2008 Wigan Warriors season

The 2008 Wigan Warriors season saw the club compete in Super League XIII as well as the 2008 Challenge Cup tournament.

Season Preview

Wigan will be looking to continue their return to the top of Super League after finishing 6th in 2007. During 2008 Wigan will continue to rebuild their squad under coach Brian Noble but they will have a new owner and chairman in Ian Lenagan from 1 December 2007 after Maurice Lindsay retired and Dave Whelan decided to sell the club.

Full squad

No Player Position Weight(Kg) Height(m) Age Overseas Previous club
1 Richie Mathers Full Back 96 1.88 24 No Gold Coast Titans
2 Mark Calderwood Right Wing 86 1.85 26 No Leeds Rhinos
3 Darrell Goulding Right Centre 90 1.82 19 No Wigan Warriors Academy
4 George Carmont Left Centre 91 1.80 29 Yes Newcastle Knights
5 Pat Richards Left Wing 99 1.91 25 Yes Wests Tigers
6 Trent Barrett Stand Off 94 1.82 30 Yes St George Illawarra Dragons
7 Thomas Leuluai‡ Scrum Half 85 1.71 22 No Harlequins RL
8 Stuart Fielden Prop 108 1.91 28 No Bradford Bulls
9 Mickey Higham Hooker 86 1.73 27 No Bradford Bulls
10 Iafeta Paleaaesina Prop 118 1.87 25 Yes New Zealand Warriors
11 Gareth Hock Second Row 92 1.88 24 No Wigan Warriors Academy
12 Phil Bailey Second Row 93 1.89 27 Yes Cronulla Sharks
13 Sean O'Loughlin Loose Forward 93 1.87 25 No Wigan Warriors Academy
14 Liam Colbon Right Wing 92 1.87 23 No Wigan Warriors Academy
15 Andy Coley Prop 108 1.89 29 No Salford City Reds
16 Harrison Hansen‡ Second Row 89 1.84 22 No Wigan Warriors Academy
17 Michael McIlorum Hooker 79 1.74 20 No Wigan Warriors Academy
19 Paul Prescott Prop 99 1.90 21 No Wigan Warriors Academy
20 Karl Pryce Centre 118 1.98 21 No Gloucester RU
21 Cameron Phelps Centre 89 1.78 23 Yes Canterbury Bulldogs
22 Joel Tomkins Second Row 95 1.88 20 No Wigan Warriors Academy
23 Ben Kavanagh (On loan To Widnes Vikings) Second Row 107 1.84 20 No Wigan Warriors Academy
24 Eamon O'Carroll Prop 103 1.80 20 No Wigan Warriors Academy
25 Thomas Coyle (On loan to Halifax) Scrum Half 83 1.71 20 No Wigan Warriors Academy
26 Nicky Stanton Right Wing 85 1.80 21 No Wigan Warriors Academy
27 Lee Mossop Prop 104 1.85 19 No Wigan Warriors Academy
28 Mark Flanagan Loose Forward 90 1.74 20 No Bradford Bulls
29 Sam Tomkins Stand Off 77 1.80 19 No Wigan Warriors Academy
30 Chris Tuson Second Row 18 No Wigan Warriors Academy
31 Shaun Ainscough Left Wing 86 1.73 18 No Wigan Warriors Academy
32 Tim Smith Scrum Half 92 1.80 23 Yes Parramatta Eels
40 Sam Reay† Full Back 23 No Wigan Warriors Academy

† Added to the squad for pre-season friendlies. †† Added to the squad on 27 May 2008. ‡ Qualify as non-quota players because they were playing in the British Federation before they were 21 years of age.

