The 18th Man: 'If Wigan Warriors erected a statue, it should be...'

Leeds are erecting a statue of Kevin Sinfield and Rob Burrow. If Wigan were to erect a statue, who should be on it?

Alex Graham: I think there are too many legendary local, overseas and outer-Wigan players and coaches to pick and choose erecting a statue for. Personally, if there was a person which epitomizes ‘The Wigan Way’ of forward thinking & unquestionable mindset that only the best is good enough then it would be Maurice Lindsay.

It’s only now we realise how important Maurice was for the club, and his vision for the sport was the right one. Words can’t describe how special the era was under his leadership.

With Central Park gone and little left other than memories, a statue of one of the most colourful characters to grace the game would be a great representation of those times.

Robert Kenyon: We already have a statue of Billy Boston, but if we were to have another it would have to be Jim Sullivan without a shadow of a doubt.

He made 774 appearances for the club and holds the club points record back when tries were worth less.

Darren Wrudd: This is a tough one for me as there are so many dedicated and skillful athletes who have played for this great club and if a statue was to be put up, it would be fantastic outside the Robin Park Arena.

Billy Boston is already recognised as one of the cornerstones of the values of what Wigan RLFC is all about. That is why the town recognises him with a statue in ‘Believe Square’.

But I would perhaps like to see a more modern great player immortalised for our generations contribution. For me that could be a predictable decision perhaps but it would have to be Kris Radlinski.

Outstanding integrity and dignity at all times and epitomises just what our club strives to achieve.

A great of the international game too, he would be my choice in a heartbeat, in fact if there was a fund started I would put my name down for a donation immediately.

Ste Ford: Personally for me it would be Jim Sullivan, but I suspect other than a few older fans his name unfortunately wouldn’t resonate with the very vast majority of fans. A little more up to date I would have Sean O’Loughlin, Ellery Hanley, Martin Offiah and Shaun Edwards

Sean Lawless: There are so many people that could be in contention for a statue at Wigan, the obvious would be Billy Boston but with his statue having pride of place in Believe Square, I would like the idea of a modern day great.

A statue of combining some of the big names from the 1980s and 90s together would be great, in a similar way to The Trinity at Old Trafford or the rugby league statue outside of Wembley. However, the idea of a Shaun Edwards statue outside of Robin Park may seem lightyears away, especially after the management role issue, but having the most successful rugby league player immortalised makes sense to me.

Jon Lyon: How on earth do you pick from the huge list of players, coaches and staff we have been lucky enough to have at our club.

If you’d asked me a couple of years ago I would have said Shaun Edwards for his glittering, trophy laden career and longevity, not to mention his bravery when playing so badly injured in the 1990 cup final. There is no doubt, though, that the debacle over his coaching non appointment has tainted his reputation somewhat.

Billy Boston would be another obvious choice but he already has a statue in the town centre.

Keith Mills also deserves a mention for his years of dedication to the club, and for being one of the nicest and most genuine men I’ve been lucky enough to talk to.

I think in the end I would be torn between Jim Sullivan and Andy Farrell. Both had long and outstanding careers at the club and are the top two point scorers of all time. I just can’t split them, maybe a statue of them both representing our glorious history and also the modern era.

This week was ‘Retro round’ – what’s ‘retro rugby league’ to you?

Alex Graham: I was fortunate enough to be born in the 80s, and raised sat on the walls of Central Park, spoiled by watching some of the greatest players ever to play the sport, so for me, retro round is very much about that era and the atmosphere, occasions and competitions around the era.

However, I find it ironic that ‘’Super League’’ is now relatively retro. The sport introduced the current American influenced marketing concept in the mid-90s and we still cling onto in the 2020’s. Looking at how Premier League clubs like Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool have addressed market themselves and their logo, modern traditionalism is the way forward.

Robert Kenyon: Retro rugby league is free-flowing rugby, players trying something different and taking more chances in attack, genuine superstars playing for each team, proper kits in club colours and traditional design with minimal sponsorship and having no squad numbers. Retro is also allowing a bit of biff and stopping the current all pile in football style ruckus that does nothing other than slow the game down.

Ste Ford: A better standard of rugby. Today’s rugby is prescriptive and everything revolves around the coach when it should revolve around the players.

Darren Wrudd: I suppose for most it will be baggy shirts from years gone by, names like Norweb blazoned across the front and I must admit that I do like to see the variety on show.

But to see some of the past players on the field before the game is always a lovely thing.

These guys shed blood for us and our team and we cheered them on with such emotion as we do today, so its great to see them get some recognition that we do indeed remember.

Finally, I watched an old retro game the other day from 1994 and the big things were dodgy haircuts, even dodgier moustaches on show, was Gary Connolly ever that young, and what was Martin Offiah thinking of with those shorts!

But a bit of biff was allowed without an inquest from the commentators, and unless it was serious a ban was out of the question.

Sean Lawless: Retro rugby league is large crowds, large shirts, short shorts and success!

The 1995 theme for Wigan’s game just prompted great memories of the conclusion of an unprecedented era in rugby league and sport.

The idea of Wigan’s retro round was a great initiative during a difficult time, difficult for the club on and off the field, but also with the idea of trying to get people to attend on a Wednesday night after the St Helens game.

