If we moved Dufty to the halves it displaces Hayes and makes the Oli Leyland signing a waste unless we'll be loaning him straight back out. Leave Dufty where he is.

How long is CTW signed for? If he is that good NRL and other SL clubs will no doubt be sniffing around.

[quote="Crosswire":tlo7i8hw]How long is CTW signed for? If he is that good NRL and other SL clubs will no doubt be sniffing around.[/quote:tlo7i8hw] He has signed a contract with Wire, that expires at the end of the 2028 season :- https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/sp ... lves-deal/

[quote="Crosswire":tlo7i8hw]How long is CTW signed for? If he is that good NRL and other SL clubs will no doubt be sniffing around.[/quote:tlo7i8hw] He has signed a contract with Wire, that expires at the end of the 2028 season :- https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/sp ... lves-deal/

Think we are forgetting that CTW and Dufty don’t have kicking game unlike Leon and Oli Leyland.

[quote="Crosswire":aw9vuhfa]How long is CTW signed for? If he is that good NRL and other SL clubs will no doubt be sniffing around.[/quote:aw9vuhfa] Fortunately for us, full back is a position where there is an embarrasment of riches in the nrl. Plus, we're no longer the same club we were when Harris and Sculthorpe broke through and we were forced to sell. It's highly doubtful another super league club could prise him away from us.

Dufty ,you don't throw one of your best strike weapons away for a youngster who needs to be nurtured & eased into 1st team rugby & I'm .sure when CTW pulls on his own number 1 shirt he will explode onto the scene as a very competent player.

Reading on here it seems we are putting a lot of faith in Hayes who, after all, has played 11 1/2 games of top level RL.

[quote="Wires71":8xfew003]Reading on here it seems we are putting a lot of faith in Hayes who, after all, has played 11 1/2 games of top level RL.[/quote:8xfew003] It certainly does and it's a big ask given his age and lack of experience. In his favour, he is brave, confident, strong in defence and seems well organised with an eye for a pass and could be a really good foil for Williams. It still leaves us with no real long kicking game when we're looking to clear our lines when under pressure. From what I saw last season we have no-one with a decent long kick. That makes a difference in a tight game especially when someone like Harry Smith is in the opposition team. Hope he does really well this year and becomes a local legend. Burgess & others obviously rate him very highly.

https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/sp ... -contract/

https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/sp ... -contract/

Brilliant news, hope it's not just to fend off NRL clubs though.

Be surprised if his loyalty isn’t rewarded with vice captaincy. Williams captain.

[quote="Matt King's kitten":2ulgr281]Brilliant news, hope it's not just to fend off NRL clubs though.[/quote:2ulgr281] Well Canberra already tried that while he was still in his previous contract, I’m thinking this is 100% hands off with this new one.

I guess that will have eaten a chunk out of the little cap space we have/had left. Happy we've signed him long term, he's our future captain and gets better year in year out, another puzzle fitted in to our golden era young squad

[quote="Or thane":1q6l5165]I guess that will have eaten a chunk out of the little cap space we have/had left. Happy we've signed him long term, he's our future captain and gets better year in year out, another puzzle fitted in to our golden era young squad [/quote:1q6l5165] I read a recent interview with Chambers and he said [b:1q6l5165] “Things will come out in time but in terms of our retention, I’m over the moon with what we’ve done and how it’s going to look. There will be plenty of positive stuff to come out of that.[/b:1q6l5165] So there sounds like we will have a few extensions to announce to the current squad, he did also mention there is some space left with the cap not a massive amount but still there is some

[quote="Velcro Boots":2ywu7l8i]I read a recent interview with Chambers and he said [b:2ywu7l8i] “Things will come out in time but in terms of our retention, I’m over the moon with what we’ve done and how it’s going to look. There will be plenty of positive stuff to come out of that.[/b:2ywu7l8i] So there sounds like we will have a few extensions to announce to the current squad, he did also mention there is some space left with the cap not a massive amount but still there is some[/quote:2ywu7l8i] Chambers is a very "sensible" head at the top. I think we are getting the sort of club most of us want.

[quote="Smiffy27":vmvtrp9j]I think Chambers is a very "sensible" head at the top of our club. I think we are getting the sort of club most of us want.[/quote:vmvtrp9j] I am pleased we have someone taking the longer term, strategic view and decisions on squad recruitment and retention. Leaving the coach to concentrate on performance and keeping Karl out of harms way.

[quote="Kevin Turvey":1qvnr69d]It certainly does and it's a big ask given his age and lack of experience. In his favour, he is brave, confident, strong in defence and seems well organised with an eye for a pass and could be a really good foil for Williams. It still leaves us with no real long kicking game when we're looking to clear our lines when under pressure. From what I saw last season we have no-one with a decent long kick. That makes a difference in a tight game especially when someone like Harry Smith is in the opposition team. Hope he does really well this year and becomes a local legend. Burgess & others obviously rate him very highly.[/quote:1qvnr69d] Should be a good contest as to who plays at scrum half. Not much between him & Leyland but I'm glad Hayes got the No7. shirt. From what I saw last year I thought Leyland kicked well & he's lively with ball in hand. Can't beat competition & back up within the squad.

We seem to be moving away from “short termism” and “quick fixism” which can only be a good thing. We finally seem to be bringing our own youngsters through in the sort of numbers that can actually make a difference, lets hope we reap the rewards.

a fellow Wigan poster has posted to say Byrne has signed for you for 2026. Anyone heard anything?

[quote="Mark_P1973":1rzcxj8y]a fellow Wigan poster has posted to say Byrne has signed for you for 2026. Anyone heard anything?[/quote:1rzcxj8y] His name cropped up on page 371 of this thread, but then again, lots of names crop up, so we'll see.

[quote="The Speculator":3g2r6fwl]His name cropped up on page 371 of this thread, but then again, lots of names crop up, so we'll see.[/quote:3g2r6fwl] Apologies i didnt go back that far , just looked at the last couple of pages There is a realistic chance as he's been touted with most clubs in the off season, and this is where the change to the rules mean that the player can secure their future much earlier now

Update: Warrington Guardian now reporting it... https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/sp ... ning-2026/

Update: Warrington Guardian now reporting it... https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/sp ... ning-2026/

Is this to be Vaughan’s replacement then.

He would add a bit of spite into our front row, which we are currently missing with our current players.

I like Liam Byrne. Big lad, 100+ games for Wigan and won everything there is to win. Bit of an edge with him too. Only 25.