Zak Hardaker

[boggart]

His loss. I doubt other clubs would be so tolerant. If he doesn't change he won't be playing much. He's back among the bad influences that caused his original problems. So, best of luck Young Man. I hope he doesn't get what he deserves. A very good player though, for all that.

[Wigan_forever1985]

It was me who said about him not owing the club anything special and i stand by it my reasons are this

Wigan didnt "save" Zak on some humanitarian basis or noble quest - Wigan saw an opportunity to get a man of steel quality player cheaper because he was coming with baggage and lots of it. Now at that point Wigan know what they are getting and why they are getting it and the slate is wiped clean. Wigan may have done a lot to help Zak and thats commendable but all Zak owes wigan is to uphold his contract as a player and give his all for the club - same as any other player IMO

Now you could argue that he hasnt done that at the end but hes had 61 appearances for us and been 7/10 player or above every week IMO

I know plenty will disagree with that but at the end of the day Wigan took an opportunity they've done pretty well out of it IMO for me the biggest failing on both parties is no sorting this naturally at the end of last season

I think you are being ridiculous.

Of course Wigan saw an opportunity (I thought it was a bit desperate at the time myself) and took a risk but to do so they had to invest time and effort in the player and as a result of that Hardaker's career was rescued. You are only looking at one half of the equation and he'd be nowhere without Wigan's efforts so I think you are being ridiculous to suggest he owes Wigan nothing and the fact he actually has a career isn't something he should be grateful for.

I was going to be made redundant once and my manager at the time went out of his way to find me another position in the company. Do you think I wasn't grateful for that and just thought OK then, I won't put myself out going forward because all I had to do according to my contract was work 9-5? Or even better, I could from then on decide to turn up late regularly and do so without batting an eye?

Hardaker was also given another chance by Wigan and it doesn't matter if that was opportunistic on Wigan's part. And yes you can argue he hasn't even done the equivalent of 9-5 because his failure to do so is why he's been sacked. All he had to do was turn up and see his contract out but he couldn't even do that so I think the club itself and fans are more than entitled to feel he has let them down.

If anything good comes from this Wigan will have learned a lesson to leave problem players who have gone off the rails well alone not matter how good that are.

I think it’s ridiculous to assume he wouldn’t of got another playing contract - maybe not at a top club but had wigan not picked Zak up then someone would of - like they will now - I think the deal of picking him up worked both ways.

What exactly does he owe wigan that any other player doesn’t? What’s the length or breadth of this owe? Does Cade Cust owe us because we’ve give him an opportunity to be a starting half that he couldn’t get in the nrl?

Wigan offered him a platform to get his career back on track on a trade off of getting a very good player on the cheap - he’s played 61 times for us and given his all - what’s he supposed to do stay at Wigan forever??

Things could of ended better I get that but again the club need to shoulder some of that because this was a clear end point at the end of last season and with better planning he could of gone his own way and we could of recruited a centre instead

I’m not saying Zak’s done the right thing but while he’s been here he’s always played well for us and for me we’ve got far more from him than other players who don’t seem to get called rotten for leaving the club

[MrAlex]

I read somewhere that he had a massive argument with Peet in front of all players and staff after the Wakefield game because he "only lives 20 minutes away" and didn't want to get on the team bus back to Wigan then drive all the way back.

Surely there must be more to it than that?

[PorterjohLam]

Josie was spot on, and for my money - how far, genuinely, has this great club fallen that a few good performances seem to shield them from any criticism?

I've been called a troll today for saying he was one of our worst signings. Fair enough, that might be your view. Mine is that the players who play for Wigan should respect the club and the shirt. I don't honestly believe Hardaker has ever done that and being a good player in a dreadful team or an average one in a decent team doesn't blind me to that. I want players who want to play for Wigan, who want to put the effort in for Wigan, and buy into a culture of winning.

Hardaker, for all the reasons Josie specified, may have worn a Wigan shirt but for me should never have been a Wigan player. Good luck to him. Yes, as everyone helpfully pointed out, we've signed much worse players. That's why I didn't say one of our worst players ever. But in terms of the culture, the respect, the drive, the effort? One of our worst signings for sure. Get me 17 who want to put themselves on the line to be the best they can be for the club.

