2008 Wigan Warriors season
Super League XIII Rank4th
Play-off resultLost in Elimination Final
Challenge CupQuarter-finals
2008 recordWins: 15; draws: 3; losses: 12
Points scoredFor: 648; against: 698
Team information
StadiumJJB Stadium
Top scorers
TriesPat Richards (21)
PointsPat Richards (375)
< 2007 List of seasons 2009 >

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


Super League XIII
Pos Team
 Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 St. Helens (L) 27 21 1 5 940 457 +483 43 Semi-final
2 Leeds Rhinos (C) 27 21 0 6 863 413 +450 42
3 Catalans Dragons 27 16 2 9 694 625 +69 34 Elimination semi-finals
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 27 11 0 16 569 763 −194 22
10 Huddersfield Giants 27 10 1 16 638 681 −43 21
11 Hull F.C. 27 8 1 18 538 699 −161 17
12 Castleford Tigers 27 7 1 19 593 869 −276 15
Source: superleague.co.uk
Rules for classification: 1st on competition points; 2nd on match points difference.
Competition points: for win = 2; for draw = 1; for loss = 0.
(C) Champions; (L) League Leaders' Shield Winners

Fixtures/results

Players warming up ahead of Wigan's opening Super League tie against Harlequins RL at Twickenham Stoop
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 Jan 2008
Friendly N/A Bradford Bulls Win 16–28 Away Grattan Stadium 5,036 20 Jan 2008
Friendly N/A Widnes Vikings Win 18–42 Away Halton Stadium 5,106 27 Jan 2008
Super League XIII 1 Harlequins RL Win 28–47 Away Twickenham Stoop 8,041 9 Feb 2008
Super League XIII 2 Castleford Tigers Win 28–16 Home JJB Stadium 16,667 15 Feb 2008
Super League XIII 3 Hull Lose 24–22 Away KC Stadium 13,226 22 Feb 2008
Super League XIII 4 Bradford Bulls Win 28–14 Home JJB Stadium 15,444 1 Mar 2008
Super League XIII 5 Warrington Wolves Lose 32–20 Away Halliwell Jones Stadium 13,024 8 Mar 2008
Super League XIII 6 Huddersfield Giants Win 19–20 Away Galpharm Stadium 8,417 16 Mar 2008
Super League XIII 7 St. Helens Lose 46–10 Away Knowsley Road 17,500 21 Mar 2008
Super League XIII 8 Hull Kingston Rovers Win 18–12 Home JJB Stadium 16,457 24 Mar 2008
Super League XIII 9 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Win 8–4 Home JJB Stadium 12,933 28 Mar 2008
Super League XIII 10 Leeds Rhinos Win 10–14 Away Headingley Carnegie Stadium 18,769 5 Apr 2008
Super League XIII 11 Catalans Dragons Lose 24–26 Home JJB Stadium 13,044 11 Apr 2008
Challenge Cup Rnd4 Pia Donkeys Win 74–4 Home JJB Stadium 4,423 20 Apr 2008
Super League XIII 12 Bradford Bulls Lose 26–12 Away Grattan Stadium 11,894 27 Apr 2008
Super League XIII 13 St Helens Lose 57–16 Away Millennium Stadium 32,516 4 May 2008
Challenge Cup Rnd5 Whitehaven Win 106–8 Home JJB Stadium 3,814 12 May 2008
Super League XIII 14 Warrington Wolves Win 38–14 Home JJB Stadium 15,537 16 May 2008
Super League XIII 15 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Win 38–30 Away Atlantic Solutions Stadium 6,370 25 May 2008
Challenge Cup QF Leeds Rhinos Lose 23–16 Away Headingley Carnegie Stadium 10,129 1 June 2008
Super League XIII 16 Huddersfield Giants† Postponed N/A Home JJB Stadium N/A 6 Jun 2008
Super League XIII 17 Catalans Dragons Lose 45–38 Away Stade Gilbert Brutus 9,125 14 Jun 2008
Super League XIII 18 Castleford Tigers Draw 22–22 Away The Jungle 7,048 22 Jun 2008
Super League XIII 19 Harlequins RL Win 38–20 Home JJB Stadium 11,453 27 Jun 2008
Super League XIII 20 Leeds Rhinos Win 23–22 Home JJB Stadium 14,911 5 Jul 2008
Super League XIII 21 Hull Kingston Rovers Lose 39–22 Away Craven Park 8,481 13 Jul 2008
Super League XIII 22 St Helens Lose 46–12 Home JJB Stadium 19,958 18 Jul 2008
Super League XIII 16 Huddersfield Giants† Lose 34–4 Home JJB Stadium 12,216 25 Jul 2008
Super League XIII 23 Hull FC Win 66–6 Home JJB Stadium 12,842 1 Aug 2008
Super League XIII 24 Catalans Dragons Draw 16–16 Away Stade Gilbert Brutus 9,535 9 Aug 2008
Super League XIII 25 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Win 32–22 Home JJB Stadium 12,319 15 Aug 2008
Super League XIII 26 Leeds Rhinos Lose 16–52 Home JJB Stadium 14,778 22 Aug 2008
Super League XIII 27 St. Helens Draw 16–16 Away Knowsley Road 14,113 5 Sep 2008
Super League XIII Playoffs Week 1 Bradford Bulls‡ Win 30–14 Home/Neutral The Stobart Stadium Halton 6,806 12 Sep 2008[8]
Super League XIII Playoffs Week 2 Catalans Dragons Win 26–50 Away Stade Gilbert Brutus 9,985 20 Sep 2008
Super League XIII Playoffs Week 3 Leeds Rhinos Lose 14–18 Away Headingley Carnegie Stadium 13,112 26 Sep 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

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.

External links

Wigan Warriors
2008 in rugby league
Categories