It sounds like there's a decent financial reward on offer, an opportunity to raise our profile through increased media exposure and all the Wigan players are clearly thrilled at the opportunity to go over and test themselves. Opportunities like this makes the club an attractive proposition to any potential future signings and whilst it puts our players in a shop window, it can also sway some of them in to staying here if the club is to provide chances like this for them. If I was a young player or a more experienced lad with an opportunity to sign for Wigan or another club and I was torn before things like this, I certainly wouldn't be now!!

And everyone's getting a cheaper season ticket...winner!!

Both me and you don't have the first clue what research has gone in to this or if it's likely to be financially rewarding. I'm prepared to put my trust in the powers that be though as I believe they've more then earned our trust over the last decade.

Every time I feel negative about how things are going, I let my mind drift back to 2005/6 and I get an overwhelming sense of satisfaction at the position the club is currently in. The owner took the club over with it in an absolute mess from top to bottom. It's currently in pretty good health from top to bottom and if he thinks this is worthwhile then that'll do for me. Is everything perfect? No. Has every decision Lenagan and the management team have made the correct one? No. Are they doing a good job overall though? Without any shadow of a doubt.

I can understand people having reservations about this (I, myself, am ambivalent about it).

But only at Wigan, it seems, could fans then start concluding that this is happening because the chairman is only here to profiteer from the club.

That's a brave accusation given that in his 10 years at Wigan, IL has paid lots of bills and delivered some pretty decent silverware.

But it's also a pretty aggressive accusation. I can honestly say - having watched Wigan since the 1960s - that IL is easily one of our better chairmen, and yet I can't remember one other who has attracted as much flak from certain corners of fandom.

It may be that malcontents have always been there, only now the internet gives them a voice. But I still find it totally baffling.

No we don't know what research has gone into it but that is the same sort of argument that justifies, for example, any signing the club makes despite any reservations from fans. The club must know best. No point discussing it then. Why is this different? If you read what they say about this objectively, they don't say a lot.



Just because we were poor in 2005/6 doesn't give the club a permanent get out of jail card. As you say not everything is perfect and not every decision Lenagan and the management team have made the correct one and I happen to think this isn't a correct one for the reasons I state.

If you want a positive then us beating Salford and so we have a Wigan v Hull Challenge Cup final is a gift for marketing this game between these two teams in Oz. The question is, who to?

It would be even nicer to see their club offer to play the return fixture at some neutral venue. Somewhere where we could help spread the gospel but where there would likely be a possibility of negotiating a deal to offset loss of revenue. Toronto?

Wigan and Hull fans based in the UK and Wigan and Hull fan immigrants in Aus. It's not to grow the game, or any of that nonsense, purely to get a payout from the NSW tourism board.