And this:

I didn't like him either. Incredibly arrogant and acted as though he was owed something from the world. I also found him disrespectful to us on several occasions. He acted like he didn't want to come and play for us and did so begrudgingly.

On Hastings, is spot on. Another one who certain people were blind to because he played well occasionally. Some people think they're bigger than Wigan RL. And they aren't. And it says a lot about where we've ended up that some people seem to think that it's acceptable.

[Suzieb]

Are we going to sign a replacement.

[medlocke]

Are we going to sign a replacement.

Jimmy Keinhorst

[DaveO]

I think it’s ridiculous to assume he wouldn’t of got another playing contract - maybe not at a top club but had wigan not picked Zak up then someone would of - like they will now - I think the deal of picking him up worked both ways.

What exactly does he owe wigan that any other player doesn’t? What’s the length or breadth of this owe? Does Cade Cust owe us because we’ve give him an opportunity to be a starting half that he couldn’t get in the nrl?

Wigan offered him a platform to get his career back on track on a trade off of getting a very good player on the cheap - he’s played 61 times for us and given his all - what’s he supposed to do stay at Wigan forever??

Things could of ended better I get that but again the club need to shoulder some of that because this was a clear end point at the end of last season and with better planning he could of gone his own way and we could of recruited a centre instead

I’m not saying Zak’s done the right thing but while he’s been here he’s always played well for us and for me we’ve got far more from him than other players who don’t seem to get called rotten for leaving the club

What has the notion he would or could have got a contract somewhere else got to do with it? Absolutely nothing. He didn't and it was Wigan who recused his career. I also don't recall there being a queue to sign him anyway. He hadn't played for 16 months and I suspect when he then followed that up with his arrest for drink driving and got a 20 month driving ban there wasn't a single club thinking they had missed out.

What he owes Wigan is a bit of loyalty for rescuing his career but even if you think pro RL is all very mercenary and what Wigan did for him should have no baring on matters, that it's all a one way street in the players favour, he couldn't even honour the deal he signed. No one suggested he stay here forever either (another ridiculous comment), just that he honour his deal. You are suggesting when a club resurrects a players career including sticking with him when he gets banned from diving and actually runs away from the bloody car when the police show up they should not even think twice about wanting out of the contract freely entered into.

Normal people who were given a chance like this wouldn't dream of reneging on their deal by behaving badly enough to get sacked but Zak Hardaker clearly isn't normal and this makes him look very entitled.

Plenty of players have also played well for us but I don't recall a single one who has wanted out of a contract early enhancing their popularity but just about all of those who do that attract a transfer fee. Players leaving early for the NRL or even leaving after fulfilling their contracts is not what we have with Hardaker anyway. He's got himself fired and is no doubt very pleased with himself.

Hopefully no other club will be as opportunistic as Wigan were and instead will prefer to give a contract to someone reliable but then even if no SL club is daft enough to employ him I suspect a championship side will offer him a deal.

It's worth reading this from 2019 which puts things in perspective.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/ ... gby-league

From there:

After leaving the clinic and resuming training with Wigan Hardaker began the process of moving away from his hometown of Pontefract for the first time. He believes that has also been crucial for his rehabilitation. “Being able to concentrate solely on rugby was why it was time to move,” he says. “At home there were too many distractions to lead me astray. I’m now in a town where rugby league is everything and the expectations of the people are huge.”

That's aged well....

[fozzieskem]

I feel the saddest thing in all of this is he couldn't just wait 5 or 6 months to walk away from Wigan with a cheery and jaunty wave as he headed out the door,the ma really is daft surely once in his career he must want to leave under good terms?

[Tricky Dicky1]

Matty Peet and John Batemans interview on Wigan TV speaks Volumes.

tHEY BOTH SUGGEST zak HAS SOME PERSONAL DEMONS AND NEEDS SUPPORT / Help.

That isnt about turning up for work late. Sounds much worse than that.

[widdenoldboy]

Wigan offered him a platform to get his career back on track on a trade off of getting a very good player on the cheap - he’s played 61 times for us and given his all - what’s he supposed to do stay at Wigan forever??

No, just see out his agreed contract. Wigan bent over backwards, allowing him to look for a Yorkshire club last year and when no one would sign him, gave him a starting place last season and this.

Sadly, he had one of his better games v Wakey but again has thrown away a good position with upcoming challenges round the corner - Saints away, CC Semi and possibility of the final.