heard he is on his way out the club. anyone heard same thing?????

hope not

He is still at college, he's not going anywhere. But if he is going its on loan.

I'd be surprised if a permanent departure was on the cards in February. Anyway they said last month he would have had a squad number had he not been studying. So loan move if he is going out I expect.

Is he as good as the hype?

I'm not well enough in the know to judge but on the couple of occasions i've seen him he's been pretty quiet and the other centre Marsh has impressed me more.

Rumours around Barrow at the moment are suggesting a young centre is on their way from Wigan?

Not as such.

Ian is studying at St. John Rigby college and his parents wont let him train full time with Wigan until he has fnished his course. Very good at science I believe.

He has been courted by Rugby Union and Brisbane Broncos have sent scouts over to monitor his progress. But as far as I am aware he is going nowhere. I'd be very suprised if he went out on loan.

you seem informed i heard his agent frank indicott is touting him for aus.

The fact that he studies at John Rigby college and plays rugby for Wigan Warriors reserves indicates he's a better rugby player than he is a scientist. Good luck to him though it's good to have a back up plan if rugby doesn't work out.

Winstanley snob.

I bloody shat myself when I saw you'd posted

and get it right, ex Winstanley snob, now I get to do uni snobbery too.

I'd still rather play for Wigan though!

Well done to his parents. 2 Years at 6th form to get A Levels wont be a problem to the lad if he is good enough.

He can stay part time until he is 18 then go full time from the age of 18.

I think he could have got into either college, but chose John Rigby for the better sport facilities they had. The college also has very close ties with the club.

For me he has stood out every time i have seen him play for the reserves. He is a big lad for a centre so I think we could see some exciting stuff from him.

He has all the attributes to be a top centre. I hope he does go out on loan to Barrow as we need more and more guys going out testing themselves at a higher level than what it is a very poor standard acadamy and reserves leagues.

I think Thornley will become a very good player and as Tricky Dicky has said well done to him and his parents for carrying on with his education.
For that reason I do not see a loan spell at Barrow being the right choice for him as he will be along way from college. He is still only 18 years of age so another year in the Wigan reserves would probably be his best option until he has finished his A levels.

No doubt he'll get shoved in the second row as we always seem to do in this country with lads his size.

You can't beat Dave Wood as a rugby coach

"Sorry lads I don't have your 'Winstanley brains'! Didn't go to college, me, I don't get why it's a good idea to drop the ball! You brain surgeons can't put on a simple rugby move!"

We must hold onto this guy though seriously! Future first team centre I hope! He is a giant for his age.

He's a good reserves player but the hype about him particualry last year when there when there supposedly Union interest was over the top IMO. He did used to stand out in the academy alot, but he was physically alot bigger than most of the opposition.

Good player but has a long way to.