Wigan tie up Gildart
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OLIVER GILDART has signed a new and improved three-year deal with Wigan after rejecting a lucrative move to the NRL.
The 21-year-old academy product, below, has made a big impression since making his first-team debut in 2015 and was named Super League Young Player of the Year in 2017 after scoring 15 tries in 20 games.
His displays this year, scoring nine tries so far, have attracted interest from rivals and Wigan executive director Kris Radlinski said: “This has been a very delicate negotiation as Oliver was not short of offers.
“We have beaten off strong competition from a number of leading clubs in both the Super League and in the NRL and I’m thrilled that he has agreed this new contract.”
Gildart said: “I’ve got lots of improvement left in me and want to play in more finals and win more silverware and winners’ rings over the next few years.” BORN in Lewisham, raised on the Isle of Dogs and a fanatical Millwall supporter, St Helens forward Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook is not your average rugby league player.
Tomorrow, he will run out at Newcastle’s St James’ Park as Saints face Widnes in the opening match of this year’s Magic Weekend.
Justin Holbrook’s Super League leaders are expected to wipe the floor with the struggling Vikings but hardman McCarthyScarsbrook is already looking further ahead.
The straight-talking south Londoner is dreaming of playing at Wembley for the first time in the Challenge Cup final on August 25.
St Helens have not reached the final of the famous old competition since 2008 and McCarthyScarsbrook said: “The Magic Weekend is great and I love playing at grounds like St James’ Park. It’s a fantastic stadium but for me, as a big Millwall fan, getting to play at Wembley in the Challenge Cup final would be the holy grail.
“I’ve played at football grounds like the Etihad Stadium, Old Trafford and Newcastle, but Wembley would be something else.
“Being a London lad, I’d like to think I could fill a whole tier of the stadium with my family and friends. I’m from the Isle of Dogs