yup

Hope he's behaving himself and comes back to Wigan with a new hunger. If he does he could be an even better player then before.

On the subject of any drugs tests he may have whilst banned to prov he's clean I really hope we're making him have them at random times and not on a set day at a set time. The only way to make sure everything is fine is to test him at random.

We obviously don't know if the club are making him do testing with them, but under the terms of his ban, if he wants to play again after the two years he has to agree to random testing throughout his ban with UK Sport.

Since Hock was first suspended I make it that we've played 18 competitive games, of which we have won 14 and lost 4.

I'm not meaning to say necessarily that we are a stronger team without him, but right now I would see no place for him in the side.

I saw him in the Vale Royal on Wednesday afternoon, absolutely huge.

At the moment it would be hard to drop anybody for him, however I'd love to see him let rip in the front row eventually.

Was he huge as in busting a gut down the gym huge or one to many pies huge?

Down the gym huge by the looks of it...Although he was about to have a big carvery!

Thats good then, as id be a little worried if he wasnt training, i know you can get in good shape in 10 weeks (ala ricky hatton), but prefer it that he keeping himself in shape, can put some serious muscle on in two years if he dont have to worry about staying game fit!

Plus carvery all good for replenishing vital muscle building protien! As long as he dont take wheelans advice and get on the pies all will be good!

i agree 100%!! for me, since he's been away from the club, there seems to be alot more togetherness in the team, i wonder IF he does come back,(and its by no means a certainty that he will get a contract here after his ban) what effect him returning will have on the team.

take your points mate but I think hock would be devastating in this team and it's ashame he f@cked up the way he did I think our style of rugby now would be awsome with him init

Hope he wasn't with Terry Newton...

Yes, but we won away at Wire and people wanted to 'change' the team, we won 58-0 and people want to 'change' the team, injuries, suspensions, drop in form, all these mean that there will be room in the squad for players, especially ones as talented (in rugby terms) as Hock.

Terry was sat on a table outside, his shoulders were too big to fit through the door.

Assuming he's not lost any of his formidable natural talents i think Hock would walk into the current Wigan team.

I’d take him at prop over Prescott and O’carrol and I’d also take him at the moment over Feka.

At 2nd row he’d walk in over Bailey as well and I’d love to see him start on the bench and give us some impact as it’s the only real area for concern at the moment imo.

Let’s not forget just how good of a player Hock is! He’s a game changer and one of the best 2nd row forwards in the World

Given what Maguire has managed to do with the likes of Joel and Hansen, it would be fascinating to see what he could do with natural like Hock.

Unfortunatey, he can't start doing anything until Hock's ban is served, so it could be quite a while before we see something special.

Was..........2 years is a looong time to be out of the game

Lol there is nothing better than a pessimistic Wigan fan.

Two years isn’t that long out of the game for a 26 year old who is still keeping himself in condition.

Like another poster said a pro can get back into condition after about 10 weeks of hard graft and this will be drastically reduced if he’s already been doing some work anyway. I fully expect Hock to step up his training when he’s almost ready to return.

Hock, if started on the bench, will easily be able to handle the speed of SL as his game has never been based around a high work rate like that of a Bailey or Hansen but Hock’s game is based around brute strength and banging out of tackles.

Like I said Hock is only gonna be 27/28 and I can’t see him losing many of the talents which made him one of the best 2nd rows in the world.

When Hock was playing, Wigan were so predictable that the opposition knew when he was recieving the ball and therefore gang-tackled him, sometimes causing him to lose the ball.
If he stepped into the present system of dummy runners and good ball movement he would be sensational. Just hope he has reformed.

I think he will play for wigan again.I also hope he does

Here's a question:

I know that Wigan are not allowed to have anything to do with Gareth in rugby terms for the duration of his ban.
i.e. Gaz can't train with the squad, be paid at all, etc.

However - Is Mark Bitcon allowed to give him a training plan?
Also, is Mike Maguire allowed to give him alist of things to work on whilst he's out of the game?

I would hope that we can still pass information/guidance to Gareth that will allow him the best chance of returning to the game (even if not to Wigan) at the end of his ban.
Otherwise, the ban could be removing more than the 2 years that it is supposed to - It could be completely removing a persons ability to earn a living in their chosen profession.

Hope it doesn't smell to much then

I really dont see how they could stop bitcon giving him a routine! Couldnt he just type it on a computer and post it through his front door? Also same with maguire, he may not be able to train with the squad, but he can train like the squad if you get my drift!

How would they stop us?

It’s obvious the Wigan club are in touch with him for testing and contract purposes so who knows what info they pass on.

How would they stop MM speaking to him? At the end of the day you can’t stop someone speaking to another person nor can you stop Bitcom ‘recomeding’ a good personal trainer to use can you.

I realise he can’t be involved in official training programmes but there is very little the RFL can do as they don’t have the power to stop him socializing with current Wigan players can they.

Good points, but what I'm asking is whether any provision is made for the banned player to have an "official" training regime provided by the club, all legally and above-board.

Or would any banned player be forced to pursue "under-handed" tactics to keep himself in a position to earn a living after his ban?

dont know but im sure there no law against anyone hiring bitcon on a personal basis, im sure if i gave him £150 for a routine there would be nothing to stop him doing it, as long as he declared it for tax purposes of course!

I know loads of people who do "private" work so cant see there being a problem here