2007 season: In stats

As we continue to look back at some of the classic matches on Wigan TV from the 2007 season when Trent Barrett and Tommy Leuluai first stepped on to the scene, Club Historian Keith Sutch provides all the key stats and facts from that year.

General facts

• It was the first season Ian Lenagan took over Wigan as Club Chairman

• Brian Noble took charge of his first full season as Head Coach at the Club
• Sean O’Loughlin was Club Captain
• After losing three of the opening four matches, Wigan finished 6th in the Super League final standings (the final place in the Play-Offs spots) – after away wins in the Play-Offs at Bradford Bulls and Hull FC, the Warriors’ season came to an end at Leeds Rhinos as they were defeated 36-6 in the Elimination Semi-Final (Leeds went on to win the Grand Final vs St Helens)
• 2007 was the first year the Millennium Magic Round was played – on the 5th and 6th May all 12 Super League clubs played at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium (Wigan played St Helens in the last game on the Saturday and lost 34-18 in front of 32,384

• Wigan only used 23 players in 27 league matches (used four subs in every game too), which is still to this day the Club’s lowest use of players throughout the Super League era
• Phil Bailey, Stuart Fielden, Micky Higham, Tommy Leuluai and Sean O’Loughlin were ever-present and played in all 34 matches in all competitions
• 2007 was the last season the No.18 was allocated to a player in the Wigan squad (Paul Prescott was the last player to wear it) – in 2008 it became Loyal 18 – dedicated to Warriors Fans

• On 8th June, Michael McIlorum wore Wigan’s 1,000th Heritage Number – he made his debut against Harlequins in the Quarter Finals of the Challenge Cup
• On 21st September, Wigan completed the greatest Super League comeback – the Warriors were losing 30-6 with 25 minutes to go in the opening round of the Play-Offs against Bradford, but four tries, four goals and one iconic drop-goal from Pat Richards saw the visitors win 30-31 at Odsal Stadium

🤩 “THE GREATEST COMEBACK IN @SuperLeague HISTORY!” 👏

😍 Absolute scenes. WHAT a night. #WWRL #WarriorsRewind pic.twitter.com/O9UCu15sK1

— Wigan Warriors 🍒⚪️ (@WiganWarriorsRL) April 17, 2020

• Sean O’Loughlin kicked his first ever penalty goal – in a 19-12 defeat at St Helens in July
• There were three hat-tricks in the season for Wigan – Trent Barrett in April in a 50-24 win vs Salford, Pat Richards in May in a 47-16 victory vs Hull FC and Mark Calderwood in September in a 30-31 triumph vs Bradford

League stats

• 27 games
• Won 15
• Drew 1
• Lost 11
• Points For: 621
• Points Against: 527
• Points Difference: 94
• 27 points *-4 points deducted at the start of the season

2007 Super League final standings

1. St Helens
2. Leeds Rhinos
3. Bradford Bulls
4. Hull FC
5. Huddersfield Giants
6. Wigan Warriors
7. Warrington Wolves
8. Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
9. Harlequins
10. Catalans Dragons
11. Hull Kingston Rovers
12. Salford City Reds

Wigan’s squad

1. Chris Ashton
2. Mark Calderwood
3. Phil Bailey
4. Michael Withers
5. Pat Richards
6. Trent Barrett
7. Tommy Leuluai
8. Stuart Fielden
9. Micky Higham
10. Iafeta Paleaaesina
11. Gareth Hock
12. Bryan Fletcher
13. Sean O’Loughlin
14. David Vaealiki
15. N/A
16. Shane Millard
17. N/A
18. Paul Prescott
19. Harrison Hansen
20. Darrell Goulding
21. Danny Hill
22. Joel Tomkins
23. Liam Colbon
24. Eamon O’Carroll
25. Michael McIlorum
26. Thomas Coyle (didn’t play a game)
27. Sean Gleeson (didn’t play a game)
28. Mark Flanagan (didn’t play a game)

 

Debutants

• Wigan gave six players their debut in 2007
• Five of the six made their debut in Super League Round 1 on 9th February against Warrington – Phil Bailey, Trent Barrett, Tommy Leuluai, Shane Millard and Michael Withers
• On 8th June, Michael McIlorum made his debut – he came on as a sub against Harlequins in the Challenge Cup Quarter Final and became the 1,000 player to represent the Club

Stand-outs

Trent Barrett

• Signed for Wigan ahead of the 2007 season from St George Illawarra Dragons
• Played 29 games (Super League and Play-Offs combined)
• Wigan’s top try scorer for the campaign with 17 overall
• Kicked three drop-goals
• Notched up 71 points in total

Pat Richards

• Played 29 games (Super League and Play-Offs combined)
• Scored 13 tries
• Kicked 112 goals and two drop-goals – Wigan’s top goal scorer
• Wigan’s top points scorer with 278 overall
• Became Super League’s top points scorer with 248 throughout the regular league rounds

😱 “IT COMES BACK TO RICHARDS, GOES FOR THE ONE POINT, HE’S KICKED IT! PAT RICHARDS HAS KICKED WIGAN AHEAD!” 😤

Sensational. 🙌

Watch ‘live’ 👉 https://t.co/6TR3FHnXDO#WWRL #WarriorsRewind pic.twitter.com/8FyCYRo0c5

— Wigan Warriors 🍒⚪️ (@WiganWarriorsRL) April 17, 2020

Tommy Leuluai

• Signed for the Club prior to 2007 campaign from Harlequins
• Played 30 games (Super League and Play-Offs combined)
• Scored nine tries – totalling to 36 points

Attendances

• Wigan’s average home attendance for the year was 16,040 – the best in Super League
• The highest watched game at the then JJB Stadium was 24,028 on 6th April (Good Friday Derby vs St Helens)

All facts and statistics provided by Club Historian Keith Sutch