Academy & Scholarship signings
- Scholarship and Academy squads announced for 2023.
- 35 new Scholarship players confirmed for next year.
- 12 new Academy players sign contracts.
Wigan Warriors are delighted to announce the Scholarship and Academy squads for the 2023 season.
There are 35 Scholarship players signed for the 2023 season, with 15 different community clubs and 28 different high schools represented. Of the 35 players, 20 of them are Under-16s and 15 are Under-15s.
There are 12 players who have signed Academy contracts and have progressed from Scholarship. Wigan’s new Academy players signed their contracts and were presented by Liam Farrell at the Fan Village ahead of the first team game against Catalans Dragons last month.
Charlie Yeomans, Dylan Kelly-Duffy, George O’Loughlin, Jack Farrimond, Josh Cartwright, Kalum Rathbone, Kian McDermott, Lukas Mason, Nathan Lowe, Noah Hodkinson, Taylor Kerr and Trent Kelly-Duffy will form the Under-17s age group as part of Wigan’s 2023 19-player Academy squad.
Billy Myers, Harry Smithers, Joe Baldwin, Maddox Jeffrey, Ryan Brown, Tom Ratchford and Troy Richmond are all part of the Under-18s age group.
The Warriors new 35 Scholarship signings join the Club after an extensive recruitment process where Wigan’s dedicated scouting team are out in the community watching players for their community clubs and schools.
Junior Player Development Manager, Shane Eccles, said: “The schoolteachers and community coaches do a fantastic job of providing regular playing opportunities for these players which helps us identify potential talent to join our pathway. School teachers and community coaches provide a lot of time to these young players – working with them weekly to help develop their skills which results in players getting these opportunities to join the Club. We are grateful for all the effort of all those working in the community game and schools.
“We also run ETP sessions throughout the year which provides an opportunity to work with the young players and help them develop their skills whilst getting to see their characteristics and if they show the attributes of a Wigan player.”
The Under-16s Scholarship Programme started with a Launch Evening on Wednesday 7th September where the players and their families were officially welcomed into the Club. Members of the Scholarship coaching staff discussed the history of the Club and what it means to be part of Wigan Warriors. There was also a special appearance from Warriors Head Coach Matt Peet who spoke to all the players and presented each of them with their Scholarship contract.
The Scholarship players will start their 2023 season officially with their first session on Wednesday 14th September.
“We are delighted to welcome these players into the Club and are looking forward to them starting training,” said Eccles. “Each player has been recruited as they demonstrate characteristics of Wigan players and this is a compliment to their parents, coaches and school teachers who have educated them to this point. This is a fantastic opportunity for these players to join the Club and take the first step onto the performance pathway.
“The new Academy signings have spent the last two years working in the Scholarship programme and have demonstrated the potential to progress through the pathway onto their next stage at Academy rugby. The players have also shown characteristics of being a Wigan player and will now join up with the Academy squad. These players will now manage their training around their college studies with the aim of progressing into the Reserves squad and ultimately the long-term goal is to progress into the first team squad.
“It is great to be able to promote these players from our Scholarship programme into the Academy squad and we are looking forward to seeing this group develop in the Academy next season. After a fantastic year at Scholarship it is exciting to see how they rise to the challenge of Academy rugby. The players will now have a short transition period whereby they will start to increase the volume of training they are doing, and this will prepare them for a full pre-season in preparation for what should be a great 2023 season.”
See below the lists for each age group in the Scholarship squads and the new Academy players, featuring the amateur clubs they played for and high schools they attend/attended. There are also images of each Scholarship player and the new Academy players who have signed contracts.
Scholarship
U15s
- Bailey Jones (Shevington Sharks & Deanery High)
- Conner Oxbury (Leigh Miners & Byrchall High)
- Corben Ashurst (Normanton & Outwood Freeston)
- Evan Buckley (Rochdale Mayfield & Hollingworth Academy)
- George Marsden (Golborne & Golborne High)
- George Wood (Shevington & Hawkley High)
- Jacob Logan (Golborne & Golborne High)
- James Gleeson Orrell St James & Shevington High)
- James Parr (Orrell St James & St Edmund Arrowsmith)
- Joe McGann (Blackbrook & Lymm High)
- Josh Tyrer (Leigh Miners & St Mary’s High)
- Leyton Hull (Leigh East & Lowton High
- Noah Forster (Golborne & Golborne High)
- Noah Wilde (Rochdale Mayfield & Whitworth High)
- Shea O’Connor (Orrell St James & Shevington High)
U16s
- Brody Allred (Leigh Miners Rangers & Bedford High School)
- Cameron Bate (West Bank Bears & St Peter and Paul RC High)
- Finlay Yeomans (Woolston Rovers & Lymm High)
- Hamza Butt (Wigan St Patricks & Clitheroe Royal Grammar School)
- Harlen Smith (Orrell St James & St Peter’s)
- Haydn Bynoe (St Peter’s)
- Jaiden Drachenberg (Wigan St Judes & St John Fisher)
- Josh Swindley (West Bank Bears & St Peter and Paul RC High)
- Koen Perry (Hindley & Standish High)
- Leo Wadsworth (Orrell St James & St Peter’s)
- Lewis Owens (West Bank Bears & Weaverham High School)
- Lucas Hendry (West Bank Bears & Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy)
- Michael Porter (Orrell St James & St Peter’s)
- Nathan Benson (Blackbrook & St Cuthbert’s)
- Nathaniel Twiss (Blackbrook & Kirkby Stephen Grammar)
- Rob Bentham (Rochdale Mayfield & Bolton School)
- Thomas Bridge (Orrell St James & St Peter’s)
- Toby Rich (Orrell St James & All Hallows Catholic High School)
- Vinny Arthurs (Leigh Miners Rangers & Saddleworth School)
- Rohan Sheldon (Woolston & Newcastle Under Lyme School)
Academy signings
- Charlie Yeomans (Latchford Albion & Lymm)
- Dylan Kelly-Duffy (Blackbrook Royals & St Cuthberts High)
- George O’Loughlin (Wigan St Judes & St John Fisher)
- Jack Farrimond (Leigh Miners Rangers & St Mary’s High)
- Josh Cartwright (Wigan St Patricks & Hawkley Hall High)
- Kalum Rathbone (Leigh Miners & St Mary’s High)
- Kian McDermott (Wigan St Patricks & Standish High)
- Lukas Mason (Siddal/Orrell St James & Brighouse High)
- Nathan Lowe (Leigh East/Wigan St Judes & Lowton High)
- Noah Hodkinson (Hindley & West Leigh High)
- Taylor Kerr (Wigan St Judes & St John Fisher)
- Trent Kelly-Duffy (Blackbrook & St Cuthberts High)