It was a stupid thing for IL to say at the time (and complete nonsense as I posted), but he did, and lapped up the credit for it.

Now he must take the flak for that misplaced acclaim.

Why bother having players on contracts longer than a year Lenegan?

Sam here for at least 3 years - Complete lies!

3 years before he can speak to a Rugby Union club but hes on a 5 year contract?? WTF was all that about? Hes either on a 3 year contract or a 5 year contract!! which one is it? Answer is 2 years WTF?!?

Wasn't the whole point of the 5 year contract to maximise the selling price of Sam, who would have discussed his depature plans with his agent and the club 2 years ago?
Perhaps not, maybe Sam just decided to leave in April this year and that puny chairman with the moustache never thought that Sam would ever leave and didnt feel the need to enforce his contract.

Brilliant!

Glad we won't be coming up against him again but such a shame for our game that yet again we are losing one of our best players from the league .

We are done

Will we have anyone left in a few years?

the last line from the NZ Warriors release:

"Scurrah said both clubs plan to combine on a number of initiatives in the future."

Interesting & mildly concerning at the same time.

You have to do what's best by the players sadly, they make the game afterall. Shame for the club but he's going on to bigger things and I think it'd just be unfair to deny him that opportunity. Prescott's retirement this season should serve as an eye opener, these guys play short careers, we need to let tem make as much as possible from them.

I hope he cements his spot as one of the true stars of the game down under.

If he'd had a career ending injury 2 weeks ago, he'd be wanting to be paid up the full 5 years of his contract. That's what's annoying.
If he'd have stayed to the end of next season I'd have been happy, the fact that he hasn't makes me slightly not.

I Knew we should only have signed him on a ONE year contract, dam we missed an opportunity in 2010.....

Fantastic deal for Wigan, 750,000 reasons why you sold him, in Ryan Hampshire you have the next superstar. Ryan will take the game by storm

Same was said when sams brother left for rugby union, its all a wash to try to appease people

Where is all this money going for these transfer fees (im guessing over a million for sam/mossop/hock?

Who is next im guessing charnley next year

We all knew he was going to leave, it's better that he goes now when we can command a fee rather than next year for nothing.

Any idea what he cost?

World record fee, oh goody. Cheap season tickets for all next year then

Why the feck has this been announced 4 days before the biggest game of the season?? Surely another couple of week wouldn't have mattered. Now we have the circus of SAMs leaving party to contend with. Utter

Exactly. We have bucket loads of cash. So what are we going to do with it since the salary cap stops us using it for players wages? We are going to make Mr Lenegan richer than he already is!

pfft i like brettkenney/bilko idea we should have kept him against he's will and play with a team full of alienated players who would more than likely never be willing to sign a contract with wigan again.

scratch your head a realize players can earn in 1 season that they would earn in 3 years in super league. forget all that i want to go and play in the toughest league nonsense that the aussie media will be spouting its all about money and thats why a lot of players are moving there now.

Let's not go down the route of football fans by bigging up how much we got for a player. Truth is we as fans won't see a penny of it so I don't give a big steaming turd how much they paid for him.

Thank God that's all over, got royally sick of all the "will he won't he" talk that has been going on this year. Good luck Sam you were a joy to watch but a rugby league player only has a relatively short career so must make what he can when he can so you've probably set yourself up for a good life and can't begrudge you that. Be interesting to see if the media over there make as much fuss about him as they have over here and whether he will go to being a small fish in a big pond but I imagine he won't be bothered about that and we will survive ok, of that I have no doubts at all.
I may get panned for this but I don't think he has been half as effective against the better teams this year (when he's played that is!) so will be interesting to see how he goes in the NRL

haha do you seriously think 750k is going to make Lenegan any richer haha? Nobody on this forum will know what the money is spent on maybe new medical equipment? more scouts? improve training facilitates? training camps? improved equipment?

its funny how people think the directors at wigan somehow get rich from the club they will be lucky to make 50k profit.

he certainly wont get away with what he does here......they will be queuing a mile long to have a pop at him.....he will have to change his attitude pretty quick.

what do u mean like billy slater? get over it.

anybody watched the interview on the NZwarriors fans page? not sure what to make of it seems a tad disrespectful and shows he had signed the contract 4 months ago.

You do realise, don't you, that in financial terms British RL is a failing sport?

Good luck to any rich fella who thought he'd come along and pillage it. He'd be lucky to pocket the annual running costs for his motor.

Apart from his attacking brilliance Wigan have lost one of the few real leaders in the team and it is this quality that needs to be replaced as much as anything. I doubt we'll see him in the cherry and white again but I would love to see him return at the end of his career in the number 6 jersey and run the side. Moving to full back was successful in terms of trophies but I always regretted him leaving the stand off position.

Good luck to him he has been a great player for us and he's been an honour to watch him week in week out, some of the things he can do are freak like and the NRL will love him. Sadly I don't think we will see him in a Wigan shirt again, I think he will end up in union after a stint on the NRL.