The incentive for new fans or returning fans having to pay £10 to see two of the biggest teams from the past ten years in Super League is a great idea.

Jon Lyon: I started watching Wigan in 1985, so when I think retro it’s probably the mid- to late-80s that springs to mind, and they weren’t a bad few years.

Despite a lot of success we had some great close battles with the likes of Warrington, Widnes, Halifax and of course St Helens.

These were some bruising encounters with plenty biff thrown in by proper hard men like Les Boyd, Kurt Sorensen and Kevin Ward.

The likes of James Bentley and Louis McCarthy-Scarsbrook wouldn’t last two minutes on the pitch against those men.

It wasn’t all fighting, though. During this era I was lucky enough to watch the likes of Hanley, Edwards, Gregory, Gill, Lydon, Bell, Kenny, Dowling, Ella, the Iro brothers, Hampson, Betts, I could go on all day, a catalogue of Wigan and rugby league greats.

We played tough but also played free-flowing rugby and the crowd were entertained win or lose, although it was mostly win under Graham Lowe.

We also had proper Test series. Great Britain might well have ended up beaten by a ridiculously talented Aussie squad but they were still great spectacles to watch.

I know I sound like my dad but they really were the good old days… now pass me a Werther’s Original and my pipe and slippers, I’m feeling old!

Hull FC chairman Adam Pearson has suggested rugby league needs an equivalent of cricket’s The Hundred to revitalise Super League and attract younger audiences. Do you agree and if so, what would you do?

Alex Graham: I don’t agree. In all honesty I’m sick of rugby league thinking ‘’targeting younger audiences’’ is about Americanised logos and over simplifying the competition.

Again, use Premier League football as an example.

The Premier League is a modern traditional competition with a traditional format and traditional marketing strategy. The ‘’younger audience’’ these days are a lot more mature than those who market rugby league think and are more influenced by their parents and peers than the product itself.

The ‘’younger audience’’ has become interested in fashion and social media.

If they’re not, it’s only a matter of time before they do and they no longer stay interested in a game which remains focused on an ever-changing format with clubs using tags like ‘’Tigers’’, ‘’Wolves’’ and ‘’Rhinos’’.

Robert Kenyon: The Hundred is good to watch, but at the end of the day people are going because its a fad much like Twenty20 was 10 or 15 years ago.

What rugby league needs to do is not attract fair-weather fans there for the fad, but get its already hooked fan base back with a good product on the pitch and the rest will follow.

To improve the product on the pitch we need to reel in how much involvement in the game the refs have, in my opinion they are spoiling the game, they need to let the games flow.

The whole obstruction rule implemented by the refs made rugby league sterile, as did the ban of the shoulder charge, I think we need to improve the game on the pitch before we plough money into fads that will wane with time.

Darren Wrudd: The only way that we could even consider a move like that would be to reduce the number of games that we subject our players to.

It’s not like cricket, standing around a field for an hour or two, every so often going to retrieve the ball.

Recovery time and player welfare would have to come first.

But to reduce the number of games would reduce the income of clubs and so it would require careful planning and I don’t think it would work.

First thing I would do is to turn down the darn music, a little atmosphere building is fine but it ruins the game for me.

You can’t talk to one another between plays as the deafening noise cuts in, this stops enjoyment so much for me that I have seriously considered whether I wish to attend at all and I know I am not alone in this.

Beyond that the game does not need improving, but the matchday experience does.

Get a group on before the game and bring in a big name or two to expand the evening’s entertainment.

A late-night market with beer tents around the ground and some decent food stands, not just greasy burgers and chips.

Let’s go up-market a bit and attract a modern punter who wants to come along for the evenings events not just 80 minutes.

There is much we could do to improve the draw for crowds without adding extra games and formats for another gimmicky fix.

Ste Ford: I agree with him 100 per cent.

I would use the Magic Weekend and have a Nines competition. The original idea I believe for the Magic Weekend was to “spread the word” in development areas and Nines could show the game off highlighting speed and the athleticism of the players.

The difficulty of this would be to deliver a national sponsor to give the competition some credibility and some much-needed national presence.

Sean Lawless: The idea that has been touted for a number of years now is a nines tournament to replace Magic Weekend and for me, that is the way forward. It could create new income, generate new audience and also a new piece of silverware for teams to compete for. Seeing the best players from each club playing in a nines tournament in Newcastle feels like an opportunity that the sport is missing, year after year.

A faster game, easy to understand, shorter match length – pretty much follows the successful blueprint of The Hundred.

Jon Lyon: I’m not a fan of gimmicks. There is no doubt the sport needs a shake up to reach new supporters and just as importantly retaining current fans, but I’m not sure this is the way to go. I don’t even see the point of The Hundred in cricket, it just seems like Twenty20 with slightly better marketing and more garish shirts.

The NRL Nines was something similar in Australia but seems to have faded in popularity already.

We have a great product but defences are so well coached that we’re struggling to post points and the pressure on teams seems to produce safety first rugby rather than risk throwing the ball about and making a mistake.

If we can get the new league format set up and tweak a few rules, hopefully preventing so many last tackle high kicks to the corner then we still have the greatest spectator sport on the planet. We need Australia to buy into a proper international calendar as those are the games that can attract new fans, but with the Aussies being as self serving as they usually are, this seems sadly unlikely.