Was just thinking to myself of all the players Wigan came very close to signing but never did.

Can you name some?

Wendell Sailor for one, didn't he pose in a Wigan shirt or something?

Jonah Lomu was another !

Jonah Lomu

If only



Imagine him running down the wing with just the fullback to beat.

Wally Lewis.

Mark Gasnier is another.

The funniest one of all was surely Shane Varley, the New Zealand scrum half.

Some time in the early/mid 80s, Wigan announced that they were signing him. Leigh then met him at the airport and, somehow, he allowed himself to be talked into signing for them instead.

Wigan then embarked on a golden age of trophy success, while Leigh, and Shane Varley, disappeared into obscurity.

Talk about idiocy.

What happened?

I may be wrong, but the story I heard was that Lewis was all but signed but Hanley didn't want Lewis at the club, as he wanted star billing and spat his dummy out saying he would leave. Probably not true, but that's what i heard!!!

The worst one had 2 be Gasnier.

Mo went to aus2 sign him but yet came back with DV! Saints got Lyon in the same season and Gleeson went 2 wire as well.

Chev Walker
Matt Cooper
Matt King
Moi Moi

SBW
Willie Mason
Richie Myler
Richard Moore
Jamie Peacock

Didn't Matt King say we hadn't even spoke to him but he would have been interested? Glad he never he is poop.

Keith Senior but we went for Steve Renouf instead.

Nat Wood - Signed for us but after a medical found he had a broken bone in his neck he couldn't play but his wage still counted on the cap for the next couple of seasons without playing a game.

Lee Hopkins - In 2004/5/6? when London Broncos were going belly up we were in talks with him and he was readt to sign for us if they went belly up but they never, pity as he was a decent player IMO.

SBW? I don't remember anything about that, Saints tried to sign him in 2005 and he nearly went.

lautiti? signed for Leeds and we ended up with Seu Seu iirc

Carl Webb, more recently.

the warrington prop..hilton?
broke his shoulder iirc and the deal was called off.

he recovered enough to be a decent player for wire

Had you been eating cheese just before bedtime the night you dreamt that version of events up?

Wally Lewis (the greatest player at the time) DID actually sign for us. I have a picture of the signing in the boardroom at Central Park with Mo somewhere. I cant recall why he never actually played.

Mal Meninga - the story goes that Mo was down under sorting the Brett Kenny when Ray French who was also in oz contacted him.

Ray had been talking to Mal and needed some RFL registration papers to complete the deal.

Mo obliged and Ray was in the process of signing Mal up when he realized that the paperwork had Wigan RL stamped all over them.

Nice one Mo

brett hodgson,"man of steel" last year

Decent? Obviously didn't watch much of him then. Yet another player wire fans hold in high regard when he had about 3 good games in his career.

I seem to remember him being rumoured with a big money switch over here once Farrell left.

Not sure if the rumour had any truth in it.

The Yorkshire Evening Post broke that story. If memory serves, they said the deal was all but done. But I never heard mention of it again - from any source.

Possibly, it was Mo trying to keep the fans onside after the catastrophic decision to release Faz.

richie mathers....... ohh e that really did happen