since posting earlier it got me thinking who my top 3 legends would be,then it turned into my top 5,then my top ten,now i've given up,It's an impossible task,so many have walked down the tunnel in cherry and white,some more skillfull than others,some faster,some harder,some had an huge impact in a short time, some had a huge impact for a long time,some were huge characters some were simply refered to as god,I even included people in charge at certain times and coaches who changed the history of the club ,others who's ill health cut short their chance to maybe become legends.As a supporter I feel blessed to support a club that as given me the chance over the years to witness some of the greats.and long may it continue

Top 3 of all time, Jim Sullivan - Billy Boston - Ellery Hanley

Hanley had over 200 games....202 to be precise, scored 189 tries , not bat for a loose forward ..by comparison Faz scored just under 1 try every 3 games. tag on a hanful of goals and a couple of drop goals n a few winners medals and you have a legend in my book.
Boston only just surpased his tries /games ratio also scoring just under 1 per game played , and that was on the wing playing outside another legend..eric ashton.

Best i can find when it comes to tries/games is Offiah..150+ games..180+ tries............does that make him more of a legend than boston??? no

and i realise ive just contradicted my own argument there...

reading back i see a lot of posters are basing their legendary player status on players theyve seen?
us older ones probably have a different top 3, and definitely a longer list than younger fans.

for example...my top 10 would include , BOSTON , ASHTON , MCTIGUE and BOLTON
other 6 in no particular order.........JIM SULIVAN (included on hearsay), EDWARDS, FARRELL, HANLEY, WEST, and BELL.
OFFIAH just failed to make the 10

I'd go with that!!

I'd go with that but in recent years I'd add Brett Dallas in there as well. He gave his all for the club for six years (probably much longer than he first intended) and ended his career here. Always gave 100% in every game he played and never went missing when there was hard graft to do.

Brought a tear to my eye when he left his boots on the centre spot in his last ever game for us.

just about to post the same thing regarding dallas. Think he in particular is a modern legend.

Great point about a legend being someone who is in part someone who is admired by opposing fans (sometimes expressed by their hatred by him!!!)

As a Leigh fan obviously we don't concede too much to Wigan, and yes, you've had some fine players over the years, modern greats such as Farrell, Radlinski etc etc but I have to agree with the posts re. Brett Dallas above - I always held him in the highest regards as a player for his sheer determination and attitude as well as his skill - and I know from a dressing room source that his professionalism didn't just stop on the pitch.

Great shout on Dallas. I'd like to think Paddy would be classed in the same high regard as Dallas; he's a points machine and a true professional. I suppose if he ended his career with Wigan, it would be hard not to.

You're being harsh on Newton - the wheels may have fallen off after he left us, but while at Wigan he never gave less than 100% and was a real leader when we were struggling in 2005. If he had stayed (he never wanted to leave but look who was in charge then, at the time most people preferred him to his replacement Higham) - and had stayed away from the drugs he could have been pushing towards legend status by now. Plus he always put his hand up for GB unlike the guy you mention.

I'd also to give a shout for Adrian Lam as well for much the same reasons to Brett Dallas.

Since I've been watching RL (about '92; but I was only 7), I would only class the following as legends, Edwards, Radlinski, Farrell, Robinson and Offiah.

People like Skerret, Connolly, Paul, Lam, Dallas were very good players in their day, but I wouldn't put them in the 'Wigan legends' bracket.

As it stands I can see, Sam and/or Joel becoming Wigan legends if their careers continue with Wigan as well as they are at present.

People like Barrett will never be a legend at Wigan, although an incredibly talented player, he wasn't here long enough, nor had the 'right' passion for the club to be a legend.

I'd give a shout to Lam purely because he's the only Wigan player I know of who's appeared in his own porn movie

I agree with this totally, i think he will become a Wigan legend if he stays with us.
Anybody else in the current team people think?

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I'm scared to click on that link...

Was just going to post the same sort of thing. Kenny gets the legend title for the 1985 cup final. John Ferguson and Henderson Gill entered that special place fans put players who help side win such a memorable and important games on that day as well IMO. Which just goes to show as you say it isn't just about length of service or things like number of medals won but what impact a player a had.

Barrett did a similar job to Kenny in terms of dragging a mediocre side (and coach!) to higher levels of achievement but since we didn't have a 1985 moment with him in the side he probably won't get the legend status Kenny has.

Dave

Quote ="Finfin"Plus he always put his hand up for GB unlike the guy you mention.'" cant be bothered getting into a big pointless debate, but... international appearances by Newton (Eng & GB) = 16 international appearances by Cunningham (Wales & GB) = 23 source: www.rugbyleagueproject.org

Quote ="Finfin"Plus he always put his hand up for GB unlike the guy you mention.'" cant be bothered getting into a big pointless debate, but... international appearances by Newton (Eng & GB) = 16 international appearances by Cunningham (Wales & GB) = 23 source: www.rugbyleagueproject.org

I see many players I watched get mentioned in this thread such as legends such Dean Bell which I agree with but what about Frano Botica?

Without him we simply would not have won the number of trophies we did. Contrary to popular myth we didn't walk away with every game by 30 points or more for a decade and his boot was the difference in winning some close games, trophies and titles.

For the younger generation if you think Richards is good Botica was even better in that he tended rarely to have an off day and drop to say 70 or 80% accuracy.

Dave

brett Dallas only retired 2 years ago, so most of us saw him play yet its page 3 before he gets a mention. Will he even get a mention in 5 years?

He was a good player who gave his best for the club, but a legend? no

Barratt - legend? dont make me laugh! and how dare you mention him in the same sentence as the Bostons, Edwards and Hanleys
almost 2 seasons for us (though did seem to miss more than a few through injury - correct me if Im wrong) and for many others went MIA. While he was often the best player on the pitch for us (which TBH was not hard), the odd flash of brillance, a legend does not make.

I would say Dean Bell is much more of a legend than Robinson. I'll always remember him leading the team out at wembley to holding out for a hero. As a young lad absoloutely idolised him.

To be classed as legend I think he's fantastic kicking would have to matched by his all round play. Despite being a good player, I don't think he is any where near 'legend' status.

What about the long suffering fans from the 70's. Only 4 guys deserve a mention, although none can really be described as true legends - George Fairbairn and Bob Irving who always gave 100% amongst much inferior teammates; Bill Ashurst (2nd stint ended in tears) and Green Vigo (incredible talent who was handled incredibly badly) who both really should have gone on to be legends. Vigo is of course a legend off the field.