He was NOT charged let alone convicted of assault. I assume you are dead against John Bateman wearing the Wigan shirt Pieman?

paying compensation and admitting the assault? What did Bateman do? He didnt throw a punch Mossop did Bateman threw a bottle in jest and it hit Mossop that why Bateman didnt retaliate.

Grow up and some someday you might need to shave.
I see you posted evidence of your pathetic rant of ANYBODY posting such shoite.. All front and jack shoite brains or backbone.
Jog on and don't ever respond to me again.
If I want to communicate with foul mouthed runt I will get back to you

Someone earlier in the thread mentioned Rads' biography, in which he talks about the deteriorated Wigan culture that had to, and did, change back for the better with MacGuire. Signing a serial offender like Zak would be, IMO, a step backwards away from that progress. If it was just the drugs, I might be less concerned, but he has multiple problems going back many years. Some people are just "bad boys".

I agree. I personally don't want him anywhere near the club and also believe John Bateman should have been sacked.

For me there’s three sides to this argument;

He did drugs and has a history
As have many other current and former SL players, they just weren’t or haven’t been caught, I know because I’ve seen it (admittedly it was a while ago). I’m not condoning it in anyway, he should have known better than to put the old white stuff up his nasal passage being the MOS contender he was and arguably the best player in the league at the time with an almost guaranteed spot in the England World Cup team.

Cocaine usage at the minute, is a major issue in society, it is everywhere. Every pub/club/restaurant you go to there will be someone in there under the influence of it or in possession of it. Again it doesn’t condone it but that’s the bigger picture and it’s all well and good saying “he should know better” which he probably should, but have you ever done something knowing you definately shouldn’t and if caught you’re in a world of the smelly stuff?

He has made mistakes, absolutely no question of it. He must know that this truly is last chance saloon, anymore indiscretions no matter the size will be the end of Zak Hardaker.

Where does he play?
Tricky one this. His best form is by far at FB but we already have a talented player in Escare at FB and Zak is far too good to play second fiddle to anyone. Therefore I can only see him being a centre which creates a conundrum with Gildart and Sarginson operating there. It either means Gildart is going or is expected to go to the NRL or SW doesn’t see Sarginson as a long term fix. I’d be inclined to suggest the former rather than the latter.

What message does it send out?
Interesting one for me and this is where we have to be extremely careful. ZH isn’t the first player we have given a chance to after a cocaine episode and the first one with Hock blew right up in our faces. Then there was the Bateman incident which you could say was dealt with efficiently and hasn’t backfired on us. There’s bound to be others that I haven’t mentioned or that we don’t know about that are dealt with internally.

I wonder what all these chances we give to players who take drugs or act the idiot and the message it sends out to the younger players is; It doesn’t matter if you make a mistake, if you’re good enough we’ll stand by you? It’s a reasonable point to make, would this chance be given to a players such as Willie Isa, Ryan Sutton? Questionable.

Personally, I think the signing of ZH would be a fantastic acquisition for the club. He is/was a world class player with an unquestionable level of talent. However, his playing contract must be in favour of the club, he cannot sign for us then go out and clock someone on King St and still be a player at the club.

It’s not without its risks and clear controversies but is the signing of ZH worth it? Definitely.

If it were just the drugs, I might agree, but he has a long and varied history of past indiscretions that shows there is an underlying problem that goes further than just one moment of bad judgement. Not for me.

Yeah I can see that point and understand it truth be told. It’s certainly a divisive and risky signing.

Lots of players have led questionable lives, and have been in and out of trouble, and their clubs have stood by them - not for philanthropic reasons, but because they've invested a lot in them.

This can't just be dismissed. Wigan RL is a business, and its survival and success depends on smart business decisions.

Signing a world-class player can turn a club's fortunes around, even if he comes with a 'bad boy' tag. Saints already look like champions, and that's significantly down to Ben Barba. Ellery Hanley was the first major signing the new-look Wigan made in the mid-1980s, and what a revolution that ushered in (the massive crowds alone made it worthwhile).

Any potential issues you have with a player due to his behaviour must be weighed against the potential gain from his on-field presence. In that regard, with Zak Hardaker, at the very least you'd have to seriously consider bringing him on board. We should remember that genuine world-class players are rare beasts in SL these days.

i can't even believe we have 9 pages discussing this.... we should absolutely 100% sign Zak if possible.

i'm confident the club is the right kind of scene to look after him, while if he does step out of line again the club would also punish him accordingly / sever ties. I appreciate fans come from all walks of lives and beliefs but the comments from some is laughable, such as "i won't be supporting wigan anymore" etc. what a load of rubbish. we've had umpteen "bad boys" over the years and many of them are still lauded to this day by the club as legends.

get real and get with the times. i'd be over the moon if we acquired his services, he would be a great utility addition to the first team squad.

Sorry, but he really isn't. IMO. He wouldn't get into *any* NRL side in his preferred (and best) position of full-back. And when I've seen him play at centre, he's looked very ordinary indeed. Not really an improvement on Sarge, and certainly not as good as Gildart.

Furthermore, if it's true that Cas sacked him because he failed *another* drugs test, all the more reason Wigan shouldn't go near him.

Well said totally agree with you loved him when he played for Featherstone on the wing and kicking goals for fun.

We could always sign Scott Moore instead...?

Hardaker was involved in an “incident” in Pontefract town centre in the early hours of this morning.
Don’t know the details but doesn’t sound good......

With Rangi Chase no doubt