It still blows my mind that this was ever seen as a good idea. Good lord. A lot of the others were great players, we just didn't keep them around long enough (or couldn't, in cases like Willie Peters).

I'll also never really understand why we didn't give Luke Robinson a go and instead ended up with Orr (who was mostly useless as I recall) and Moran in later years. I mean I know one of the stories about why he was let go (re: Pongia) but surely it was more than that?

Orr was good, Robinson was moved on for having a big mouth if I recall, Clinch and Chester was a worse selection

I think Lindsay and then Whelan were struggling to adapt to the SL era and the rise of Bradford and Saints and were acting like those presidents of the galacticos European football teams who like shopping for players and changing coaches in the hope that something works. Halifax had a great season in 1998 and were the team on the rise, so their best players Florimo, Chester and Clinch turn up at Wigan. Orr was the rising star at Cas, so they get him in. Moran was a one-man team in London, so they get him in.

It was a strategy that kept Wigan trapped just below the top tier, they had a rotating door of talented players who came in and out but they didn't have the stable core that Bradford, Saints and Leeds did, other than Farrell, and when he left the foundations caved in rapidly. It was similar to the Sydney Roosters in the 1990s (when Lam was there), they were the 'transit lounge' for big names coming and going then something clicked in the early 2000s when Ricky Stuart was coach and they dominated the NRL for a while.

In the 2010s Wigan had a different approach, much more strategic, no vanity signings, mostly a home grown core and then some signings strategically bought in. Some of these, Blake Green, Matty Smith, were like Clinch in that around the league people thought is this guy really a Wigan calibre player, but they fit the team and what Wane was trying to build.

I remember early in 2004 seeing an interview with Mike Gregory when he was hinting at changing the culture in the direction of the type of thing Wane would later bring in - moving away from big names and big egos towards building the squad around the generation of talent coming through. Obviously tragic events intervened but if that hadn't happened, it would have been interesting to see if Whelan would have had the patience for MGs approach. He soon reverted to type, bringing in Millward and then going on that big recruitment spree for 2006 which completely tanked.

we signed Florimo from Aus, was a rumour all year since Henry Paul said he was going to leave, he went to Fax from us, we signed Clinch and Chester after Fax stuffing us in the season I think they were mid season transfers, thats how desperate we were, Blake Green was awesome

Ah yeah I got Florimo's clubs the wrong way round. In 99 there was a weird level of panic around Wigan and Goodway. I wonder how much of it was affected by the pressure to leave Central Park with another title, it was a strange dynamic with Hanley coaching Saints too.

Watching the season review of the 94/95 season the other day, and that team was a try scoring machine. Henry Paul, Offiah, Robinson, Connolly, Inga, Edwards, and Botica, plus a young Radlinski, Murdoch was decent, and even Sean Long and Barry John Mather breaking through to chip in.

that was my best backline also

As an outsider I thought 94/95 was 'peak Wigan' of all their dominant years. The year before under Dorahy Wigan hadn't been the same side and nearly got chased down by Wire and Bradford. People were starting to say the chinks were showing and the end of the dynasty was in sight. Then in 94/95 Wigan went on to another level.

I also think RL as a sport peaked around that time, at least in my lifetime watching (1989 - ). There were so many quality players around and also some iconic teams. As well as Wigan there was Mal Meninga's Canberra Raiders in Aus. I thought GB under Mal Reilly/Ellery Hanley had a cracking side at that time but they were surpassed by a great Kangaroos team.

However, a lot of the game's best players were late into their careers then: Hanley, Gregory, Davies, Schofield, Offiah, Edwards and as the retirements started the quality of RL went in to a steep decline in the first few years of summer rugby.

I remember seeing that Bradford team of 97 that was unbeaten at the time it clinched the title on points and thinking, a couple of years ago this team wouldn't have got near Wigan. Even the Wigan team that won in 98 was a long way off the teams of the past. You could also see by the calibre of Aussie players who were able to be dominant players here. Clinch had his great season with Halifax, and then Adrian Vowles won Man of Steel.

The game picked up in standard again in the early 2000s with the Saints and Bradford teams of the era and then Leeds and I think we had another peak around mid 2000s, Wigan were on a down spell then though.

Indeed. I think at the end of that season Clarke and Betts went down under, with Botica leaving also, and by the end of the final winter season, Offiah had moved on as well. The 94/95 team had some real quality in depth, with guys like Acheson, Radlinski, Murdoch, McDermott, Cassidy not first choice, and Haughton et al coming through. Sadly guys like Haughton never had the sustained impact of Betts, who he replaced, which is a shame as he looked like he would be a world beater.

Offiah made 10 appearances in 96 and then went to London. He played in a the two Bath games and the 7s.

Radlinski, Robinson, Tuigamala, Connolly, Offiah, Paul, Edwards.

That was Wigans back line in their opening Superleague game at Oldham. Still the best back line ever in Superleague history IMO.