WiganWarriorsFans.com

I would recommend you listen to the full podcast, 80 minutes of joy.

Firestarter wrote: ↑Sat Jan 27, 2024 4:31 pm

endoman wrote: ↑Sat Jan 27, 2024 2:43 pm Listen to Andy Greg on the Wigan Way podcast about Schofield.

Go on spill the beans please

Wouldn’t want to misquote Greg. It’s toward the end of the podcast IIRC. Let’s say Greg is not a fan.

endoman wrote: ↑Sat Jan 27, 2024 5:58 pm

Firestarter wrote: ↑Sat Jan 27, 2024 4:31 pm

endoman wrote: ↑Sat Jan 27, 2024 2:43 pm Listen to Andy Greg on the Wigan Way podcast about Schofield.

Go on spill the beans please

Wouldn’t want to misquote Greg. It’s toward the end of the podcast IIRC. Let’s say Greg is not a fan.

Ill have to listen to that

Listened to the Wigan World podcast with Andy Gregory.

He says (in my own words from memory) "Garry Schofield slags other players off, which isn't right."

"I said to him, 'Show us your CV, Garry. What've you got on it? A Yorkshire Cup winners medal and a Boys Brigade badge from when you were 12!' "

yep, followed by " you won ****in nothing".

lucky 13 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 27, 2024 10:43 am I think he's so arrogant he thinks we cheated as that's the only way we could have beat any team with him in it. I think Powel carries same chip on his shoulder. I'm sure Leeds either went fully pro around same time as we did, either just before or just after us. Widnes and Saints season or so later. The coaches we brought in probably made a massive difference to our dominant era and for me only thing we was guilty of was winning. Since all clubs went pro in SL era four teams have won the equivalent of the league, in the same period before it time wise 12 teams won it. That sort of negates the argument of the supposed level playing field. I'm pretty sure the original license was brought in to improve clubs standards on and off the field and protect against teams spending beyond their means?
Leeds also signed many big names that didn't really hit the heights. Plenty from RU couple of all blacks and so on I think Gary just played for the wrong team at the wrong time.

Yes this is true, it was Leeds who brought in the first professional players on their books.

John Holmes was one of them, they signed a fullback the same year as a full time player his name escapes me in 1982, Lee Crooks for Hull was also a professional for Hull I believe, I think ours was Shawn Edwards. At the time we were followers more than innovators and had to play a little bit of catch up, I think the older supporters could possibly confirm this.

Our business model changed to attract the best players by offering full time contracts like teams did before us thus announcing being a full time professional team to stave off competition rendering us a more attractive proposition.

We were most definitely not the first and teams used it to their advantage behind closed doors as a way of gaining an upper hand on opponents.

We were the first to publicly come out and declare we were professional whilst other teams fielded professional players under the guise of being semi pro.