Which Wigan Warriors players may be departing in the off-season?
Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2019 12:17 pm
Adrian Lam says there will be a “reshuffle” of the Wigan squad before next season.
Their Grand Final charge was derailed by their 28-4 defeat by Salford last Friday night.
And afterwards, Lam said there may be some player movement before they report back for pre-season training in November.
George Burgess, Jackson Hastings, Jake Bibby and Mitch Clark have already been recruited for 2020.
Dan Sarginson (Salford), George Williams (Canberra) and Samy Kibula (Warrington) are departed – and Lam suggested others may leave.
Fringe players would, inevitably, seem the most likely to depart – though they are all under contract for next year.
Australian halfback Jarrod Sammut has already been linked with a move to Hull KR after struggling to establish himself at Wigan.
Morgan Escare finished the season on loan at Wakefield and would be allowed to leave. Fellow Frenchman Romain Navarrete was also squeezed out of the first-team mix by the end of the season.
And when Dom Manfredi and Tom Davies return from injury, Wigan will have a contingent of four senior wingers along with Joe Burgess and Liam Marshall.
He may be open to the idea of allowing one to leave, even if it is on loan - Leeds are thought to be keeping tabs on Davies’ recovery.
“There’ll be a reshuffle in the squad with a lot of players,” said Lam. “There’s a fair bit coming in. It’s due, I think – there’ll be a different feel next year.”
He is keen to promote some of the young players into the senior squad, having handed debuts to the likes of Morgan Smithies and Liam Byrne this year.
Lam said captain Sean O’Loughlin is still in talks with Wigan about playing on next season.
He’s in negotiations with the club at the moment,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lam says Salford have got a chance in the Grand Final.
He added: “St Helens will be favourites but they were favourites in the Challenge Cup Final too. If Salford have that same mentality again they’ll give themselves a chance.”
https://www.wigantoday.net/sport/which ... 1-10036907
Their Grand Final charge was derailed by their 28-4 defeat by Salford last Friday night.
And afterwards, Lam said there may be some player movement before they report back for pre-season training in November.
George Burgess, Jackson Hastings, Jake Bibby and Mitch Clark have already been recruited for 2020.
Dan Sarginson (Salford), George Williams (Canberra) and Samy Kibula (Warrington) are departed – and Lam suggested others may leave.
Fringe players would, inevitably, seem the most likely to depart – though they are all under contract for next year.
Australian halfback Jarrod Sammut has already been linked with a move to Hull KR after struggling to establish himself at Wigan.
Morgan Escare finished the season on loan at Wakefield and would be allowed to leave. Fellow Frenchman Romain Navarrete was also squeezed out of the first-team mix by the end of the season.
And when Dom Manfredi and Tom Davies return from injury, Wigan will have a contingent of four senior wingers along with Joe Burgess and Liam Marshall.
He may be open to the idea of allowing one to leave, even if it is on loan - Leeds are thought to be keeping tabs on Davies’ recovery.
“There’ll be a reshuffle in the squad with a lot of players,” said Lam. “There’s a fair bit coming in. It’s due, I think – there’ll be a different feel next year.”
He is keen to promote some of the young players into the senior squad, having handed debuts to the likes of Morgan Smithies and Liam Byrne this year.
Lam said captain Sean O’Loughlin is still in talks with Wigan about playing on next season.
He’s in negotiations with the club at the moment,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lam says Salford have got a chance in the Grand Final.
He added: “St Helens will be favourites but they were favourites in the Challenge Cup Final too. If Salford have that same mentality again they’ll give themselves a chance.”
https://www.wigantoday.net/sport/which ... 1-10036907