Transfers

Transfer for 2008 (In)

Name Transferred From Fee Date Signed
Andy Coley[1] Salford City Reds Free Transfer September 2007
Richie Mathers[2] Gold Coast Titans Free Transfer November 2007
George Carmont[3] Newcastle Knights Free Transfer November 2007
Karl Pryce[4] Gloucester Rugby Union Free Transfer December 2007
Cameron Phelps Canterbury Bulldogs Free Transfer May 2008
Tim Smith Parramatta Eels Free Transfer May 2008

Transfer for 2008 (Out)

Name Transferred To Fee Date Released
Bryan Fletcher[5] Retired N/A September 2007
David Vaealiki[6] Manly Sea Eagles Released October 2007
Shane Millard Retired N/A October 2007
Danny Hill[7] Widnes Vikings Released November 2007
Ben Kavanagh Widnes Vikings Free Transfer June 2008
Nicky Stanton Leigh Centurions Free Transfer September 2008

2008 Loans (Out)

Name Loan To Loan Started Loan Ended
Ben Kavanagh Widnes Vikings February 2008 June 2008
Pos. Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 St. Helens 272115940457+48343
2 Leeds Rhinos 272106863413+45042
3 Catalans Dragons 271629694625+6934
4 Wigan Warriors 2713311648698−5029
5 Bradford Bulls 2714013705625+8028
6 Warrington Wolves 2714013690713−2328
7 Hull Kingston Rovers 2711115564713−14923
8 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 2711016574760−18622
9 Harlequins RL 2711016569763−19422
10 Huddersfield Giants 2710116638681−4321
11 Hull 278118538699−16117
12 Castleford Tigers 277119593869−27615
  Teams qualifying for the Play-offs
  Wigan

Source: superleague.co.uk.
Classification: 1st on competition points; 2nd on match points difference.
Competition points: for win = 2; for draw = 1; for loss = 0.

Fixtures/Results

CompetitionRoundOpponentResultScoreHome/AwayVenueAttendanceDate
FriendlyN/AWarrington WolvesLose30–22AwayHalliwell Jones Stadium6,57313 Jan 2008
FriendlyN/ABradford BullsWin16–28AwayGrattan Stadium5,03620 Jan 2008
FriendlyN/AWidnes VikingsWin18–42AwayHalton Stadium5,10627 Jan 2008
Super League XIII1Harlequins RLWin28–47AwayTwickenham Stoop8,0419 Feb 2008
Super League XIII2Castleford TigersWin28–16HomeJJB Stadium16,66715 Feb 2008
Super League XIII3HullLose24–22AwayKC Stadium13,22622 Feb 2008
Super League XIII4Bradford BullsWin28–14HomeJJB Stadium15,4441 Mar 2008
Super League XIII5Warrington WolvesLose32–20AwayHalliwell Jones Stadium13,0248 Mar 2008
Super League XIII6Huddersfield GiantsWin19–20AwayGalpharm Stadium8,41716 Mar 2008
Super League XIII7St. HelensLose46–10AwayKnowsley Road17,50021 Mar 2008
Super League XIII8Hull Kingston RoversWin18–12HomeJJB Stadium16,45724 Mar 2008
Super League XIII9Wakefield Trinity WildcatsWin8–4HomeJJB Stadium12,93328 Mar 2008
Super League XIII10Leeds RhinosWin10–14AwayHeadingley Carnegie Stadium18,7695 Apr 2008
Super League XIII11Catalans DragonsLose24–26HomeJJB Stadium13,04411 Apr 2008
Challenge CupRnd4Pia DonkeysWin74–4HomeJJB Stadium4,42320 Apr 2008
Super League XIII12Bradford BullsLose26–12AwayGrattan Stadium11,89427 Apr 2008
Super League XIII13St HelensLose57–16AwayMillennium Stadium32,5164 May 2008
Challenge CupRnd5WhitehavenWin106–8HomeJJB Stadium3,81412 May 2008
Super League XIII14Warrington WolvesWin38–14HomeJJB Stadium15,53716 May 2008
Super League XIII15Wakefield Trinity WildcatsWin38–30AwayAtlantic Solutions Stadium6,37025 May 2008
Challenge CupQFLeeds RhinosLose23–16AwayHeadingley Carnegie Stadium10,1291 June 2008
Super League XIII16Huddersfield Giants†PostponedN/AHomeJJB StadiumN/A6 Jun 2008
Super League XIII17Catalans DragonsLose45–38AwayStade Gilbert Brutus9,12514 Jun 2008
Super League XIII18Castleford TigersDraw22–22AwayThe Jungle7,04822 Jun 2008
Super League XIII19Harlequins RLWin38–20HomeJJB Stadium11,45327 Jun 2008
Super League XIII20Leeds RhinosWin23–22HomeJJB Stadium14,9115 Jul 2008
Super League XIII21Hull Kingston RoversLose39–22AwayCraven Park8,48113 Jul 2008
Super League XIII22St HelensLose46–12HomeJJB Stadium19,95818 Jul 2008
Super League XIII16Huddersfield Giants†Lose34–4HomeJJB Stadium12,21625 Jul 2008
Super League XIII23Hull FCWin66–6HomeJJB Stadium12,8421 Aug 2008
Super League XIII24Catalans DragonsDraw16–16AwayStade Gilbert Brutus9,5359 Aug 2008
Super League XIII25Wakefield Trinity WildcatsWin32–22HomeJJB Stadium12,31915 Aug 2008
Super League XIII26Leeds RhinosLose16–52HomeJJB Stadium14,77822 Aug 2008
Super League XIII27St. HelensDraw16–16AwayKnowsley Road14,1135 Sep 2008
Super League XIII PlayoffsWeek 1Bradford Bulls‡Win30–14Home/NeutralThe Stobart Stadium Halton6,80612 Sep 2008[8]
Super League XIII PlayoffsWeek 2Catalans DragonsWin26–50AwayStade Gilbert Brutus9,98520 Sep 2008
Super League XIII PlayoffsWeek 3Leeds RhinosLose14–18AwayHeadingley Carnegie Stadium13,11226 Sep 2008
  • † Wigan Warriors against Huddersfield Giants on 6 June 2008 was postponed due to resurfacing work at the JJB Stadium. The match was re-arranged for 25 July 2008.
  • ‡ Match was originally due to take place at the JJB Stadium but the venue was changed due to the unavailability of the Stadium on that date.

