Wigan coach Adrian Lam backs late changes to Super League season

Correspondent
Wigan coach Adrian Lam says his club are fully behind the radical late overhaul of the Super League season.

The Super League board, largely made up of representatives of the 11 clubs, decided to call a halt to the regular season this Friday following a spate of cancellations caused by the coronavirus pandemic and bring forward an expanded play-off series.

“I think overall as a club we’re very happy with the decision,” Lam said. “We’ve had to support what benefits the game at certain times throughout the year.

“I can’t imagine what it would have been like in those rooms having to make those decisions but I think it’s a pretty fair effort.”

Instead of going straight to two semi-finals, the top six clubs will now take part in the Grand Final series.

The top two will get next week off while those finishing third to sixth play elimination ties to determine the make-up of the last four on November 19 and 20. The Grand Final is on November 27.

Meanwhile, Lam says he is close to completing talks over a new contract for 2021.

Wigan were successful in tying down Australian full-back Bevan French to a new deal this week and Lam wants the future of half-back Jackson Hastings resolved before finalising his own position.

“I’ll know in the next week or two,” Lam said. “We had to get through the Bevan French signing which has been a great success this week – I don’t really want to take the headlines away from that.

“If we can get Jackson Hastings over the line, then I’ll be the last one because they’re more important than me.”

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