New players.

[nathan_rugby]

That's basically what I am saying with a Hybrid version, not all clubs have 10k+ crowds and therefore don't have a lot of income coming in, so by having a sustainability test where the 'club' has to be solvent i.e. it can only spend so much of the clubs income, but the owners can then put in as much as they want with no tie back to the club finances, the club stays solvent but the owners or players can earn or put in what they want without it impacting on the club

Catalans don’t have 10k crowds but they do have excellent corporate sponsorship, perhaps that is because they are the only SL team in France. We are never going to attract the big companies unless we improve our product, Wigan going to Las Vegas does that from the point of view of attracting an international audience but we have got to improve the quality on the pitch as well, unfortunately the salary cap is a big hinderance in doing so.

It is a huge hinderance but clubs also need to survive and not fold every few years because they are allowed to spend beyond their means.

I am all for raising the cap and players salaries but not sure how that would make for a greater product on the pitch, unless you are talking about bringing over better players from Australia or maybe Union but not sure how many 'great' union players there are, paying Smith or any other UK born player will not all of a sudden make them better players, as a sport we may become more attractive to UK sports persons and therefore they may think it is a good career path, but there is so much competition from other sports there won't be a mad scramble to play the game.

We need to make 'all' clubs sustainable so there is a product to put out there, then invest more on promoting the game and the player profiles to make the household names, you think of RL these days and most non RL fans will think of Offia or Robinson, not modern day players.

It could stop some players going to the NRL.

It could increase the talent pool if more kids choose to purse Rugby League if they view it as a viable career option. Not sure of the figures, but there must be some who drop out of Academies at 16 or 18 because they view their options better elsewhere.

[Charriots Offiah]

Catalans don’t have 10k crowds but they do have excellent corporate sponsorship, perhaps that is because they are the only SL team in France. We are never going to attract the big companies unless we improve our product, Wigan going to Las Vegas does that from the point of view of attracting an international audience but we have got to improve the quality on the pitch as well, unfortunately the salary cap is a big hinderance in doing so.

It is a huge hinderance but clubs also need to survive and not fold every few years because they are allowed to spend beyond their means.

I am all for raising the cap and players salaries but not sure how that would make for a greater product on the pitch, unless you are talking about bringing over better players from Australia or maybe Union but not sure how many 'great' union players there are, paying Smith or any other UK born player will not all of a sudden make them better players, as a sport we may become more attractive to UK sports persons and therefore they may think it is a good career path, but there is so much competition from other sports there won't be a mad scramble to play the game.

We need to make 'all' clubs sustainable so there is a product to put out there, then invest more on promoting the game and the player profiles to make the household names, you think of RL these days and most non RL fans will think of Offia or Robinson, not modern day players.

It could stop some players going to the NRL.

It could increase the talent pool if more kids choose to purse Rugby League if they view it as a viable career option. Not sure of the figures, but there must be some who drop out of Academies at 16 or 18 because they view their options better elsewhere.

I’m with you. We need a better product and the only way of achieving that is attracting, and keeping, better players.

[WarriorWinger]

It is a huge hinderance but clubs also need to survive and not fold every few years because they are allowed to spend beyond their means.

I am all for raising the cap and players salaries but not sure how that would make for a greater product on the pitch, unless you are talking about bringing over better players from Australia or maybe Union but not sure how many 'great' union players there are, paying Smith or any other UK born player will not all of a sudden make them better players, as a sport we may become more attractive to UK sports persons and therefore they may think it is a good career path, but there is so much competition from other sports there won't be a mad scramble to play the game.

We need to make 'all' clubs sustainable so there is a product to put out there, then invest more on promoting the game and the player profiles to make the household names, you think of RL these days and most non RL fans will think of Offia or Robinson, not modern day players.

It could stop some players going to the NRL.

It could increase the talent pool if more kids choose to purse Rugby League if they view it as a viable career option. Not sure of the figures, but there must be some who drop out of Academies at 16 or 18 because they view their options better elsewhere.

I’m with you. We need a better product and the only way of achieving that is attracting, and keeping, better players.

I don't think we have such a big player drain to the NRL, yes it attracts our best players and why wouldn't it, but it is not like every good player we bring through goes off to the NRL, we need to improve the earning potential of players by player sponsors and giving owners more freedom to pay more, whilst making sure the club stays afloat.