Statistics

Team Statistics

Statistic Total
Total Tries 109
Total Points 648
Total Goals 105
Drop Goals 2
Metres 34324
Carries 5111
Tackles 7412
Offloads 316
Attacking Kicks 282
Runs From Dummy Half 744
Tackle Busts 667
Maker Tackles 857
Clean Breaks 149
Forty Twenties 1
Kicks in General Play 497
Missed Goals 31
Missed Tackles 31
Errors 270
Penalties 229
Red Cards (Sent Off) 4
Yellow Cards (Sin Binned) 4

Top 5 Appearances

Player Name Appearances
Andy Coley 36
Thomas LeuLuai 35
George Carmont 35
Pat Richards 34
Harrison Hansen 34

Top 5 Try Scores

Player Name Tries
Pat Richards 17
George Carmont 15
Harrison Hansen 14
Thomas LeuLuai 14
Joel Tomkins 12

Top 3 Goal Scorers

Player Name Goals
Pat Richards 157
Cameron Phelps 4
Sean O'Loughlin 4

Staff

Management Board

  • President – Peter Higginbottom
  • Owner and chairman – Ian Lenagan
  • chief executive – Mick Hogan

Rugby

References

  1. ↑ "Wigan snap up Coley from Salford". BBC Sport. 6 September 2007.
  2. ↑ "Mathers returns to UK with Wigan". BBC Sport. 6 November 2007.
  3. ↑ "Wigan sign Samoa centre Carmont". BBC Sport. 27 November 2007.
  4. ↑ "Pryce back in League with Wigan". BBC Sport. 18 December 2007.
  5. ↑ "Wigan's Fletcher decides to quit". BBC Sport. 6 October 2007.
  6. ↑ "Vaealiki Joins Manly". Sporting Life. 10 November 2007.
  7. ↑ "Wigan release second rower Hill". BBC Sport. 28 November 2007.
  8. ↑ "Wigan Warriors Attendance figures 2008". Archived from the original on 23 February 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2008.
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