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.

Contents

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 1st December, 2007 after Maurice Lindsay retired and Dave Whelan decided to sell the club.

Full Squad

No Nat 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)

Nat 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)

Nat 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)

Nat Name Loan To Loan Started Loan Ended
Ben Kavanagh Widnes Vikings February 2008 June 2008
Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 St Helens 27 21 1 5 940 457 +483 43
2 Leeds Rhinos 27 21 0 6 863 413 +450 42
3 Catalans Dragons 27 16 2 9 694 625 +69 34
4 Wigan Warriors 27 13 3 11 648 698 −50 29
5 Bradford Bulls 27 14 0 13 705 625 +80 28
6 Warrington Wolves 27 14 0 13 690 713 −23 28
7 Hull Kingston Rovers 27 11 1 15 564 713 −149 23
8 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 27 11 0 16 574 760 −186 22
9 Harlequins RL 27 11 0 16 569 763 −194 22
10 Huddersfield Giants 27 10 1 16 638 681 −43 21
11 Hull 27 8 1 18 538 699 −157 17
12 Castleford Tigers 27 7 1 19 593 869 −276 15
  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

Competition Round Opponent Result Score Home/Away Venue Attendance Date
Friendly N/A Warrington Wolves Lose 30-22 Away Halliwell Jones Stadium 6,573 13/01/2008
Friendly N/A Bradford Bulls Win 16-28 Away Grattan Stadium 5,036 20/01/2008
Friendly N/A Widnes Vikings Win 18-42 Away Halton Stadium 5,106 27/01/2008
Super League XIII 1 Harlequins RL Win 28-47 Away Twickenham Stoop 8,041 09/02/2008
Super League XIII 2 Castleford Tigers Win 28-16 Home JJB Stadium 16,667 15/02/2008
Super League XIII 3 Hull Lose 24-22 Away KC Stadium 13,226 22/02/2008
Super League XIII 4 Bradford Bulls Win 28-14 Home JJB Stadium 15,444 01/03/2008
Super League XIII 5 Warrington Wolves Lose 32-20 Away Halliwell Jones Stadium 13,024 08/03/2008
Super League XIII 6 Huddersfield Giants Win 19-20 Away Galpharm Stadium 8,417 16/03/2008
Super League XIII 7 St. Helens Lose 46-10 Away Knowsley Road 17,500 21/03/2008
Super League XIII 8 Hull Kingston Rovers Win 18-12 Home JJB Stadium 16,457 24/03/2008
Super League XIII 9 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Win 8-4 Home JJB Stadium 12,933 28/03/2008
Super League XIII 10 Leeds Rhinos Win 10-14 Away Headingley Carnegie Stadium 18,769 05/04/2008
Super League XIII 11 Catalans Dragons Lose 24-26 Home JJB Stadium 13,044 11/04/2008
Challenge Cup Rnd4 Pia Donkeys Win 74 - 4 Home JJB Stadium 4,423 20/04/2008
Super League XIII 12 Bradford Bulls Lose 26-12 Away Grattan Stadium 11,894 27/04/2008
Super League XIII 13 St Helens Lose 57-16 Away Millennium Stadium 32,516 04/05/2008
Challenge Cup Rnd5 Whitehaven Win 106-8 Home JJB Stadium 3,814 12/05/2008
Super League XIII 14 Warrington Wolves Win 38-14 Home JJB Stadium 15,537 16/05/2008
Super League XIII 15 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Win 38-30 Away Atlantic Solutions Stadium 6,370 25/05/2008
Challenge Cup QF Leeds Rhinos Lose 23-16 Away Headingley Carnegie Stadium 10,129 01/06/2008
Super League XIII 16 Huddersfield Giants† Postponed N/A Home JJB Stadium N/A 06/06/2008
Super League XIII 17 Catalans Dragons Lose 45-38 Away Stade Gilbert Brutus 9,125 14/06/2008
Super League XIII 18 Castleford Tigers Draw 22-22 Away The Jungle 7,048 22/06/2008
Super League XIII 19 Harlequins RL Win 38-20 Home JJB Stadium 11,453 27/06/2008
Super League XIII 20 Leeds Rhinos Win 23-22 Home JJB Stadium 14,911 05/07/2008
Super League XIII 21 Hull Kingston Rovers Lose 39-22 Away Craven Park 8,481 13/07/2008
Super League XIII 22 St Helens Lose 46-12 Home JJB Stadium 19,958 18/07/2008
Super League XIII 16 Huddersfield Giants† Lose 34-4 Home JJB Stadium 12,216 25/07/2008
Super League XIII 23 Hull FC Win 66-6 Home JJB Stadium 12,842 01/08/2008
Super League XIII 24 Catalans Dragons Draw 16-16 Away Stade Gilbert Brutus 9,535 09/08/2008
Super League XIII 25 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Win 32-22 Home JJB Stadium 12,319 15/08/2008
Super League XIII 26 Leeds Rhinos Lose 16-52 Home JJB Stadium 14,778 22/08/2008
Super League XIII 27 St. Helens Draw 16-16 Away Knowsley Road 14,113 05/09/2008
Super League XIII Playoffs Week 1 Bradford Bulls‡ Win 30-14 Home/Neutral The Stobart Stadium Halton 6,806 12/09/2008[8]
Super League XIII Playoffs Week 2 Catalans Dragons Win 26-50 Away Stade Gilbert Brutus 9,985 20/09/2008
Super League XIII Playoffs Week 3 Leeds Rhinos Lose 14-18 Away Headingley Carnegie Stadium 13,112 26/09/2008

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

Rugby

Administration

Marketing

Community Development

Finance

Lotto

References

  1. ^ "Wigan snap up Coley from Salford". BBC Sport. 2007-09-06. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/super_league/wigan/6981878.stm. 
  2. ^ "Mathers returns to UK with Wigan". BBC Sport. 2007-11-06. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/7080606.stm. 
  3. ^ "Wigan sign Samoa centre Carmont". BBC Sport. 2007-11-27. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/super_league/wigan/7115051.stm. 
  4. ^ "Pryce back in League with Wigan". BBC Sport. 2007-12-18. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/super_league/wigan/7150378.stm. 
  5. ^ "Wigan's Fletcher decides to quit". BBC Sport. 2007-10-06. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/super_league/wigan/7031298.stm. 
  6. ^ "Vaealiki Joins Manly". Sporting Life. 2007-11-10. http://www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=rleague/07/11/26/RUGBYL_Vaealiki.html. 
  7. ^ "Wigan release second rower Hill". BBC Sport. 2007-11-28. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/super_league/wigan/7117035.stm. 
  8. ^ Wigan Warriors Attendance figures 2008

External links

Seasons
2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011
Stadiums
Folly Field (1872–1877; 1879–1886) • Prescott Street (1877–1879; 1886–1901) • Springfield Park (1901–1902) • Central Park (1902–1999) • DW Stadium (1999–present)