played U16's in a Wigan jersey. https://www.wiganwarriors.com/news/2010 ... -close-win Morgan Smith was in the Leeds Rhino scholarship https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/ ... -1-9521524

Quote ="Paul Youane"No he wasn't, just as Morgan Smith isn't a Leeds product in the thread last week.'" Currie was on the Wigan scholarship wasn't he? Certainly played U16's in a Wigan jersey. https://www.wiganwarriors.com/news/2010 ... -close-win Morgan Smith was in the Leeds Rhino scholarship https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/ ... -1-9521524

Yes, technically, but let's stick to GB or England and avoid the minor international sides. e.g) Pat Moran is in the Ireland squad but only played 1 game for the Wire.

I was thinking Ronnie Duane?

Quote ="Wires71"Currie was on the Wigan scholarship wasn't he? Certainly played U16's in a Wigan jersey. https://www.wiganwarriors.com/news/2010 ... -close-win Morgan Smith was in the Leeds Rhino scholarship https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/ ... -1-9521524'" You've lost me. Last week you had Morgan Smith down as a Warrington youth product. If we follow the RFL interpretation for quota purposes and I think salary cap concessions it is based on academy and not scholarship. Seems fair enough to follow official definition.

Quote ="Wires71"Currie was on the Wigan scholarship wasn't he? Certainly played U16's in a Wigan jersey. https://www.wiganwarriors.com/news/2010 ... -close-win Morgan Smith was in the Leeds Rhino scholarship https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/ ... -1-9521524'" You've lost me. Last week you had Morgan Smith down as a Warrington youth product. If we follow the RFL interpretation for quota purposes and I think salary cap concessions it is based on academy and not scholarship. Seems fair enough to follow official definition.

Paul Wood & Ben Harrison.

Wigan play the system that sky have given us. They use the young lads as much as possible & rest their elder statesman who they bring back for the games that matter ,the play off games. By their own standards ,Wigan have had some mediocre SL seasons but know how to win when it matters ,while leaving us wannabe clubs to pull our tripe out for the full season only to be pipped at the post. Wigan are great at moving experienced young, but below their standard , players onto other clubs.

That's the nail on the head right right there.

Remember Wigan getting hammered 62-0 by Wakefield a couple of years ago? Lots of very mediocre performances by Wigan that season... Wane won them the double.

13 of the match day 17 all had the flu and stomach virus that day. They'd already brought in all the youngsters they could and had no choice but to feild an unfit team.

Still good to watch though haha.

Harris and Sculthorpe on the 1996 tour to PNG, Fiji and NZ.

That sounds like a good theory apart from the fact Wigan have finished ahead of us 5 out of the last 6 seasons in the league so its not like we put in the hard work to be better than them all season and then they steal it at the end. Also they aren't the relentless Grand Final winners that Leeds are, unless its against us! In their last 6 Grand Finals against other clubs they have lost 5.

Wane had already done the maths.
He knew beating losing to Wakefield to rest players was nothing other than collateral.
The most interesting sentence at the post match interview, was where SW said "I know where we're at".
I knew exactly what he meant. I'd done the maths too and knew it meant absolutely nothing to have won it and everything to wrap up and patch up the key players for 2 weeks.

Perhaps we bring the best out of them Sally. The way Wigan operate though is that they are producing decent young players some of whom are shipped on to other clubs with plenty of superleague experience under their belts.

Ah I see.

I was thinking of players which we have nurtured from the earliest entry (scholarship or equivalent) through to GB or England international in the last 20 years or so.

I'm sure there are more

Cooper.
P. Wood.
R. Duane.
...
...


x M. Gleeson joined at academy.

We can't influence the past so it doesn't matter, we must influence the future.

Jinking Jimmy Fairhurst went on to accomplish great things at the pies

And most of our pack with him.

Lets keep the rumours thread for rumours. Come on, what's happened to the Widdop one i was enjoying that one.

The Widdop rumour is, as far as we know, still a rumour.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport