# 2007 Wigan Warriors season

The Wigan Warriors played in the Super League and Challenge Cup in the 2007 season.

## Season preview

2006 was a poor season for Wigan finishing 8th overall in the Super League but for most of the season they were battling with relegation. In 2007 Wigan will look to avoid another season like 2006, many players from the 2006 squad have left Wigan and been replaced by players such as Trent Barrett, Phil Bailey and Thomas Leuluai who will be important members of the 2007 Wigan squad. Players like Stuart Fielden and Chris Ashton who has impressive season in 2006 will be looking to continue their form in 2007 and some young academy player such as Darrell Goulding, Paul Prescott and Michael McIlorum will be looking to break into the first team in 2007. Wigan start the season with a tough home fixture against Warrington Wolves. Wigan will play local rivals St. Helens 4 times during the regular season including a match in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

## Fixtures and results

| Round | Opponent | Result | Wigan | Oppo | Date | Venue | Crowd | Competition |
| N | Huddersfield Giants | Lost | 22 | 24 | 21 January 2007 | Galpharm Stadium | 3,960 | Friendly |
| N | Salford City Reds | Won | 20 | 15 | 31 January 2007 | The Willows | 2,902 | Friendly |
| N | Whitehaven† | Lost | 0 | 30 | 4 February 2007 | Recreation Ground | | Friendly |
| 1 | Warrington Wolves | Lost | 10 | 16 | 9 February 2007 | JJB Stadium | 21,693 | Super League XII |
| 2 | Catalans Dragons | Won | 18 | 16 | 17 February 2007 | Gilbert Brutus | 7,052 | Super League XII |
| 3 | Bradford Bulls | Lost | 28 | 32 | 24 February 2007 | Grattan Stadium | 12,798 | Super League XII |
| 4 | Hull Kingston Rovers | Lost | 16 | 26 | 2 March 2007 | JJB Stadium | 15,178 | Super League XII |
| 5 | Harlequins RL | Won | 16 | 12 | 9 March 2007 | JJB Stadium | 14,971 | Super League XII |
| 6 | Salford City Reds | Won | 25 | 6 | 16 March 2007 | The Willows | 6,025 | Super League XII |
| 7 | Hull F.C. | Won | 30 | 20 | 23 March 2007 | KC Stadium | 12,755 | Super League XII |
| CC4 | Widnes Vikings | Won | 34 | 24 | 1 April 2007 | Halton Stadium | 6,006 | Rugby League Challenge Cup |
| 8 | St. Helens | Lost | 14 | 32 | 6 April 2007 | JJB Stadium | 24,028 | Super League XII |
| 9 | Leeds Rhinos | Won | 20 | 18 | 10 April 2007 | Headingley Stadium | 16,465 | Super League XII |
| 10 | Huddersfield Giants | Lost | 16 | 41 | 15 April 2007 | Galpharm Stadium | 7,170 | Super League XII |
| 11 | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | Won | 44 | 10 | 20 April 2007 | JJB Stadium | 14,108 | Super League XII |
| 12 | Salford City Reds | Won | 50 | 24 | 27 April 2007 | The Willows | 6,603 | Super League XII |
| 13 | St. Helens | Lost | 18 | 34 | 5 May 2007 | Millennium Stadium | 32,384 | Super League XII |
| CC5 | Leeds Rhinos | Won | 22 | 18 | 12 May 2007 | Headingley Stadium | 8,982 | Rugby League Challenge Cup |
| 14 | Hull Kingston Rovers | Lost | 10 | 12 | 18 May 2007 | JJB Stadium | 13,538 | Super League XII |
| 15 | Hull F.C. | Won | 47 | 16 | 26 May 2007 | JJB Stadium | 14,314 | Super League XII |
| 16 | Harlequins RL | Lost | 8 | 18 | 2 June 2007 | Twickenham Stoop | 5,657 | Super League XII |
| CCQF | Harlequins RL | Won | 25 | 6 | 8 June 2007 | JJB Stadium | 10,835 | Rugby League Challenge Cup |
| 17 | Catalans Dragons | Won | 30 | 0 | 15 June 2007 | JJB Stadium | 12,641 | Super League XII |
| 18 | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | Lost | 6 | 32 | 1 July 2007 | Belle Vue | 8,126 | Super League XII |
| 19 | Bradford Bulls | Won | 25 | 18 | 6 July 2007 | JJB Stadium | 15,107 | Super League XII |
| 20 | Leeds Rhinos | Won | 18 | 2 | 13 July 2007 | JJB Stadium | 14,544 | Super League XII |
| 21 | St. Helens | Lost | 12 | 19 | 20 July 2007 | Knowsley Road | 14,293 | Super League XII |
| CCSF | Catalans Dragons | Lost | 24 | 36 | 29 July 2007 | Halliwell Jones Stadium | 10,218 | Rugby League Challenge Cup |
| 22 | Warrington Wolves | Lost | 24 | 43 | 5 August 2007 | Halliwell Jones Stadium | 12,152 | Super League XII |
| 23 | Huddersfield Giants | Won | 20 | 12 | 10 August 2007 | JJB Stadium | 12,744 | Super League XII |
| 24 | Harlequins RL | Draw | 16 | 16 | 18 August 2007 | Twickenham Stoop | 3,200 | Super League XII |
| 25 | Salford City Reds | Won | 40 | 16 | 31 August 2007 | JJB Stadium | 13,611 | Super League XII |
| 26 | Hull Kingston Rovers | Won | 40 | 24 | 9 September 2007 | Craven Park | 7,370 | Super League XII |
| 27 | St. Helens | Won | 20 | 12 | 14 September 2007 | JJB Stadium | 22,036 | Super League XII |
| | Bradford Bulls | Won | 31 | 30 | 21 September 2007 | Grattan Stadium | 9,055 | Super League XII Play-offs |
| | Hull F.C. | Won | 21 | 18 | 29 September 2007 | KC Stadium | 16,291 | Super League XII Play-offs |
| | Leeds Rhinos | Lost | 6 | 36 | 5 October 2007 | Headingley Stadium | 16,112 | Super League XII Play-offs |
↑ Wigan Warriors only played a second grade squad against Whitehaven, mostly made up of players from the Wigan Warriors Academy.

## League table

Final League Table
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | St Helens (L) | 27 | 19 | 0 | 8 | 783 | 422 | +361 | 38 | Semifinal |
| 2 | Leeds Rhinos (C) | 27 | 18 | 1 | 8 | 747 | 487 | +260 | 37 | Semifinal |
| 3 | Bradford Bulls | 27 | 17 | 1 | 9 | 778 | 560 | +218 | 33 | Elimination semifinal |
| 4 | Hull F.C. | 27 | 14 | 2 | 11 | 573 | 553 | +20 | 30 | Elimination semifinal |
| 5 | Huddersfield Giants | 27 | 13 | 1 | 13 | 638 | 543 | +95 | 27 | Elimination semifinal |
| 6 | Wigan Warriors | 27 | 15 | 1 | 11 | 621 | 527 | +94 | 27 | Elimination semifinal |
| 7 | Warrington Wolves | 27 | 13 | 0 | 14 | 693 | 736 | −43 | 26 | |
| 8 | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | 27 | 11 | 1 | 15 | 596 | 714 | −118 | 23 | |
| 9 | Harlequins | 27 | 10 | 3 | 14 | 495 | 636 | −141 | 23 | |
| 10 | Catalans Dragons | 27 | 10 | 1 | 16 | 570 | 685 | −115 | 21 | |
| 11 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 27 | 10 | 0 | 17 | 491 | 723 | −232 | 20 | |
| 12 | Salford City Reds (R) | 27 | 6 | 1 | 20 | 475 | 874 | −399 | 13 | Relegation to National League One |
* ↑ Bradford deducted 2 points for salary cap breaches.
* ↑ Wigan deducted 4 points for salary cap breaches.
Wigan Warriors round by round progress during the 2007 Super League season

