Quote ="Bilko"Well most came through in 2003 when we had dreadful injuries and the reaching of the Grand Final made all seem rosy. But at the end of 2004 when literally ALL the experience Wigan had left at once, things went downhill and fast!
I sometimes wonder though that things could have been a lot different had Mike Gregory not fallen ill. A Grand Final and a Challenge Cup Final in his short time as coach, albeit both lost, was a remarkable achievement.'"
I think we'll always wonder what would have happened if Greg had stayed fit and healthy and kept the coaching job at Wigan. After the guy was first appointed, he could barely give an interiew without getting tearful - that was what coaching Wigan meant to him. Little wonder it bled into the players and they went on that incredible winning streak that took them from mid-table mediocrity to a Grand Final (before they were really ready for one, if we're honest).
Alas, it was not to be.
But it may be that RL historians will look back on that brief period, and identify the tragedy of Mike's sudden illness as being a key factor in Wigan's mid-2000s decline. It really knocked the club for six, in many different ways.
