Mark Riddell looks back on his spell with Wigan with fond memories

Mark Riddell says he loved his two-year spell with Wigan and is glad to have played in Super League during his career.

The Australian hooker spent the 2009 and 2010 seasons with the Warriors, making 62 appearances for the club.

Riddell played in Wigan’s win over St Helens in the 2010 Grand Final before returning to his native Australia.

He told The Locker Room podcast: “It was a bit of a buzz to sign with Wigan in the Super League. If people over here (in Australia) don’t know rugby league in the UK then they know the Wigan Warriors and how strong they are.

“I spent two years over there. At the time when I was over there it was tough with being away from everyone but looking back on my career now I’m glad I did it and I’m glad I spent my time over there and made lifelong friends. We won the competition over there in 2010 so it was a great time and a really good experience.

“There was like 80,000 at Old Trafford (for the Grand Final) which is Man United’s ground. We played St Helens which is like a Broncos-Cowboys or a Dragons-Sharks rivalry or a Roosters-Souths rivalry. It is massive over there so we played St Helens in the Grand Final.

“It was Michael Maguire’s first ever year as a head coach. He came to Wigan in 2010 and he was phenomenal, really strict but ripped in and trained everyone really hard and we got the results at the back end of the year and won the competition.”

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