A lot of RL fans said the same(inc Saints fans) when we signed Gleeson from Hudds,he did not turn out too bad did he.

Gleeson was only 19 when you signed him, Shenton isnt as young and will be a lot harder to develop as he is coming into his prime.

I think Shenton will do well for you and be a good signing for you. I just have to go with our chairmen if he implies players like that weren't right for us on the money they required - doesn't make him bad for you guys, you've an entirely different pay structure to us.

I'm not too bothered about Thornley personally.

I've always thought people have over rated him and he's been in talks with Union for years. No point in keep putting effort to persuade him to stay year after year when his heart obviously isn't in the club.

I still think Marsh is the better prospect and glad that it looks like he's staying.

I couldn't agree more. At the end of the day, Maguire and Wane have both proved that we can trust their judgement. They've had quite a lot of time with these kids now, and are surely in a better position to make decisions about who is worth what they're asking and who isn't.

Plus, as you say, Thornley seems to have been flirting with RU for quite a while. Whether that's him or his agent (Endacott?), I'm not sure, but it's hardly the kind of 'fair weather' personality we want at Wigan.

it is disapointint when you train a player up, wait for him to leave school before pushing him to hard (i believe that was his parents wish), and as soon as he leaves school he leaves the club. although most of us would have done the same given the money on offer.

I think that's a sweeping statement.

Other kids have been offered good money to leave Wigan, and have stayed.

It's important to remember that some kids simply can't face the training regime at Wigan. The grass looks a lot greener when you don't have to run your guts out on it just to get selected for the 19.

I personally believe any lad who crosses at such a young are is making a major mistake if they can earn a deal with a good league club.

The game of rugby league develops skill pace and vision under pressure and until you have a good few years of first grade you will never reach your potential in either code.

Union wants athletes from League with pace and a strong defence taking these kids so young they do not get the article and I do not think they ever will because they are not exposed to our code of rugby at the top level or for long enough.

Many do not like Offiah but he seems to be doing right by Eastmond giving him the correct advise keep him in our code till he matures further then let him cross the divide if the offers come. Long term it will be far more profitable for him.

The perfect age to change is between 23-25/6 after 3-4 full seasons not long before they get a chance to pick up the traits they are looking for from rugby league athletes.

I hope the kid goes on and becomes a full England International, but I do not think he will ever reach his full potential now regardless of how well he does.

I fear we're going to have this problem for a while.

It amazes me that a club like Sale - who, when you look at them, are pretty laughable - can afford to outbid a club like Wigan, but Rugby Union seems to have bottomless pockets. It also seems to have zero knowledge of player development - for all the reasons you mention, but also because the money Sale threw at Thornley was astonishing given that he'd never been tested in a real match. (Did it never occur to anyone at Sale to ask why?)

I'm now hearing that numerous agents have got wind of Wigan's superb youth system, and are dogging us more or less constantly. For example, I'm not quite sure that Frank Endacott is such a friend of Wigan as many fans believe.

We really need to hope that some kind of modification has been made to the Salary Cap before the bulk of these Wigan youngsters reach the end of their current contracts, or else we may well be losing more.

Mick Hogan was at the Wigan v Wire game on Friday.

Quote: ABP' "I'm not too bothered about Thornley personally. I've always thought people have over rated him and he's been in talks with Union for years. No point in keep putting effort to persuade him to stay year after year when his heart obviously isn't in the club. I still think Marsh is the better prospect and glad that it looks like he's staying.'" According to Sale's director of rugby [i"Iain is one of the hottest young properties in both codes of rugby."[/i Quote: ABP' "It also seems to have zero knowledge of player development - for all the reasons you mention, but also because the money Sale threw at Thornley was astonishing given that he'd never been tested in a real match. (Did it never occur to anyone at Sale to ask why?)'" [i"He has chosen to move to rugby union although he was a member of the Wigan first team squad and was attracting interest from Australian Rugby League sides."[/i Sharks director of rugby Mike Brewer said"Iain's name was brought to my attention shortly after arriving at the club and after having a look at him play and talking to him, I decided to sign him up."[/i Sounds like Sale were keeping tabs on him a long while before actually signing him. Can we assume they've been/are monitoring some of our other youngsters? www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague ... 01328.html

Quote: ABP' "I'm not too bothered about Thornley personally. I've always thought people have over rated him and he's been in talks with Union for years. No point in keep putting effort to persuade him to stay year after year when his heart obviously isn't in the club. I still think Marsh is the better prospect and glad that it looks like he's staying.'" According to Sale's director of rugby [i"Iain is one of the hottest young properties in both codes of rugby."[/i Quote: ABP' "It also seems to have zero knowledge of player development - for all the reasons you mention, but also because the money Sale threw at Thornley was astonishing given that he'd never been tested in a real match. (Did it never occur to anyone at Sale to ask why?)'" [i"He has chosen to move to rugby union although he was a member of the Wigan first team squad and was attracting interest from Australian Rugby League sides."[/i Sharks director of rugby Mike Brewer said"Iain's name was brought to my attention shortly after arriving at the club and after having a look at him play and talking to him, I decided to sign him up."[/i Sounds like Sale were keeping tabs on him a long while before actually signing him. Can we assume they've been/are monitoring some of our other youngsters? www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague ... 01328.html

Which is why I placed the quote after your post.
Living away I don't get to see the young lads, but having talked to mates at the game last week I came away thinking it certainly isn't the end of the world.

Danny Williams. Last thing I heard he was still on the wing, still at Newcastle and scoring tries.