2006 Wigan Warriors season explained

Year:	2006
Team Colour:	D31718
Font Colour:	ffffff
League:	Super League
League Rank:	8th
League Wins:	12
League Draws:	0
League Losses:	16
Points For:	644
Points Against:	715
Playoff Result:	Did not qualify
Cup:	Challenge Cup
Cup Result:	Fifth Round
Cup Wins:	1
Cup Losses:	1
Top Tries:	Chris Ashton (14)
Top Points:	Michael Dobson (142)
List:	yes
List Link:	List of Wigan Warriors seasons

The Wigan Warriors played in the Super League and Challenge Cup in the 2006 season.

Statistics

Tries

	Name	Tries
1		15
2		12
3		10
4		10
4		10

Goals

	Name	Goals
1		57
2		33
3		12
4		5
5		1

Points

	Name	Points
1		134
2		78
3		72
4		60
5		40

Appearances

	Name	Appearances
1		30
2		29
3		29
4		26
5		26

2006 squad

width=5%	Number	width=10%	Player	width=20%	Position	width=30%	Previous club
1	Kris Radlinski	Full back	Wigan Warriors Youth Development
2	Mark Calderwood	Winger	Leeds Rhinos
3	Pat Richards	Centre	Wests Tigers
4	David Vaealiki	Centre	Parramatta Eels
5	Brett Dallas	Winger	North Sydney Bears
6	Danny Orr	Stand off	Castleford Tigers
7	Denis Moran	Scrum half	London Broncos
8	Scott Logan	Prop	South Sydney Rabbitohs
9	Mickey Higham	Hooker	Bradford Bulls
10	Iafeta Paleaaesina	Prop	New Zealand Warriors
11	Gareth Hock	Second rower	Wigan Warriors Youth Development
12	Bryan Fletcher	Second rower	South Sydney Rabbitohs
13	Sean O'Loughlin	Loose forward	Wigan Warriors Youth Development
14	Kevin Brown	Stand off	Wigan Warriors Youth Development
15	Danny Tickle	Second rower	Halifax
16	Bryn Hargreaves	Prop	Wigan Warriors Youth Development
17	Jerry Seu Seu	Prop	New Zealand Warriors
18	Wayne Godwin	Hooker	Castleford Tigers
19	Harrison Hansen	Second rower	Wigan Warriors Youth Development
20	Michael Dobson	Scrum half	Canberra Raiders
21	Chris Melling	Winger	Wigan Warriors Youth Development
22	Joel Tomkins	Second rower	Wigan Warriors Youth Development
23	Paul Prescott	Prop	Wigan Warriors Youth Development
24	Darrell Goulding	Centre	Wigan Warriors Youth Development
25	Sean Gleeson	Centre	Wigan Warriors Youth Development
26	John Walker	Centre	Wigan Warriors Youth Development
27	Thomas Coyle	Scrum half	Wigan Warriors Youth Development
28	Michael McIlorum	Hooker	Wigan Warriors Youth Development
29	Chris Ashton	Full back	Wigan Warriors Youth Development
30	Liam Colbon	Winger	Wigan Warriors Youth Development
31	Tim Jonkers	Second rower	Salford City Reds
32	Oliver Wilkes	Prop	Whitehaven
33	Eamon O'Carroll	Prop	Wigan Warriors Youth Development
35	Nathan McAvoy	Centre	Leeds Rhinos
36	Danny Hill	Second rower	Hull
37	Stuart Fielden	Prop	Bradford Bulls

Key players

Key players for Wigan Warriors in 2006 were:

• Chris Ashton was brought in to the Wigan squad at the start of 2006 as replacement for the injured Kris Radlinski. Ashton had impressed on his debut for Wigan in 2005, scoring two tries against Huddersfield Giants but in 2006 he showed good skill, pace and talent and impressed many Wigan fans and people within rugby league. He finished the 2006 season as the leading try scorer at Wigan and his support play throughout the season was excellent. Although some criticism was made about his defensive abilities, he did earn a call into the England squad at the end of the year. Ashton was one of the most consistent players for Wigan through the 2006 and was a contender for the Young Player of the Year award.
• Michael Dobson was signed by Wigan after his loan finished with Catalans Dragons as a replacement for Denis Moran, who had been released by Wigan a week earlier. Dobson had impressed for Catalans Dragons, but when he signed for Wigan, they were at the bottom of the league and facing relegation at the end of the season. His talents, organisation skills and goal kicking were a big factor in Wigan surviving relegation. In 2006 Michael Dobson was the most consistent goal kicker in Rugby League.
• Stuart Fielden signed for Wigan from Bradford Bulls on 22 June 2006 for a Super League record transfer fee of £450,000. Fielden was regarded as one of the best props in the world by many, and his influence in the Wigan team could clearly be seen. He was strong in both attack and defence and offered leadership and inspiration to the rest of the Wigan players. Fielden was one of the main reasons that Wigan avoided relegation in 2006; not only did he provide a physical presence on the pitch, he offered new hope to Wigan fans and players.

Transfers

2006 transfer (in)

width=30%	Name	width=35%	Signed from	width=25%	Fee	width=25%	Date
Pat Richards	Wests Tigers	2005
Iafeta Paleaaesina	New Zealand Warriors	2005
Scott Logan	South Sydney Rabbitohs	2005
Bryan Fletcher	South Sydney Rabbitohs	2005
Mark Calderwood	Leeds Rhinos	2005
Mickey Higham	Bradford Bulls	2005
Michael Dobson	Canberra Raiders	2006
Oliver Wilkes	Whitehaven	2006
Jordan James	Swinton Lions	2006
Nathan McAvoy	Leeds Rhinos	2006
Danny Hill	Hull	2006
Stuart Fielden	Bradford Bulls	£450,000	2006

2006 transfer (out)

width=30%	Name	width=35%	Sold To	width=25%	Fee	width=25%	Date
Steven Wild	Huddersfield Giants	2005
Martin Aspinwall	Huddersfield Giants	2005
Brian Carney	Newcastle Knights	2005
Terry Newton	Bradford Bulls	2005
Jerome Guisset	Catalans Dragons	2005
Andrew Farrell	Saracens F.C.	2005
David Allen	Widnes Vikings	2005
Bob Beswick	Widnes Vikings	2005
James Coyle	Widnes Vikings	2005
Desi Williams	Hull Kingston Rovers	2005
Liam Botham	Retired	2005
Lee Jewitt	Cronulla Sharks	2005
Denis Moran	Released	2006
Jerry Seu Seu	Retired	2006
Jordan James	Widnes Vikings	2006
Kevin Brown	Huddersfield Giants	2006
Kris Radlinski	Retired	2006
Scott Logan	Canberra Raiders	2006
Michael Dobson	Canberra Raiders	2006
Wayne Godwin	Hull	2006
Danny Tickle	Hull	2006
Bryn Hargreaves	St. Helens	2006
Oliver Wilkes	Widnes Vikings	2006
Chris Melling	Harlequins RL	2006

2006 loans (in)

width=30%	Name	width=30%	Signed from	width=25%	Loan started	width=25%	Loan ended
Tim Jonkers	Salford City Reds	March 2006	May 2006

2006 loans (out)

width=30%	Name	width=30%	Loan to	width=20%	Loan started	width=30%	Loan ended
Bryn Hargreaves	Leigh Centurions	June 2006	September 2006
Paul Prescott	Leigh Centurions	June 2006	September 2006
Jordan James	Widnes Vikings	May 2006	September 2006
Oliver Wilkes	Widnes Vikings	May 2006	September 2006
Kevin Brown	Huddersfield Giants	June 2006	September 2006

Staff

• Chief executive – Carol Banks
• Chief administrator – Mary Sharkey
• Head coach – Brian Noble
• Head coach – Ian Millward (sacked April 2006)
• Chairman – Maurice P. Lindsay

External links

• Wigan RL 2006 Season on the Wigan RL Fansite.
• Wigan RL 2006 Senior Academy Team on the Wigan RL Fansite.
• Wigan RL 2006 Junior Academy Team on the Wigan RL Fansite.
• Official site
• Wigan-Warriors fan site