There has been wide spread speculation about the future of Zak Hardaker in recent weeks and months.
The former Man of Steel had been linked with a return to West Yorkshire after moving house however it now seems he has committed himself to the Warriors as they begin a new era under new Head Coach Matty Peet.
Awarded the number three jersey ahead of the new season, Hardaker has become a centre whilst at the DW Stadium having starred for both Leeds and Castleford in the fullback role. However, the three-time Grand Final winner did win one of those three titles from centre in 2011 even scoring in Leeds’ 32-16 win over St Helens.
It seems that the positional change hasn’t forced him to look for another club as he today spoke about the feel good factor generated at the club now that Peet is putting his stamp on the club with the help of Shaun Wane, Sean O’Loughlin and Lee Briers.
Speaking on the club’s official Twitter page today, the centre was keen to emphasise just how different and exciting the changes at the club are: “There was a lot of anticipation about who was going to be the new coach, what we were going to do next year and how many signings we were going to make. I could see the fans getting a bit frustrated when it was taking a while to come out.
“Just being around the place and the feel factor is totally different from last year.
“There’s a new poster, the gym has all been changed around, the changing rooms are different, there’s a list about what we’re having for food. We have everything we didn’t have last year and gone on top of that and multiplied it by 10.
“As a professional rugby player to see what the club’s going through to make it as professional as they can and make it enjoyable being here makes you as a player want to be here to enjoy yourself and play as well as you can for the team and the club.
“It’s been brilliant, like I say Matty Peet has been here for a number of years so for him to be Head Coach it’s going to be a bit different but you know the person quite well so it’s not that difficult.”
🗣 @zakhardaker1 on the 𝙁𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙁𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧 in the squad: "It just makes you as a player want to be here, enjoy yourself, to play as well as you can for the team and the Club."
Watch the full interview with Zak 👉 https://t.co/X3BrP98qW7#WWRL pic.twitter.com/xHiZnH6tIz
— Wigan Warriors 🍒⚪️ (@WiganWarriorsRL) December 26, 2021
Full of optimism, Hardaker will be hoping to take Britain’s most successful side back to the top in 2022 after a disappointing fourth place finish in 2021 and an 8-0 play-off defeat to Leeds. By the end of next season it’ll be four years since their most recent title but with exciting signing Cade Cust now at the club they’ll back themselves to return to Old Trafford next year.
