Ryan Hoffman believes Wigan Warriors' 'strong leaders' are the reason behind the club's success

The former second-rower played in cherry and white during a singular season in Super League back in 2011.

Hoffman believes Wigan’s strong leaders is the reason why the club has been so successful over the years.

He said: “It’s what you need and is a sign of a good club. Culture, whether it’s good or bad, is very hard to break.

“If it’s good like the one Wigan has, you have people who have lived and breathed it, being part of the success that the club has had.

“You’ve had people like Waney (Shaun Wane), and then Lockers (Sean O’Loughlin) more recently. You can even throw Rads in there (Kris Radlinski).

“Those guys have been leaders of that club. When there is such a proud history, you don’t want people from outside telling you what it is about, you want the people who have created it.

“That’s what we try to do here at Melbourne. We get former players who have been involved and know what the club is about to carry on that culture and that legacy. If you do that then you are already winning the battle.

“What’s great about Wigan is they get young kids that have grown up in the area, who have seen and supported it.”

Hoffman is now football operations manager for Melbourne Storm, and is pleased he’s been able to stay involved in rugby league following his retirement in 2018.

“I love the game, I grew up with it with my dad playing, so I was always around it, and it’s all I ever wanted to do,” he added.

“I wanted to be a rugby league player and no one could tell me otherwise.

“To be able to stay involved in the game is great. I didn’t want to be a coach, I didn’t see that as my future, but the role of a football director is getting more prevalent and needed.

“I think Kris Radlinski was the first one of those over there and Wigan have seen how beneficial he has been for the club. Here in Melbourne we’ve got Frank Ponissi who is arguably the best in the business.

“To be able to have a role in that section is something I enjoy.

“Former players get a good scope of what players need, but also what coaches need. I see the role of the football director of doing all the things so then the coach only has to worry about picking the football team.

“All they should be worrying about is getting the results on the park.

“We don’t set targets on Grand Finals or where we finish, we want to play to our potential, and nothing disappoints us more when a Storm team doesn’t do that.

“Last year was the greatest single season we had, but we fell over at the end which left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. Things are going well at this stage, but we’ve got some players in really good form.”