Would he get a visa for Australia with him being banned for drugs?

He never got convicted criminally so don't think it's an issue.

There may be nothing in this but Hock was the only Wigan player not to have an interview on Wigan TV last week from our England contingent.

Each and every one had a 3-5 minute slot talking with Kelly O'Donnell about the Wales game and alll things England bar Hock. I know he's not really a player that's media friendly but you don't see much of Faz or McIlorum either and they both gave one.

May be reading too much in to it.

I read a great article about how much Wigan had invested in Hocck's rehabilitation & education during his absence. It would be a shame if he paid them back by leaving, though if he needs to escape his demons.

I think trying to escape your demons by moving from the relative obscurity of British RL to the gold fish bowl of the NRL in Oz is like jumping from the frying pan into the fire. I also think the kind of care given to him by Wigan may well not be so easy to find elsewhere so IMO he is likely to be in more danger if he leaves the fold where he is very well understood.

In any case what is in your head is going to stay there whatever continent you are on.

If he is bothered about people being a bad influence on him here there will be plenty of people waiting to try the same with him down under. Ultimately the only way he is going to avoid falling into the same trap again is by his own strength of character, not by changing which competition he plays in.

Seems some have a rather weird view Dave of the NRL and OZ as a whole. There have been many scandals over the last few years where many players have had their contracts terminated. Its like Australian is like an episode of Home and Away or Neighbours. If Hock has a problem then just going to the NRL will not be the end of the problem. Was it not coming home from tour down under that he admitted he started taking drugs.

If the rumour about him going are true then its much bigger than just a habit there is more i believe. We had the rumour about supposed injury before the Cats play off game and the fight with Fielden apparently. Hope he stays but seems from all the rumours he will go.

Unless Wigan instigated the move by offering him out to NRL clubs which is what I am hearing was the case

I find all the rumours about him falling back into his previous bad ways that got him banned very hard to believe. If he had done so the club could not deal with it by offering him up for transfer in the knowledge he had made that very same mistake twice. Hock will also be one of the most tested players in the competition due to his past record and of course he is playing for England again which exposes him to further testing. So if he had been naughty again he'd be banned already and there is no way the club would or could protect him from this and then ship him out.

If the club has instigated a move as suggested in another post I reckon it must be for other reasons.

If Hock has instigated it due to the idea he needs to leave his past behind then as I alluded to in my previous post he is kidding himself if he thinks that will fix it and it would be a pretty poor way to return the investment and faith shown in him by Wigan and a lot of the fans who wanted him to be given a second chance here.

There is a third more mundane option - he just wants to go for more money!

And of course it could all just be pure rumour with nothing in it. I guess we will find out soon if Phil Wilkinson can get it out of him.

I would imagine the demons are the 'friends' he has grown up with & the associated lifestyle, who he seems to be having trouble ditching. If he has enough about him, & that is not definite, he can choose his new friends far easier 12,000 miles away. Your last sentence is a distinct possibility, however.

He isn't available to be interviewed today.

It is looking increasingly he is going and we have got a huge transfer fee which is pointless with the cap as low as it is because a player that would command that type of fee to replace him would want more wages than we could afford

I don't believe moving 12000 miles will solve anything and I find it very strange having been through what he has he has such difficulty in ditching so called friends. If he has identified them as the problem it must be obvious to him not to associate with them any more. If they persist in trying to contact him I am sure the club would assist him in sorting that out. RL down under puts players under the kind of microscope he has never experienced here even when he was originally caught out for drug use. I think he'd be quite mad to move the NRL hoping for any kind of less stressful life off the field.

Feck it, I'll say it; this sucks and I am completely disillusioned with our game.

We've had Jeff Lima move to South Sydney, Brett Finch and Thomas Leuluai opt to move to the NRL, we've got rumours of Gareth Hock leaving to the NRL, Harrison Hansen set to be poached by New Zealand Warriors, strong rumours of Lee Mossop going on a 'sabbatical' leave to the NRL. Coupled with the fact Union snapped up Joel Tomkins - a tremendous talent lost to the game - and inevitably we resign ourselves to losing our star player, our competition's flagship player Sam Tomkins to Union when we allow ourselves to bend over and let him speak to whoever the hell he wants next year. This flat out sucks.

Okay, critics will say Wigan have poached Blake Green and Scott Taylor from Hull KR, but just say that to yourself, Blake Green and Scott Taylor. Wigan's star signing next season is Blake Green. Without getting all the scapegoat, give him a chance, stop writing him off before he's kicked a ball spiel, I never imagined for a second we would see a halfback combination of Matty Smith and Blake Green at Wigan. All our best players appear to be leaving/left/retired without any like-for-like quality coming in. Sam Tomkins, George Carmont, Jeff Lima, Brett Finch, Thomas Leuluai, Gareth Hock, Harrison Hansen, Lee Mossop etc and who are we bringing in? Epalahame Lauaki, Anthony Gelling, Ben Flower, Gil Dudson, Scott Taylor, Matty Smith, Blake Green - it makes for horrible reading. Finally the RFL will have the even competition they've been looking for when we're on the same level as Wakefield, Salford, London and all them other ty little clubs.

What is the point in heavy investment in our youth setup, developing and nuturing these young RL players not just as a player but as men too, seeing them progress through our academy system, integrate them into the first team, establish themselves in the first team to eventually move up to England RL players to then see them as established players poached by Union or the NRL. And the only BS you hear in return is "well we got a substantial transfer fee" or "we'll develop another one" or "IMO -insert any young academy player- is going to be a better player anyway" - all ridiculous points to make. The transfer fee money is no use because we can't afford the salaries of a like-for-like replacement due to salary cap restraints i.e Blake Green (Brett Finch), Matty Smith (Thomas Leuluai), that young lad who people think will excel and replace the departed player will only end up being snapped again by the NRL/Union or might well just not be as good. I mean, will Wigan ever develop a player like Sam Tomkins in the next twenty years? Say the next ten years?

Yes this is a dummy spit and probably makes for a tremendous laugh for some of the trolls on here but that is sad in itself. The glee other supporters will get when the best players from our competition (Finch/Leuluai/Carmont/Lima - possibly Mossop/Hock/Hansen/Tomkins) are poached to another sport/competition and Super League, the product they are paying for, is worse off for it, but who cares as long as we can finally compete with Wigan.

All i can say is if Hock goes there is no one in the pack to frighten anyone, they dont even scare me!!he is our only enforcer.

www.1eyedeel.com/m/discussion?id ... %3A1139257 Not sure how reliable it is but it has a quote from the chairman confirming they are in talks.

www.1eyedeel.com/m/discussion?id ... %3A1139257 Not sure how reliable it is but it has a quote from the chairman confirming they are in talks.