Love Rugby did the same but the usual click bait headlines are there, to lure in the pitchfork mobs. It was something like 'Wigan utilise loophole' and that is wrong. We've had 3 players banned and we've been told when they will be back available under the current rules. The rules are wrong and need changing but the desire to attach Wigan's name to finding some sort of loophole has been pretty pathetic, especially when they're far from the first team to accidentally drop on and benefit from the current set up.

And internationals, both using them to count games off a ban, or using A-Team fixture as 1 game to free them up to play in an international

Mentioned on our WhatsApp group yesterday that this Rule has been in place for as long as I can remember and has been used hundreds of times by clubs yet amazingly it doesn't seem to draw out the pitchfork & Torch brigade with their tinfoil hats as much when other clubs do it.

Yep, and they pointed out that Castleford also used a single reserve fixture to count for 3 players at once as well.
So it's absolutely nothing new.

Every club that can do it will do it.
It`s not new and solely down to Wigan getting round it.
The only way to stop that happening is if they change the rules next season which personally I think they should.
Maybe it should be used if the banned player has made x number of games for the reserves in the season maybe.

Wigan haven’t ‘got around’ anything. Their players have been banned and they’ve been told when they’re available again under the rules.

I think we need to schedule a reserve fixture for the day before the GF just in case

Same old Wigan, always cheating

Yeh, just about to raise the International "loopholes" used previous by many clubs whose holier than though supporters are posting on here (apart from (tongue in cheek) Saints of course). You've done so already and with some style

Its a daft rule but as others have said, lots of other clubs have used it too. We used the mid-season International to reduce Knowles's ban by a game and used a pre-season friendly this season for LMS's 1 game ban from the Grand Final.

However I think what is making other fans annoyed is that they don't fully know the rules. They are presuming that everyone can do this as long as there is a Reserves fixture and are wondering why their clubs haven't done it.

However the rule is only applicable if the first team haven't got a game and have a free weekend as is the case with Wigan.

I'm annoyed by it as I would've liked Wigan to play HKR or Leigh without those players as their chances of losing would be greater however I guess that's their reward for finishing in the top 2 and being able to use the rule.

Yeh, its only a rare set of circumstances that this can be done and it is when the first team do not have any game. I can see its a tricky bit of legislation as it could be used "the other way" ie if a player is only banned from the first team then they could turn out for the Reserves and keep fit (for example)