Quote Bigredwarrior="Bigredwarrior"Me too mate but to be honest I don't think I'd be surprised. As I said above, if NZ want him and were prepared to pay, and SW wanted to go, I think IL would let it happen.'"
I WOULD be surprised, because I can't see how a mid-season departure would benefit Wigan at all, no matter how much money they paid us (especially as the guy who was being prep'd as heir apparent - Iestyn Harris - has clearly been deemed surplus to needs).
Unless some kind of masterplan is about to be unrolled - and it would need to be something astonishing, like the unexpected overnight return of Michael Maguire! - to lose a coach so integral to his team's success at such short notice could easily demolish our season; and let's bear in mind this is a season in which there is a chance of relegation - so it might not just be a matter of failing to win a trophy.
At the very least, I'd expect us to make SW see out this year. If he wants his big chance in the NRL, fine ... when he's finished his contract with us. In the meantime New Zealand Warriors can lump it. Their needs are not more important than ours.
In fact, I'm getting heartily sick of hearing about this 'relationship' between Wigan and New Zealand Warriors. It only seems to come from the mouths of NZW fans casting their eye over yet more of our assets ... or from Dean Bell, who (a bit like Andy Farrell in RU), appears to be exploiting every last scrap of his Wigan RL heritage to justify his current existence. Any of these guys ever thought about getting a proper job?
I cannot reiterate enough how little I care about New Zealand Warriors. We've seen nothing from them at all in return for Sam, despite hearing that we would get some good youngsters. They are clearly not our friends and allies. If they want Wane, they should be made to wait until his business at Wigan is done, just like anyone else would.