## 2007 Full squad

| Number | Player | Position | Previous club |
| 1 | Chris Ashton$^1$ | Fullback | Wigan Warriors Academy |
| 2 | Mark Calderwood | Winger | Leeds Rhinos |
| 3 | Phil Bailey | Centre | Cronulla Sharks |
| 4 | Michael Withers$^1$ | Centre | Bradford Bulls |
| 5 | Pat Richards | Winger | Wests Tigers |
| 6 | Trent Barrett | Stand Off | St George Illawarra Dragons |
| 7 | Thomas Leuluai | Scrum-half | Harlequins RL |
| 8 | Stuart Fielden | Prop forward | Bradford Bulls |
| 9 | Mickey Higham | Hooker | Bradford Bulls |
| 10 | Iafeta Paleaaesina | Prop forward | New Zealand Warriors |
| 11 | Gareth Hock | Second Rower | Wigan Warriors Academy |
| 12 | Bryan Fletcher | Second Rower | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| 13 | Sean O'Loughlin | Loose forward | Wigan Warriors Academy |
| 14 | David Vaealiki | Centre | Parramatta Eels |
| 16 | Shane Millard | Hooker | Leeds Rhinos |
| 18 | Paul Prescott | Prop forward | Wigan Warriors Academy |
| 19 | Harrison Hansen | Second Rower | Wigan Warriors Academy |
| 20 | Darrell Goulding | Centre | Wigan Warriors Academy |
| 21 | Danny Hill | Second Rower | Hull |
| 22 | Joel Tomkins | Second Rower | Wigan Warriors Academy |
| 23 | Liam Colbon | Winger | Wigan Warriors Academy |
| 24 | Eamon O'Carroll | Prop forward | Wigan Warriors Academy |
| 25 | Michael McIlorum | Hooker | Wigan Warriors Academy |
| 26 | Thomas Coyle | Scrum-half | Wigan Warriors Academy |
| 27 | Sean Gleeson$^1$ | Centre | Wigan Warriors Academy |
| 28 | Mark Flanagan | Stand Off | Bradford Bulls |
$^1$ Denotes a player who left Wigan Warriors during 2007. For more information see Transfers Section

## Transfers

Transfer for 2007 (In)
| Name | Transferred from | Fee | Date signed |
| Phil Bailey | Cronulla Sharks | Free Transfer | May 2006 |
| Trent Barrett | St George Illawarra Dragons | Free Transfer | May 2006 |
| Thomas Leuluai | Harlequins RL | Free Transfer | December 2006 |
| Shane Millard | Leeds Rhinos | Free Transfer | December 2006 |
| Michael Withers | Bradford Bulls | Free Transfer | December 2006 |
| Mark Flanagan | Bradford Bulls | £10,900 | January 2007 |
Transfer for 2007 (Out)
| Name | Transferred to | Fee | Date released |
| Brett Dallas | Retired | | September 2006 |
| Michael Dobson | Canberra Raiders | Return From Loan | September 2006 |
| Wayne Godwin | Hull | Free Transfer | September 2006 |
| Scott Logan | Canberra Raiders | Free Transfer | September 2006 |
| Chris Melling | Harlequins RL | Free Transfer | September 2006 |
| Oliver Wilkes | Widnes Vikings | Free Transfer | September 2006 |
| Bryn Hargreaves | St. Helens | Released | October 2006 |
| Danny Sculthorpe | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | Released | October 2006 |
| Danny Tickle | Hull | Free Transfer | October 2006 |
| Danny Orr | Harlequins RL | Free Transfer | October 2006 |
| Nathan McAvoy | Bradford Bulls | Released | February 2007 |
| Sean Gleeson | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | Released | May 2007 |
| Michael Withers | Retired | | June 2007 |
| Chris Ashton | Northampton Saints | Released | August 2007 |
2007 Loans (Out)
| Name | Loan to | Loan started | Loan ended |
| Sean Gleeson | Huddersfield Giants | February 2007 | April 2007 |
| Danny Hill | Hull Kingston Rovers | April 2007 | May 2007 |
| Joel Tomkins | Widnes Vikings | August 2007 | Current |

## Club personnel 2008

President – Peter Higginbottom Life Members – Joe Egan, Billy Blan, Johnny Lawrenson
DIRECTORS
Owner and chairman – Ian Lenagan (as from 1 December 2007) company secretary – Paul Wright
RUGBY
Head Coach – Brian Noble Assistant Coach – Phil Veivers