This has been suggested for some time and it now looks like something is developing.

rlhttp://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/sport/rugby-league/7159762/?rl

The New Zealand Warriors are a step closer to formalising a partnership with Wigan after a successful fact-finding mission to the United Kingdom by recruitment boss Dean Bell.

The Wigan Warriors legend and also the inaugural New Zealand Warriors captain, Bell, who now heads the recruitment strategy for the Auckland-based club, recently met with officials from the English Super League's top clubs, leading player agents and attended a number of matches.

The purpose was not to scout potential signings for the 2013 season, but rather to help the Warriors build closer relationships in that part of the world.

Officials from Wigan shared those sentiments and expressed to Bell, one of 10 players in their hall of fame, an interest in forming a partnership.

"Wigan are very keen to set up some kind of partnership with us. That's maybe something we will be able to look at doing in the future," Bell said.


"We are yet to get to the final detail.

"But we might be talking about the sharing of ideas, not only by the football staff, but also marketing, sales and membership ideas.

"I did bring back some information after meeting some of the people at the top clubs in relation to that kind of thing."

Like many Super League clubs, Wigan already boast strong ties with New Zealand. A spate of New Zealanders have worn the cherry-and-white jersey with distinction and three Kiwis, Graham Lowe, Frank Endacott and Graeme West, have coached the club.

If talks progress, there is the prospect of a regular pre-season game between the Warriors and Wigan.

"Until their season changes – and it is something they are talking about – it's probably going to be a little bit impossible at the moment," Bell said.

"They're due to start their 2013 season a month before us and for any opportunity for a pre-season game right now, we'd be looking at the first or second week of January to fit it in.

"That's not going to happen.

"But I know they are talking about moving the start of their season – until it happens, it's going to be difficult."

Warriors CEO Wayne Scurrah acknowledged his club's desire to establish a stronger foothold in that part of the world.

"We are a long way off confirming any potential benefits that will flow from it. But the fact that we've made closer contact with some of the Super League clubs is going to be beneficial," Scurrah said.

"Wigan and Leeds were the main clubs that he [Bell] had detailed conversations with.

"We could share IP (intellectual property) with them – things like training data and commercial activities. It's about the sharing of ideas."

Sorry to be negative, but I actually suspect that it's more about NZ Warriors trying to pinch our best players.

When Bell first arrived over here, we heard several press statements that he was coming to cast a rule over British players. But now, all of a sudden, he came to talk about sharing 'IP property'?

I wish I believed that.

If we go into a of deal with the any NRL club, I hope we do it with eyes wide open, and try to ensure that for every one of ours who goes over there, we get one back as part of some kind of exchange deal.

Not so sure about this with the NRL cap going up.

I know we have a chance to take a closer look at their young players but they can do the same with us. What if Sam Tomkins had gone to NZ before 2009?

And it's not as if Dean Bell has a clean sheet in this regard. Both he and Frank Endacott have form for trying to take Wigan players away.

what im thinking is maybe the club see this as the only realistic way to attract nrl players with cap going up, like cruncher said in a swap type of deal. its highly unlikely wed be able to sign anyone worth having with alot less money and no inroads.

I actually think this is a great idea.

In regards to taking players it is going to happen like it or not if the player wants to test themselves in the NRL. If they do wish to go they may as well go to a club we have a partnership with so we can keep links with them.

Also it may very well work the other way, the junior Kiwi competition is extremely strong and we may well benefit from players coming our way too with no issue of State of Origin concerns or not being picked for the International games should they come.

Most excitingly for me though is the chance to form some kind of global "Warriors" brand, with significant revenue potential.

Personally I hope it happens.

With the appalling financial state the British game is in, with clubs going bust and a salary cap over 30% down in real terms since it came in, the best British clubs can hope for are scraps from the NRL table. We (British RL fans, not just Wigan fans) will need to adjust to the reality that it's going to be increasingly difficult to hold on to our star payers and that the days of top quality southern hemisphere players coming here are at an end.

At least IL is doing something to help Wigan deal with the symptoms of the financial decline of the British game, though I wish he and the other club owners would start doing something to deal with the underlying disease.

We have it worse at Wigan though. Being 'Wigan' brings extra attention to our best players.

Sam Tomkins is wanted all over the place including the other code. Leuluai has been signed up back in NZ, not many players come over here and get a big deal to go back.

Thought about this before. Despite all the doom-mongering, this IMO could actually assist us recruit and keep our best talent.

Realistically our top players are always going to be courted by the NRL, given the disparity in salary cap and potential earnings, but this at least gives us some control over this, and actually could allow us to offer better deals to players than other SL clubs, by utalising the warriors rather than seeing them as a threat.

For example............Sam in another 2 years has many offers on the table from NRL / Kick and Clap etc. which ordinarily we couldn't match - however, if the partnership is utalised in the correct way, we could actually offer a competitve deal -

Say at the moment the most we can offer Sam is £250k per year. Where as Sam may be getting offers of circa £350-400k from union and the NRL. Ordinarily we're blown out of the water, but with a partnership like this, we would have potential to offer sam say another 5 year deal, but where two years of it he would be loaned to NZW. He would still be a Wigan player, but NZW would pay us for him, enabling us to use his extra earning capacity in the NRL, and redistribute accross the rest of his contract.

Suddenly, we can offer him everything he wants - The security of a 5 year deal he would be unlikely to get elsewhere, a competitve offer with what he is being offered elsewhere, with also the opportunity to play and test himself in the best league in the world, in either code!

OK Sam may still go, as the union offer for example may still be able to out bid us, but it would at least give him something else realistic to consider.

This would probably work even better with our young up and coming talent - ie/ George Williams, Lewis Tierney, Iain Thornley etc. When Union come sniffing round our developing youngsters, as with Chris Ashton, it usually only takes an offer in the region of £100k p/a to take them away from us. What an advantage then for these players, if Wigan can offer enhanced terms, to keep them on a 5 year deal, where they know they will get the challenge of the NRL thrown in in 2-3 years time? Surely that counters anything union may turn their head with.

Again, we could loan/second the player to NZW for a fee for this period, and offer that as part of a holistic 5 year deal, which again should be able to compete with RU. OK so after they've tried the NRL we may not get them back, but at least we keep them for another 2-3 years we wouldnt have done, so at least get a bit of our investment back, and it at least stops them from being wasted talent going to union!

combined with the partnerships with saracens, wales rl and the south wales scorpions it really sounds like theres a plan in motion here.

"Global Warriors brand" - good grief, Jack Robinson was right all along in naming us Warriors back in 95!

What if he'd have spent 2008 playing in the Toyota Cup and had come back to us even better than he is now? Not saying it would have happened, but there are going to be flipsides to every argument. We might be able to send some of our better 20s out there to play in their comp instead of being loaned to Championship clubs over here.

It may also be a case where we are able to take some of their players who are on the fringes of the 1st team. We know Wane and Lenegan seem to like "project" players and this is probably what we should be looking at more now as with the NRL SC increase it is going to be more difficult to attract established players, even if this means it is likely we will only get a couple of seasons out of them before they go back. I'm sure there would also be options for coaches to go over and learn some of their techniques. As long as we don't see a massive drain of our better players leaving for NZ then the positives outweigh the negatives IMO.

We'll have Shaun Johnson, Simon Mannering and Ben Matulino please.

Johnson would be as good as Sam over here.

Mannering is past it.

At 25 Simon Mannering is "past it" don't talk rubbish he's a great world cup winning player and there was strong rumours The All Blacks wanted him to convert to Union in 2011.