They really, really have not.

The fact Lam was too weak to deal with the issues ensured he stayed as long as he did.

I suspect none of us would have seen this coming at the start of the season. Whatever the practicality of the decision - and the short-term nature of the deal is crucial - it does illustrate how desperate we are.

As I get older, I'm not comfortable in judging players based on incomplete evidence about their behaviour off-field. It's fair to say that Hardaker's behaviour pre- drugs ban was completely unacceptable (even if he did gift us another GF win ), but he has served time on that, and it would be unfair to keep holding it against him.

What he has done since being at Wigan does have a bearing on the decision to sign him, however. I'm not aware of anything in the public domain that is as bad as before the ban. Whether that's because it is more inocuous or whether Wigan have tried to cover it up remains to be seen - we'll probably never know unless he has committed a criminal offence. However, it does worry me that he doesn't come across as a very professional individual from the various stories circulating. This could have a negative effect on creating a new culture at Leeds under Rohan Smith, so we are probably taking a big gamble in this regard.

We can only hope that the short-term deal will work to keep Hardaker in line (he will want to put himself in the shop window), and protect us from any long-term culture or reputational damage...

If JJB sits on him and make sure he behaves it’s a deal that had to be done.
And we owe him for helping us win the GF in 2017.

If JJB sits on him and make sure he behaves it’s a deal that had to be done.
And we owe him for helping us win the GF in 2017.

I would tend to believe what Jonh has said as I do know he wants to be the big "superstar" around Ponte and he wasn`t that at Wigan.
He was more interested in going out and about with his mates who stroked his ego and quite a few girls bought into it too.
The guy hasn`t really changed that much since he left Leeds and I fear we will be lucky to have him playing until the end of the season.
Yes he is better than Briscoe, Sutcliffe and Walker as long as he puts playing on the field before playing the field.

Interested that so many think (hope?) it'll be a short term arrangement. Personally, I doubt that.

Def not a short term plan. Would make even less sense from a culture perspective…
Why risk darkening the clubs long term rep for a few months out of a player?. If he keeps clean they’ll keep him on.
He’s still better than anything we’ve got on the field and has created some interest ,
Crowd could well be 5k higher as a result of this. I’m going with a mate for gods sake…!!

Well there was the drink driving conviction...

I disagree on every point you have made there. It's all about opinions, as they say. Glad you'll be adding to the attendance on Friday.

Just to add to his time at Wigan, it would be worth reading Peet's comments on him in the recent interview. He's asked if Zak has tried to address his problems and he answers with the word "consistently". That suggests these problems are not the "one off" some are suggesting. For what it's worth I think Wigan have simply come to the end of their tether with him and the incident Jonh alludes to is the final straw.

That said, I think you'll be ok over the course of a short term contract. Talk of a 2 year deal to follow is an altogether different proposition though.