[Southern Softy]

Not sure we need to go hunting for a big marquee signing but assuming London get the chop from SL, I wouldn't mind us investing in their full-back Josh Rourke. Good in the air and returning kicks and excellent chiming into the line, he would give us cover and mean that we could rotate if required.

[the pieman]

from a squad perspective we are in a very good position with some key players on longer term contracts which allows for stability and for us to tweak the team as opposed to some quite major changes over recent years

With Field, French, Smith, Miski, Wardle, Marshall, Thompson, Leeming, O'Neill, Nsemba, Ellis all tied down on 3+ year contracts (note there may be others i have missed), that should allow us to plan for recruitment over the next couple of years

with Cooper, Isa, Hampshire all leaving, there may be a little SC left once contract increases are factored in, and with the likes of Eckersley, Farrimond etc probably wanting a new contract, there may be little scope for a recruit this off season or unlikely to be a big name signing

we are in a good position, certainly in comparison to our friends over the hill in St Helens, who are in need of a serious makeover

where we could create some cap space is allowing players to leave to pursue 1st team rugby elsewhere, but we really only have Bryne (note this isnt a dig at him) who would perhaps benefit as he's dropped down the pecking order with Harvard, Thompson, Dupree , Mago ahead of him, and we have some promising youngsters coming through too but they would need to be managed / developed in a winning team that we have now

ideally we can retain Eckersley, with a view to him taking over from Keighran at the end of next season when Keighran is off contract, and this is where we need to be smart with our cap / player management by having players ready to take on the 1st team role, when a chance appears

[nathan_rugby]

from a squad perspective we are in a very good position with some key players on longer term contracts which allows for stability and for us to tweak the team as opposed to some quite major changes over recent years

With Field, French, Smith, Miski, Wardle, Marshall, Thompson, Leeming, O'Neill, Nsemba, Ellis all tied down on 3+ year contracts (note there may be others i have missed), that should allow us to plan for recruitment over the next couple of years

with Cooper, Isa, Hampshire all leaving, there may be a little SC left once contract increases are factored in, and with the likes of Eckersley, Farrimond etc probably wanting a new contract, there may be little scope for a recruit this off season or unlikely to be a big name signing

we are in a good position, certainly in comparison to our friends over the hill in St Helens, who are in need of a serious makeover

where we could create some cap space is allowing players to leave to pursue 1st team rugby elsewhere, but we really only have Bryne (note this isnt a dig at him) who would perhaps benefit as he's dropped down the pecking order with Harvard, Thompson, Dupree , Mago ahead of him, and we have some promising youngsters coming through too but they would need to be managed / developed in a winning team that we have now

ideally we can retain Eckersley, with a view to him taking over from Keighran at the end of next season when Keighran is off contract, and this is where we need to be smart with our cap / player management by having players ready to take on the 1st team role, when a chance appears

Spot on.

One thing I am not sure of - Will Wigan offer new contracts to players like Nsemba, Eckersley and Farrimond before their current one is up for renewal or not?

I know Rads has spoken before about players out of the academy all getting the same 2 year contract. So whilst we may be assuming there are rises to those players, it might be next year / when their current deal is up rather than this year.

Regardless, you would expect Wigan to have new deals wrapped up before players / agents can talk to other clubs. Is the rule from May each year / 6 months before expiry? Nonetheless, agents will be out there fishing well before this.

[lucky 13]

Matty Peet mentioned Farimond is on a long
term deal already although details haven't been officially outlined. Nesemba signed a new four year deal start of the year which I imagine was on decent money. Eckersley would be the next one to be in line I imagine.

[josie andrews]

Matty Peet mentioned Farimond is on a long
term deal already although details haven't been officially outlined. Nesemba signed a new four year deal start of the year which I imagine was on decent money. Eckersley would be the next one to be in line I imagine.

Farrimond is on a six year deal

[Charriots Offiah]

Not sure we need to go hunting for a big marquee signing but assuming London get the chop from SL, I wouldn't mind us investing in their full-back Josh Rourke. Good in the air and returning kicks and excellent chiming into the line, he would give us cover and mean that we could rotate if required.

I think he’s signed for Wakefield mate.

[Southern Softy]

Haven't they all!
Wasn't sure it had been confirmed though.