Quote Wigan Peer="Wigan Peer"Hardly our fault that no body else, excepting Leeds, could be d to try. Most teams, like your own were happy to remain in the dark ages. And blow me, things have hardly changed. Funny how we got stick for doing what we did with money, but when Warrington do it, it's seen as "Building a legacy". I just hope you learn the lessons that we did.'"
You won't get me complaining about what Wigan did in building that squad...I know other Wire fans and fans of other clubs come on here throwing the 'everyone else was part time' line, but IMO that was everyone else's problem. Wigan took RL forwards in that era and for me as an RL fan, that era was the time when rugby league was strongest, especially from around 1992-94, international RL was strong and there were a lot of great players around of the calibre you don't get any more.
Wigan monopolised RL during that era for three reasons,
1. They had the resources and ambition to spend big and bring in guys that they knew were going to be all time legends, fairly early in their careers, ie Hanley, Bell, Lydon Andy Gregory, Offiah. Also went to union and picked some great signings like Tuigimala and Botica away from the All Blacks.
2. They had a great pool of local talent that they nurtured and brought into the first team, Edwards, Clarke, Farrell, Radlinski and Robinson although he was from Hunslet was also picked up by Wigan's youth system. This contributed great players to GB so we all benefited. Those guys were world beaters up there with the big guns named above.
3. They had great leaders, especially Bell, Edwards and Hanley, that instilled a winning culture and a will to win. Those guys were probably the 3 physically and mentally toughest players I have ever seen. The Wigan dressing room with them in would have been better prepared and better able to do what it took to win than anyone.
When people complain about money and resources its just bitterness IMO because yes Wigan had that advantage and also going to Wembley every year helped retain that advantage but you can't ignore points 2 and 3, it was not just about spending money. Wigan were always fighting for trophies on multiple fronts and given all the smaller cups around those days Wigan were always in finals so at the end of the season they had backlogs of fixtures that meant playing 3 times a week, and the Wigan players had to do that every season and still thrived, this would not have happened without the toughness and preparation from point 3 above.
On here Wigan fans give Warrington stick these days for trying to spend money to bring players in...we are nowhere near the level Wigan were at, but you can see what we are trying to do, we're trying to bring our own players through our academy and getting the culture right by loading up with top names from outside. It is getting us some success and its hard work, but we always have other teams wanting to put us down for it. What Wigan did in that era will not be repeated any time soon, all we can do is try to do the best we can and get ahead of our rivals, so why put us down for it...
